Trying to understand anamorphic

I posted this in the DVDSP forum, but I then realized that some of it deals with FCP -- so here it is again.

I've read the FAQ wiki and watched the excellent tutorial on multi aspect ratios. But I'm still a babe in the digital woods (I actually am a babe, but that's a post for another board -- ha!). I'm having trouble understanding the difference between 16:9 and anamorphic and 1080. Are these terms interchangeable (see how much I need you guys -- you probably spit out your coffee over that last one)?

Under my sequence settings for aspect ratio, it gives me 16 different choices. According to the tutorial, I'm supposed to choose 3:2 and then check anamorphic. But why do you do that as opposed to selecting say 16:9?

So, now that I've finished editing, what should I use in compressor to convert so that I can bring it into DVDSP so that I can put it on a DVD to show the client?

And any advice on what kind of settings to use once I open DVDSP.

I know these are basic questions, but I've already burned 4 discs that came out squished, so I'm sort of starting the process over.

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you probably spit out your coffee over that last one

A little bit, yes. It was a bite of a lemon bar, but still.

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I've already burned 4 discs that came out squished

Anamorphic discs are supposed to be squished. The television itself handles the de-squishing, or the DVD player if it's set up not to send the television an anamorphic signal.

Are you sure you're not doing it exactly right and then monitoring your discs wrong?

Hi, Jeff:

Thanks for the answer.

Anamorphic discs are supposed to be squished. The television itself handles the de-squishing, or the DVD player if it's set up not to send the television an anamorphic signal.

Okay, but it's squished sideways. As in there's black on the sides and the video is taller than what the original footage is. But since I posted, I went back and fixed my sequence settings, resized a few things and compressed it again, this time using the anamorphic choice in compressor and it made a new DVDSP project. No squishing.

And what does that mean, "anamorphic discs are supposed to be squished." Is there somewhere I could educate myself on this stuff?

I still don't quite understand anamorphic, 16:9, etc. And it's not really covered in the FAQ, so I was hoping someone who really understood it could 'splain it to me.

Also, how do you get those cool boxes around your quotes?

Simpler: there are only two aspect ratios (I know there are more than that but for our purposes only two) 4:3 & 16:9, a square and a rectangle. Anamorphic footage is a 16:9 picture "squished" into a 4:3 box that is displayed in 16:9. 16:9 & 4:3 are a ratio not the frame size, this is how you can have 1080 video that is 16:9.

Clear as mud right?

Here's tutorial I did on mixing 4:3 and 16:9 footage. It has a kind of 'starter' section on the difference between them that might help.

[www.kenstone.net]

We also have a few different guides in the Wiki, one of them here:

[www.lafcpug.org]

Thanks, Jude. That tutorial was really helpful.