Letterboxing 16:9 Video in a 4:3 Frame
To preserve the aspect ratio of widescreen movies on a 4:3 screen, widescreen movies
are scaled until the width fits within the 4:3 frame. The remaining space at the top and
bottom of the 4:3 frame is left empty and is usually black.
If a film or video was shot to be exclusively viewed in a widescreen venue, this
technique is usually the best approach for downconversion. However, this method
makes poor use of the already lower resolution of an SD 4:3 frame, because many lines
are not used at all.
To letterbox a 16:9 clip within a 4:3 sequence:
1
Create a sequence with a 4:3 aspect ratio. For example, choose the DV-NTSC or DV-PAL
Easy Setup and then create a new sequence.
2
Drag a clip with a 16:9 aspect ratio to the sequence.
If a dialog appears asking if you want to conform your sequence settings to your clip,
click No.
The 16:9 sequence clip is now scaled to fit in the 4:3 sequence and appears letterboxed.
For more information, see “
Scaling Images and Video Clips to Match a Sequence
” on
page 377.
720 to 480
1080 to 480
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Part IV
Real Time and Rendering