iMovie HD DVD Widescreen Issue

[jcnytimes]

Hello there,

I exported a 16:9 HD movie using iMovie HD for edits and iDVD (both 6.0.3) for export. The image fits properly when the DVD is played on computers (both Macs and PCs), and when we projected from a computer, but when I try it on regular DVD players, the edges of the picture, I'd say 10% on both the right and left sides of the screen, are completely cut off. It's as though they've been cropped (improperly), or that the image is zoomed in.

What can I do to make the entire image show on all screens? Many thanks.

 

[sickmacdoc]

When you were in iDVD, did you have the "Show TV Safe Area" selected in the "View" menu? That will give you a preview (in the form of a red rectangle with everything outside it greyed out) of the area of the menu and final video that will show on most TVs.

iDVD: How to Determine TV Safe Area

This article discusses how to determine TV safe areas on iDVD.

Note: This document comes from the Mac Online Help document. It and many other helpful tips are available on your computer by choosing Mac Online Help from the Help menu.

The outer edge of your DVD menus and movies may not be visible on certain television sets.

For this reason, iDVD places buttons inside this outer edge (an area known as the "TV safe area").

To see the TV safe area for your project, choose Show TV safe area from the Advanced menu. A shaded area appears on the screen. The area that is not shaded is the TV safe area.

The TV safe area varies from television to television. The TV safe area displayed in the iDVD window is only an approximation.

In addition to this, using the "Show Standard Crop Area" selection in the same menu will allow you to see what portion of a 16:9 project will show on a standard 4:3 ratio TV as well (and will adjust the TV Safe Area to a 4:3 ratio at the same time).

The TV Safe Area is mainly usable in making sure none of the buttons on your menu will be offscreen when viewed on a TV screen rather than a computer, but viewing the movie in the preview mode with it on will at least allow you to see the portion of your video that you can count on being seen on TVs.