freaky odd Fcp output size?

Ok- after a bunch of 16/9 fcp output problems/confusion/troubleshooting, heres what my problem boils down to:

FCP 7 , standard DV anamorphic timeline.
When I export, the aspect, as read in QT is 873 X480 (not 853X480, as usual)
( more specifically its 872.72X480). I trashed prefs on fcp using fcp assistant. ( next I'll try manually to make sure it got done)
I also sent the output to compressor and got the same thing 873X480

( and when I do a non anamorphic, standard output, I get 654.54 X 480)

Where this all flared up is trying to create a 16 9 iDVD which I have been doing forever successfully. Now, even if I fix the sizes in QT, iDVD does not read it as 16 9.

Can anyone help? I'm tearing my hair out. Where the hell is 873 coming from!

Ps. My test bed is an old project that previously exported correctly at 853X480. same timeline- or a new one now exports at 873X480

Thanks all-

Paul

oh- also sys 10.5.8 on mac pro 2.66 dual dual

Doesn't iDVD take an SD 720x480 anamorphic SCQT, set to current settings?

Seriously, I've never understood this whole resizing dance for DVDs. SD (DV/DVD) is 720x480 or 720x576 for PAL. You should never have to resize anything.



www.strypesinpost.com

Not exactly sure what you're asking?

a standard 720X480 anamorphic plays correctly in iDVD as 16 9 ( they show up as 853 by 480 when displayed correctly). You can see it in qt properties window

My output files, which should be the above, actually come out at 873 by 480, which seems to throw iDVD off. It plays the window squished at 4:3

The resizing dance you are referring to, I think is when idvd did not recognize a standard anamorphic file cuz fc did not set the anamorphic flag, necessitating a resize in qt. I think that has been fixed in fcp 7. Nonetheless, my files, with all default settings is outputting 873.

paul

I've never used iDVD before, but can't you set the flag in iDVD?



www.strypesinpost.com

no, you can't.

Any reason why you need iDVD? Why not give DVDSP a shot? It's actually quite easy to use. I've a write up on it.

[strypesinpost.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

yeah- actually the templates or one particular one I use a lot.

But in this case, I think I'm seeing a problem BEFORE I get to a DVD app. As seen in quicktime, the size is off, which I'm assuming- could be wrong- that this then causes a problem in iDVD. so to eliminate a variable I am looking directly at the FCP export in QT.

In any case though, thank you. I will definitely read your write up and have used DVDSP before too. I just find iDVD to be a really nice app for this particular quick, short, cool looking DVD


Paul

Made some headway and determined I'm not crazy!...ummm..mostly

once again, the issue:
anamorphic videos output from fcp would not play in iDVD as widescreen, even doing the old 'change 720 to 853" in QT properties ( which has often been necessary in the past to get iDVD to "LISTEN"

My Discovery: Aperture display modes in quicktime ( did everyone know about these?)
Link below
[documentation.apple.com]


In my testing so far- starting with same exported source file from FCP. ( which displays in iDVD as squished):

I can get the video to display correctly by doing the "change 720 to 853" trick ONLY if the aperture display modes are CLASSIC or ENCODED PIXELS. "PRODUCTION", the default mode, is what originally displays the vid at 873 (not 853) by 480. even changing to 853 in PRODUCTION mode does NOT fix iDVD- it still displays squished.

I'm going to investigate further, confirm with other source files etc, and try to actually UNDERSTAND whats occuring but thats where I am so far.

Good news: I can make 16X9 iDVD work like it used to.
Bad news: I'm still jumping thru hoops, making QT changes to get there etc

I'm sorry, did I miss the answer to the "why aren't you using DVD Studio Pro" for this? I saw the question asked, but I didn't catch your response. DVD Studio Pro requires no hoop-jumping when dealing with anamorphic material.

The answer is there above, but to be even more specific, one of the jobs I do constantly is actor's demo reels. ( an assembly of clips from their diff shows) I really like the Reflection Template in iDVD. It allows me very quickly ( 5 min) to get an animated, good looking menu that autofills with semi- random pieces of the reel. So kind of a montage menu for the actor, w/o actually making a montage. I know of no easy way to do this in DVDSP and these iDVD templates will not open in DVDSP. I have used DVDSP quite a few times, but for me , iDVD has a different , specific usage, so I really wanted to solve this.


Thanks

Paul

Huh. I was under the impression that iDVD templates were forward-compatible. But since I've never used either iDVD or a DVD Studio Pro template, I clearly have no idea what I'm talking about.

a few versions were, long ago,but that ability to open iDVD stuff in DVDSP stopped at about iDVD 4 or somewhere..not exactly sure on the number.. yes it would be nice, to build simply in iDVD , then go to DVDSP for much deeper control.

paul

Ohhhh, okay. So I knew what I was talking about once, but have fallen off the pace. This is a situation I'm very comfortable with.

You know, not to wander off topic too severely, but I've just never understood those elaborate animated DVD menus. They're a pain in the butt to make, and the audience hates them. (That is to say, I hate them, and I've never heard anybody disagree when I expressed that opinion, so I'm extrapolating.) Obviously I get that menus are necessary, being as how a typical commercially published DVD has more content on it than just the movie and you have to navigate your way through it somehow. But still, I have to confess that I just don't understand why they didn't fall out of fashion years ago when the DVD format was new.

well to be honest, I dont really use any of the other iDVD menus, in fact, I'm often shopping in iDVD for a plain still menu w/o the little "TV" windows where the video plays in the menu, before you hit play, so for the most part I agree.

But like I said, this is a special case. Short attention span agents look at these reels. I want to show them as many "looks" for my clients as possible, so this moving menu does that- (and hopefully intrigues them) and they can move on anytime by hitting play. Contrast that with putting a montage on the front of the vid itself ( which is out of fashion now). then they HAVE to watch the montage or fast forward. Mind you, I'm talking about 3 min videos total, but now people amazingly are going to 1 min videos so they dont have to spend a whole THREE minutes watching something. Welcome to Hollywood

Oh, sure. I wasn't criticizing you for doing what you're doing. I was just sort of rambling idly. I do that.

no problem. it actually gave ME a chance to rant a bit at the "just switch to DVDSP for everything" suggestions that are all over the forums. iDVD has been a HUGE timesaver for me so I'm reluctant to give it up. Consumer apps have their place..ok, now I'm rambling...

paul

Well, to be fair, DVD Studio Pro is overall a better tool for DVD authoring, and it's not unreasonable for "use DVD Studio Pro instead" to be the default option. You've got a reason for wanting to use iDVD, which is fine, but only so long as the time saved by using one of the pre-canned features outweighs any time wasted by fighting the tool.

"Use the best tool for the job" is a great rule of thumb. The problem with it is that it's not always obvious which tool will end up being the best halfway through the job. Even seasoned pros (from what I'm told) sometimes find themselves switching horses in mid-stream because of some unanticipated complication or such.

Agreed. In this case I think I would have to do a lot of work to use DVDSP, so I'm battling to stay with iDVD- for this purpose.

In any case- I love this forum, for its participation and questions. If i rail against "Blanket statements" like - "Just dump iDVD and use a REAL tool!" , its only a minor complaint and people's valuable inputs far outway anything else, IMHO.

Paul