Squeeze Or Letterbox? at DVinfo.net

Nick Tsamandanis · October 20th, 2005, 07:15 AM

When downconverting to DV, for playback on a 16:9 TV which is the correct setting - squeeze or letterbox?

Boyd Ostroff · October 20th, 2005, 07:21 AM

Squeeze. That will give you anamorphic 16:9 at the full 720x480 resolution.

Nick Tsamandanis · October 20th, 2005, 07:26 AM

Thanks Boyd, and for which situation would you use letterbox?

Mark Utley · October 20th, 2005, 03:26 PM

If you're playing the footage on a 4:3 TV, like mine.

Dave Perry · October 20th, 2005, 03:48 PM

I never use letterboxing, regardless of the set it's palyed on. Your DVD authoring software should be able to flag it as 16:9 footage so it letterboxes automatically on a 4:3 set and plays full widescreen on a 16:9 set.

Laurence Kingston · October 21st, 2005, 01:08 AM

There are two occasions when you should use "letterbox". One, when you want to preview footage on a 4:3 TV. Two, when you want to burn a DVD on a stand-alone DVD recorder that doesn't have a widescreen setting. I would never actually capture footage for editing in the "letterbox" mode, even if it was eventually going to be played back on a 4:3 TV. I would just (as stated above) capture anamorphic and let the DVD player do the letterboxing. That way it will play back correctly formatted on both 4:3 and 16:9 sets.

Nick Tsamandanis · October 21st, 2005, 01:56 AM

What if you record to a DVD recorder that doesn't have a widescreen setting using squeeze - on a widescreen TV will it look ok?

Laurence Kingston · October 21st, 2005, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Tsamandanis

What if you record to a DVD recorder that doesn't have a widescreen setting using squeeze - on a widescreen TV will it look ok?

In that case it would look fine on a widescreen TV but vertically stretched on a 4:3 TV.

October 20th, 2005, 07:15 AM	#1
Nick Tsamandanis Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 318	Squeeze Or Letterbox? When downconverting to DV, for playback on a 16:9 TV which is the correct setting - squeeze or letterbox?

October 20th, 2005, 03:26 PM	#4
Mark Utley Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 479	If you're playing the footage on a 4:3 TV, like mine. __________________ Mark Utley

October 20th, 2005, 03:48 PM	#5
Dave Perry Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Roanoke, VA Posts: 796	I never use letterboxing, regardless of the set it's palyed on. Your DVD authoring software should be able to flag it as 16:9 footage so it letterboxes automatically on a 4:3 set and plays full widescreen on a 16:9 set. __________________ Dave Perry Cinematographer LLC Director of Photography • Editor • Digital Film Production • 540.915.2752 • daveperry.net

October 21st, 2005, 01:56 AM	#7
Nick Tsamandanis Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 318	What if you record to a DVD recorder that doesn't have a widescreen setting using squeeze - on a widescreen TV will it look ok? __________________ Nick

October 20th, 2005, 07:21 AM	#2
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,802	Squeeze. That will give you anamorphic 16:9 at the full 720x480 resolution.

October 20th, 2005, 07:26 AM	#3
Nick Tsamandanis Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 318	Thanks Boyd, and for which situation would you use letterbox?

October 21st, 2005, 01:08 AM	#6
Laurence Kingston Major Player Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Clermont, FL. Posts: 941	There are two occasions when you should use "letterbox". One, when you want to preview footage on a 4:3 TV. Two, when you want to burn a DVD on a stand-alone DVD recorder that doesn't have a widescreen setting. I would never actually capture footage for editing in the "letterbox" mode, even if it was eventually going to be played back on a 4:3 TV. I would just (as stated above) capture anamorphic and let the DVD player do the letterboxing. That way it will play back correctly formatted on both 4:3 and 16:9 sets.