Hello everyone,
I was wondering if you could help me out. I did my project in 16:9. Now in DVDSP I don't know wether to set the settings to "16:9 pan scan" or "16:9 letterbox". Can someone please explain the difference and maybe help me out in terms of which one I need to choose?
Thanks for your time.

Alex B.

Despite the confusing label, using the "letterbox" format assumes you are using anamorphic footage and is probably what you want.

Set the format of the DVD itself, all tracks and all menus to "16:9 Letterbox" (although you can mix them with 4:3 tracks and menus if you must.)

I believe "pan and scan" takes the central portion of 16:9 footage and displays only that, but DVDSP (and/or Compressor) doesn't have the correct tools to generate the flags to correctly pan and scan that central portion left to right across the widescreen frame, and was originally intended in the DVD spec. But don't quote me on this! :)

Just go for "letterbox", it's really anamorphic.

Thanks a ton Martin, you're a life saver!

Alex B.