iDVD aspect ratio

[camilletom]

Hey yall.
I'd like to know:
when I choose to burn a DVD (in iDVD) at a 4:3 aspect ratio, it will fill my NOT WIDESCREEN TV screen, right?
That means that all of the DVDs I burn in this format won't fill the WIDESCREEN screen of the TV i'm gonna buy next year?
SHould I reburn all of the DVD of my vacations at 16:9, so they fill my widescreen?

 

[MisterMe]

Assuming an NTSC DVD, all DVD content is burned at 720 x 480 pixels irrespective of the aspect ratio of your source material. DVD pixels are rectangular rather than square. If your source is 16:9, then you use the widescreen setting of your DVD player or widescreen TV during playback. If your source is 4:3, then you use the 4:3 setting of your DVD player or TV during playback.

 

[camilletom]

Assuming an NTSC DVD, all DVD content is burned at 720 x 480 pixels irrespective of the aspect ratio of your source material. DVD pixels are rectangular rather than square. If your source is 16:9, then you use the widescreen setting of your DVD player or widescreen TV during playback. If your source is 4:3, then you use the 4:3 setting of your DVD player or TV during playback.

In that case, why does iDVD ask me to choose an aspect ratio?

 

[bmb012]

So it knows what aspect ratio to put the menu in, and in case you're mixing aspect ratios.

 

[camilletom]

So it knows what aspect ratio to put the menu in, and in case you're mixing aspect ratios.

Assuming i'm gonna buy a plasma widescreen TV next year, what's my solution?
Shall I burn every project twice (in 16:9 format & 4:3 format) so it looks good on my actual TV and on the new widescreen TV?

 

[theBB]

If your source material is in 4:3, it does not matter. Your TV or DVD player will know how to handle it so that you will view your vacation videos filling up your whole screen. However, objects or people will look wider or fatter on a widescreen TV.

If your source material is 16:9 (probably not), then I would prepare projects in 16:9.

 

[camilletom]

If your source material is in 4:3, it does not matter. Your TV or DVD player will know how to handle it so that you will view your vacation videos filling up your whole screen. However, objects or people will look wider or fatter on a widescreen TV.

If your source material is 16:9 (probably not), then I would prepare projects in 16:9.

When people look fatter, is it horrible, or viewable?
If it's horrible, what should I do, because i've been shooting videos with my camera in 4:3 for 3 years now (I chose that preference in the camera menu itself), and I don't think I can't tranform them to 16:9...
I'm dead...

 

[MisterMe]

... because i've been shooting videos with my camera in 4:3 for 3 years now ...

If your source material is 4:3, then you should do your DVD as 4:3. Some people don't mind the fat people created by expanding 4:3 material to 16:9, but I do.

 

[camilletom]

Is there ANYWAY i can transform my 4:3 movies to 16:9?
If not, should Is start shooting in 16:9?

 

[theBB]

It is definitely viewable and in videos I don't tend to notice it too much, but in slideshows it looks like I need to lose much more weight than I should in reality.

Any widescreen TV should give you the option to watch your videos in 4:3 mode by adding black or grey bars on the side. Yes, the viewing area of your TV will go down, but I think it is a good compromise. This is the same problem you'd face watching analog TV channels. Fatter people or sidebars...

You cannot really convert your videos into 16:9 unless you magically find additional footage of the sides or clip the top and bottom. My TV has some modes where they widen the objects on the side more than the objects in the center to make the scenes look a bit more natural. Still, it does not help a whole lot.

 

[camilletom]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
But I have a last question:
if I shoot in 16:9 format, who will it look on a standard TV?

 

[theBB]

You should see black bars on top and bottom.

 

[camilletom]

You should see black bars on top and bottom.

THANKS!