Resolution and Ration question on Still Pics from scanner

[Guest]

I have been saving my still Pic with music project as DV-AVI(NTSC), for I will be creating a VCD or SVCD. I will play this on my DVD player, which supports these formats, on a 27" TV. The problem is, my pics are fuzzy when I play back through Media Player.

When I select this option it says 4:3 at 720x480, BUT 720x480 is not a 4:3 ratio. I've read that you should crop your images to a 4:3 ratiom, which would be 720x540. So my question is, why does it say, in the saving wizard, that it will save 4:3 and 720x480, when this is not a 4:3 ratio? So I am confused on which dimension I should be cropping my pictures to

Also, I have a Plextor DVD burner on order and should be at my house today. After this is installed, I will be saving my project to run on a DVDR or RW. In the Save Wizard, what will be the best format for this

Thanks for all the help I've been givin' in the past, as well as what help I will receive in the future.

 

[Guest]

-----Original Message-----
I have been saving my still Pic with music project as DV-

AVI(NTSC), for I will be creating a VCD or SVCD. I will
play this on my DVD player, which supports these formats,
on a 27" TV. The problem is, my pics are fuzzy when I
play back through Media Player.

When I select this option it says 4:3 at 720x480, BUT

720x480 is not a 4:3 ratio. I've read that you should
crop your images to a 4:3 ratiom, which would be
720x540. So my question is, why does it say, in the
saving wizard, that it will save 4:3 and 720x480, when
this is not a 4:3 ratio? So I am confused on which
dimension I should be cropping my pictures to.

Also, I have a Plextor DVD burner on order and should be

at my house today. After this is installed, I will be
saving my project to run on a DVDR or RW. In the Save
Wizard, what will be the best format for this?

Thanks for all the help I've been givin' in the past, as

well as what help I will receive in the future.

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

DV-AVI (NTSC) is 720x480.... regardless of whether it is standard 4:3 aspect
ratio or widescreen 16:9.... the file properties are 720x480. WMP has a
quirk in that it reports 640x480 for 720x480 files.... a DV-AVI file (NTSC)
is always 720x480.

But when making a movie on a computer, the key thing is the 4:3 ratio.... a
computer works with square pixels so 640x480 or 800x600 are appropriate
dimensions to use for still pictures being used in it.... when going back to
a camcorder and using the DV-AVI format, it'll automatically be converted to
720x480 and show appropriately on a TV.

When heading toward a disc and DVD player, DV-AVI is the best choice when
saving.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

I have been saving my still Pic with music project as DV-AVI(NTSC), for I

will be creating a VCD or SVCD. I will play this on my DVD player, which
supports these formats, on a 27" TV. The problem is, my pics are fuzzy when
I play back through Media Player.

When I select this option it says 4:3 at 720x480, BUT 720x480 is not a 4:3

ratio. I've read that you should crop your images to a 4:3 ratiom, which
would be 720x540. So my question is, why does it say, in the saving wizard,
that it will save 4:3 and 720x480, when this is not a 4:3 ratio? So I am
confused on which dimension I should be cropping my pictures to.

Also, I have a Plextor DVD burner on order and should be at my house

today. After this is installed, I will be saving my project to run on a
DVDR or RW. In the Save Wizard, what will be the best format for this?

Thanks for all the help I've been givin' in the past, as well as what help

I will receive in the future.

 

[Guest]

When I scan my pic, say its an 8"x10" Portrait photo, to my computer, it sets the pixels to 2500 W and 3600 H.(these are just random numbers I thought up). Will I need to crop this pic to say 2400 W and 3200 H

AN

If it were a 10"x8" landscape photo, pixels 3600 W and 2500 H, would I need to crop this pic to 2400 W and 3200 H

Would this help me from getting fuzzy pics when I save my file as DV-AVI (NTSC) and play with Media player? and eventually with DVD?

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

Yes on the cropping, unless you don't mind black borders to fill in the
space....

You have the 4:3 ratio in the other direction.... you would need to crop to
3200 W and 2400 H to be 4:3

640x480 is a good bit lower resolution than what you are working with in
still pictures.... so a DVD will be lower quality.... the MPEG2 spec for
DVDs fixes the pixel size, so you need to get into tweaking the MPEG2
settings to get DVD quality at a max.

For higher quality when playing back on a computer, check the Saving Movies

Custom WMV Profiles page of my MM2 site, and the PhotoStory With

MovieMaker page of my PhotoStory site.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

When I scan my pic, say its an 8"x10" Portrait photo, to my computer, it

sets the pixels to 2500 W and 3600 H.(these are just random numbers I
thought up). Will I need to crop this pic to say 2400 W and 3200 H?

AND

If it were a 10"x8" landscape photo, pixels 3600 W and 2500 H, would I

need to crop this pic to 2400 W and 3200 H?

Would this help me from getting fuzzy pics when I save my file as DV-AVI

(NTSC) and play with Media player? and eventually with DVD?

 

[Guest]

So, if I have a pic that is taller than it is wide (the H pixels are more than the W pixels), like a Portrait photo, will I lose alot of photo cropping it to where the W pixels are now bigger than the H pixels, to get to a 4:3 ratio

 

[PapaJohn \(MVP\)]

The tradeoff is between the full image with black borders as needed, or
cropped to fit and eliminate black borders....

Another alternative is to put the whole picture in another background image
that is the 4:3 ratio, so it's not black and is appropriate for the
picture... you would do that in an image software app before bringing into
MM2.

In reality, most pictures can use some cropping to really focus on the point
of interest.
--
PapaJohn

Movie Maker 2 - www.papajohn.org
Photo Story 2 - www.photostory.papajohn.org

..

So, if I have a pic that is taller than it is wide (the H pixels are more

than the W pixels), like a Portrait photo, will I lose alot of photo
cropping it to where the W pixels are now bigger than the H pixels, to get
to a 4:3 ratio?

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

See the FAQ on my web site regarding this very issue. 800 x 600 is NOT a
good option

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Guest]

So in other words, live with the black borders, or perhaps "frame" it with something else, or Crop it to fit full screen.

I believe I understand a lot better now. I will head home this afternoon and try out my new knowledge

Thanks

P.S. My wife called and my DVD burner did come in, so I may install that and see what I can do with it.

 

[Guest]

So you are saying that a 4:3 ratio is not what to use, since 800x600 (800/600 = 1.33333333) which is a 1 1/3:1 or 4:3.

And that you should use 3:2 ratio, which is 720x480 (720/480 = 1.5) which 1 1/2:1 or 3:2

One person says one thing, and the other says another. Who are you suppose to listen to on this site?

 

[John Kelly]

Hi there,

Well, the first point is, this is not a "site" its simply a
newsgroup...nothing more.

If you have looked at my website and at the FAQ on 800 x 600 you will see
what happens. I went to the trouble of doing it with pict5ures to
demonstrate exactly how an image can become spoilt, for want of a better
way of describing it.

At the end of the day. Try it out for your self and decide which way you
want to go, its how most of us learn anyway.

--
Best Wishes.....John Kelly
www.the-kellys.org
www.the-kellys.co.uk
All material gained from other sources is duly acknowledged. No Value is
obtained by publishing in any format other peoples work

 

[Guest]

In a round about way, I think you answered my question for me.