Widescreen video getting sqeezed on TV

[Dave Labrecque]

I'm running the overlay out of my Matrox P750 to a TV "monitor" in my studio for ADR and such. The current post work I'm doing is using AVIs that are 720x480. Looks fine in SAW's video viewer, but the TV in the other room is squeezing the sides in to fit the full width, I guess. Looks silly, though.

Anyone know how to either letterbox it so we see the whole thing or just cut off the sides and get the normal-looking aspect?

[Ian Alexander]

Most TVs have an Aspect button that lets you scroll through the options for fitting images that are not the same ratio as the screen. One of them may work. On my LCD TV, the 4:3 option is the one that seems to force everything to be displayed in the proper ratio with bars added as needed on the top or the sides.

You were probably hoping for a setting on the Matrox. Sorry to disappoint.

[Gary Ray]

First question is whether or not the monitor is a 4x3 aspect ratio. If it is, then 720x480 is not the correct square resolution. It should be 640x480. 640x480 with square pixels is 4x3 aspect ratio. 720x480 can work with a 4x3 aspect ratio but the pixel becomes a rectangle instead of a square. Most true monitors can properly display various aspect ratios and pixel configurations, but you may need to manually configure. I expect SAW is properly displaying 720x480 because it is treating the rectangle pixels properly in the software.

If your monitor is a 9x6 aspect ratio (or other wide screen resolutions), it should also be able to treat the 720x480 pixels properly with either software or hardware settings. In this case, the video will have black verticle bands on either side of the monitor with the video properly filling the middle of the screen.

[Dave Labrecque]

Most TVs have an Aspect button that lets you scroll through the options for fitting images that are not the same ratio as the screen. One of them may work. On my LCD TV, the 4:3 option is the one that seems to force everything to be displayed in the proper ratio with bars added as needed on the top or the sides.

You were probably hoping for a setting on the Matrox. Sorry to disappoint.

Yeah, well if I had a TV that was made in the last 15 years, that might work. :p This one's a hand-me-down.

Thanks, though.

[Dave Labrecque]

First question is whether or not the monitor is a 4x3 aspect ratio. If it is, then 720x480 is not the correct square resolution. It should be 640x480. 640x480 with square pixels is 4x3 aspect ratio. 720x480 can work with a 4x3 aspect ratio but the pixel becomes a rectangle instead of a square. Most true monitors can properly display various aspect ratios and pixel configurations, but you may need to manually configure. I expect SAW is properly displaying 720x480 because it is treating the rectangle pixels properly in the software.

If your monitor is a 9x6 aspect ratio (or other wide screen resolutions), it should also be able to treat the 720x480 pixels properly with either software or hardware settings. In this case, the video will have black verticle bands on either side of the monitor with the video properly filling the middle of the screen.

Did I mention that this is a 15-year-old NTSC TV? I'm lucky it has RCAs on the back. :p

So, the question becomes... how can I get a 720x480 signal to look "normal" on a 4:3 screen?

Is my only solution some kind of conversion of the video file?

[bcorkery]

Betcha mine's older than yours. I bought someone else's hand-me-down! :o

[Dave Labrecque]

Betcha mine's older than yours. I bought someone else's hand-me-down! :o

Yeah, well I bet mine's not as big as yours.

Um... :o

I gotta go.

[bcorkery]

Should be with Enzite on your team!

[Bob L]

A 720 x 480 image is a 4:3 aspect ratio already... that is the standard NTSC DV video size.

Bob L

[Gary Ray]

That is probably much older than the NTSC DV standard that Bob mentions. NTSC DV 720x480 (rectangular pixels) was born in 1994. Nevertheless, any monitor built after that date would not necessarily support that standard unless so specified. I believe your only hope is the Matrox P750. On some computer video adapters, you can have a separate resolution for the TV out overlay from the resolution on your computer display. If the Matrox does not have this, I think you are SOL. It would be more expensive than the monitor's worth to insert a video processor to accomplish the conversion.

[Carl G.]

A 720 x 480 image is a 4:3 aspect ratio already... that is the standard NTSC DV video size.

Bob L

720 by 580 is mathematically a 4/3 ratio.
I'm puzzled.

For some reason, I get a little minor 'squeeze' on the 19" LCD of the same 720x480 material that plays fine on my 22" widescreen LCD. Wonder why that is? (This thread interests me)

[Dave Labrecque]

A 720 x 480 image is a 4:3 aspect ratio already... that is the standard NTSC DV video size.

Bob L

Well, then I'm confused. (So what's new?)

In SAW these 720x480 AVIs are definitely wide-screen-looking when the Viewer is set to "Actual Size". They're wider than my TV screen. And the content looks normal to me. So, I assumed that 720x480 is a widescreen format. AND my TV squishes it side-to-side so that it fits, but then everything's too tall and narrow.

What's going on? :confused:

[Bob L]

Depending how the video is rendered, you cane a widescreen format placed inside the 720 x 480 DV size... but then that should show the black bars at the top and bottom.

The actual numbers work out that a 640 x 480 is an exact 4:3 aspect ratio... 720 x 480 actually divides out to 4.5:3... but I guess with overscan and so forth a standard TV screen seems to display the files correctly.

I don't really understand it all... there are so many video standards its mind boggling... perhaps one of the video guys here can shed some light on the issue.

Bob L

[Bob L]

Most video drivers do give you a position and size adjustment for the video overlay hardware... perhaps you can use this to adjust the squeeze to look normal.

Bob L

[Perry]

.................

I don't really understand it all... there are so many video standards its mind boggling... perhaps one of the video guys here can shed some light on the issue.

Bob L
And I'M trying to get more into the video world???? :eek:

Probably I've lost my senses!~ :rolleyes:

Perry

[Dave Labrecque]

Most video drivers do give you a position and size adjustment for the video overlay hardware... perhaps you can use this to adjust the squeeze to look normal.

Bob L

Look what I found in the DVDMax settings in my Matrox PowerDesk:

http://www.labrecquecreativesound.com/SAW_Stuff/PowerDeskScreen.JPG

My bad. I assume this will fix it. 4:3 is the other available setting.

Thanks for making me look. :)

[Gary Ray]

The short explanation: 4x3 -720x480 does not have a square pixel configuration. It is a rectangle because it has to cover the same screen real estate as 4x3 -640x480. In the case of 640x480, the pixel is perfectly square. When miniDV was developed, it brought to the market a higher resolution than the then current 4x3 -640x480. With miniDV (NTSC DV) you get the equivalent of 720 picture elements (pixels) instead of 640. Of course, as noted above, this is squeezed into the same size as 640 thereby causing the new rectangular shape of the pixels.

The negative result can be that monitors or display adapters that cannot handle what amounts to higher resolution (a rectangle instead of a square) will display either an elongated horizontal picture that will not display properly, ie cut off each end of the picture, or it will get squished to fit.

Still confused? Bottom line, the monitor won't work properly.

[Gary Ray]

Voila. The Matrox comes to the rescue.