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Video Edit Magic
v4.46
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Video Dimension, Aspect Ratio and DVD |
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This article discusses how you can use
Video Edit Magic to handle different video clips
when making a DVD. It
also discusses video resizing techniques that you can use to fix problems that
arise due to mixing videos with varying video dimensions and aspect ratios in the
same timeline. |
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Understanding Video Dimensions |
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One of the most important visual characteristic of
any video is its width and height. The width and height of videos are
usually
measured in pixels and are collectively termed as the "dimensions"
of the video. Thus, if a video is 320 pixels wide and 240 pixels in height, it
is said to have dimensions of 320 x 240 pixels.
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The dimensions selected
for a particular video
will often depend on the
way it is distributed.
Videos that are meant to
play over the internet
usually have lower
dimension like 320 x 240
pixels. On the
other hand, videos that
are meant to play on the
desktop have higher
dimension like 640 x 480
pixels. High Definition
Television (HDTV)
videos have an even higher dimensions
as high as 1920x
1080 pixels. |
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Understanding Aspect Ratio |
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The aspect ratio
of a video is the ratio
of the video's width to
the video's height.
A video with dimensions
of
320 x 240 pixels has
an aspect ratio of 4:3.
That is, the width is
1.33 times as large as
the height. Video that
is 640 x 480 also has an
aspect ratio of 4:3. Notice that two video
clips can have totally
different sizes but the
same aspect ratio. |
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Standard aspect ratios
have been adopted for
both computer monitors
and TV sets. The
following table
summarizes the important
ones: |
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Type of Video |
Aspect Ratio |
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Normal Television and PC Monitors |
4:3 |
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High-Definition Television
and
Wide-Screen
Monitors |
16:9 |
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Cinemascope Movies |
2.21:1 |
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Television Picture Standards |
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There are three
TV picture standards,
which are used in different countries. The standards define a video's
dimensions and its
frame rate (the number
of times the picture
updates every second).
This table lists the
standards:
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Picture Standard |
Followed By |
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NTSC |
America and Japan |
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PAL |
Most of Europe and Asia |
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SECAM |
France |
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DVD Video |
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DVD videos are now the dominant medium for
movies and TV shows.
To create a DVD that
will play in any DVD
player, it must contain video encoded
using the MPEG 2
compression system, with specific
dimensions as dictated by the
relevant picture standard. For example, a DVD playable in America contains MPEG 2 video with dimensions
specified by the
NTSC Picture
Standard. |
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The dimensions as defined by the Picture
Standards for DVD videos are as follows:
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Picture Standard |
DVD Video Dimension |
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NTSC |
720 x 480 pixels |
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PAL |
720 x 576 pixels |
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DVD Video and Display Aspect Ratio |
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Both NTSC and PAL
videos have aspect
ratios that do not
match aspect ratio
for Television, HDTV
or Cinemascope
movies. Then
how can you play
back a DVD and see
the video in the
correct aspect
ratio? Each DVD
video has a Display
Aspect Ratio, which
instructs the player
(DVD player or
software program)
what aspect ratio to
use when playing
back the video. |
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If DVD video is intended
to be played on
standard television,
it has a Display
Aspect Ratio of 4:3.
Even though the
dimensions of the
DVD video are either
720 x 480 pixels or
720 x 576 pixels, it
is displayed with an
aspect ratio of 4:3.
This lets DVDs be
played with the
correct aspect
ratio, even though
all their video is
stored with standard
dimensions. |
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Resizing Videos |
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In Video Edit Magic,
when you create a video
meant DVD video then you
must select either 720 x
480 pixels (NTSC) or 720
x 576 pixels (PAL) as
the movie's dimensions. The video clips and
images that you add to the
Timeline will not necessarily be in the same
dimensions or aspect
ratio as the final movie. To fit these video
clips into the
dimensions specified
for the final movie, Video Edit Magic
resizes
the video. |
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There are many
things to consider when
you resize a video. To
demonstrate, we will use
a still picture instead
of a video. This will help you understand the changes
that occur in shapes when videos are resized. |
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As illustrated in
example 1, above, resizing the video to a
larger dimension caused some
pixilation. However,
the pumpkin's shape is
still a circle because
the aspect
ratio did not change (4:3
in both cases). In
all other examples, the
resizing involves changing
the aspect ratio.
Because of this, the circles have
turned elliptical or oblong. |
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Changing the aspect
ratio of a video can
make people look
distorted, either too narrow or
too wide. This is
not acceptable (unless
you do it on purpose for
a humorous effect). |
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Fixing Resize Problems |
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In Video Edit Magic, you can use the video clip's
Stretch Mode
property to change the way a video resizes. Let us try
fixing the problems
that we demonstrated
using the images above. You can fix
videos in exactly the same way. |
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First,
example number 3: After adding the video
clip to the Video 1 track of the Timeline, right-click the clip and select
Stretch Mode. |
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The following table
shows the effect different
stretch modes have on the way Video Edit Magic resizes the video
(and images). The original
image is the one illustrated in
example 3. |
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Stretch Mode |
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After Resizing |
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Stretch |
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You have seen this
before. The circle turns elliptical. In
movies, people will appear really fat. |
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Keep Original Dimension |
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Circles remain circular. The original dimension of the video
is maintained and
the video is centered horizontally and vertically. In our example, the
width of the video is smaller than the width of the
final movie.
A black background appears on either ends of the video,
filling the
space that
the original
does not
cover. The height of the
original
video is
slightly
larger than
the
project's
height.
Therefore,
some of the top
and bottom are cropped. |
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Preserve Aspect Ratio |
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Circles remain circular.
The original
video is
resized so
that either the width or
the height
matches the project's dimensions
exactly. In
this case, the height fits and the video centers horizontally within the
project's width.
This stretch
mode always
fits the
entire
original
image into
the final
movie with
no cropping,
and
preserves
the original
aspect
ratio. |
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Stretch while preserving Aspect Ratio |
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This stretch
mode is an
extension of
"Preserve
Aspect
Ratio".
The original
video is
resized so
that no
"letter
boxing"
(black
areas) is
visible.
If the
aspect ratio
of the video
doesn't
match that
of the final
movie, this
will result
in
cropping—that
is, trimming
off some of
the edge of
the image,
either at
the top and
bottom or at
the sides.
Circles
remain
circles,
though. |
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Now, let us consider
example 4. This is the
reverse case of
example 3. In
example 3, the picture
was resized to make it
wider. In example
4, it's resized to
become narrower.
See what happens when we
apply the different
stretch modes: |
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Stretch Mode |
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After Resizing |
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Stretch |
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Keep Original Dimension |
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Preserve Aspect Ratio |
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Stretch while preserving Aspect Ratio |
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The type of stretch mode to use depends entirely on
your movie project. The "Preserve Aspect Ratio" is by far the most commonly
used stretch mode. |
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Resizing between DVD PAL and DVD NTSC |
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As discussed before, a
PAL DVD has dimensions of 720 x 576 pixels while a
NTSC DVD has dimensions of 720 x 480 pixels. So what happens when you resize
between them?
The video will
become either narrower or wider. To
avoid this, it is
important to apply a stretch mode when using videos of one
picture standard in a project meant for the other picture standard. |
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Making DVD Videos |
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A standard DVD disk, both PAL and NTSC can hold up
to 4.7 GB of data. For video, a DVD disk can hold up to 120 minutes of standard
DVD video (MPEG 2 encoded). The process of making a DVD with Video Edit Magic
involves two phases. |
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Phase I |
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In this phase, you will use Video Edit Magic to
create MPEG 2 files in either NTSC or PAL picture standard. |
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| 1. |
Launch Video Edit Magic, point to the
File
menu and click
New
Project. |
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If you want to make a DVD NTSC then select 720 x 480 pixels as your project's
video dimension. In case of DVD PAL, select 720 x
576 pixels. |
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Add videos, images and audio to the
Timeline. If necessary, apply
stretch mode to one or all
the videos
and images. |
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Edit
your project
to its final
composition. |
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Keep the Timeline below 120 minutes if you plan to write your DVD to a standard
4.7 GB disk. In our experience, 110 minutes of MPEG 2 video can be safely
written on to a DVD disk. You can adjust your Timeline accordingly for higher
capacity disks. |
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110 minutes is 1 hour, 50 minutes. The right-most clip in the
Timeline should not cross the "01:50:00.000" marking on the timeline scale. |
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When you
have
finished
editing,
open the
File
menu and click
Make
Movie. |
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From
Output
Format, select
MPEG
Formats
and click
Next. |
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In
MPEG
Output
Format, select
MPEG 2 DVD (NTSC)
or
MPEG 2 DVD (PAL).
Select an
Aspect
Ratio.
The movie
aspect ratio
should
generally
match the
aspect ratio
of most of
the video
clips used
to create
the movie.
(For
instance, if
your video
clips are
mostly
filmed in
4:3 aspect
ratio, use
4:3 for your
movie.) |
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Click
Next
to start making the movie. |
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Phase II |
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Video Edit Magic can
produce standard
MPEG 2 videos
matching either the NTSC
or PAL DVD standard. Once you have
created your MPEG 2 video files, you must use a DVD burning tool to
create the DVD disk. |
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You can use any DVD burning
program. There are two important things to remember if you want the DVD to
play on a standard player: |
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You must create a
Video
DVD, and not a Data DVD. |
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You must set the region code of the Video DVD same as
on the player you
will use
to play the DVD. For example, if you want to play the DVD on a DVD player
sold in America, then make sure that you select the region code of "United
States"
(1).
It is
possible to
assign more
than one
region
code.
Assigning a
code of
"1/2/3/4/5/6/8"
would make
the disk
playable on
any player. |
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Please refer to your DVD burning software's user
guide for more details on how to create a Video DVD. |
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