How do you handle PAL 720x576 widescreen (16:9) footage in your fave vj software?

[pikachu]

How do you handle PAL 720x576 widescreen (16:9) footage in your fave vj software?

If we watch 720x576 widescreen (pixel aspect ratio 1.4568) footage on an LCD matrix with square pixels, then the visible image size is 720x405 pixels.

So, on one hand it makes sense rendering the footage in square pixel 720x405 format if you plan making a widescreen show with a vj app, on the other hand most of the vj software rescales the footage to the internal processing resolution, which is 4:3 in most cases.

Am I missing something here?
How do you solve this?

Thanks!

[sleepytom]

Very few VJ softwares have proper 16:9 support and so your forced to work with anamorphic video and have previews which are 4:3

VJamm Pro is able to properly cope with 16:9 and can process both anamorphic and square pixel widescreen with the preview showing the true output aspect ratio. (vjamm can actually cope with any aspect ratio - including portrait and superwidescreen formats)

So in my fave VJ software i make 16:9 clips in the PAL+ resolution (1024x576) I use a output resolution of 1024x768 and set the projectors to anamorphic.
I set my preview aspect to 16:9 and then i have correct aspect preview and correct aspect output. I get very good frame rates from PAL+ and the quality is super. On my new computer i might well go up to 720p for the source resolution

[pikachu]

Thank you Tom!

If i follow you correctly, your vj app fills the whole frame (1024x768, no black borders, tall image), and you squeeze it to the correct ratio in hardware (projector and preview monitor). Is that what you are saying?

[sleepytom]

yes basically that is it - although the preview i speak of is the VJamm software preview monitor on my laptop. Hardware monitors are often 4:3/16:9 switchable so the advice remains the same

[rayrik]

I am most concerend about sensible way of saving my videos, my archives. When I started I did everything 4:3, projects in PAL;exporting QT Photo jpeg 720x576 and some AV material (complete songs) in mpeg for using with DVDs. Now since 2 -3 weeks I decided to be more "future secure" all originally widescreen material save in wide formet so QT goes 720x405. and mpegs widescreen PAL. ( due to growing number wide displays I am dealing with and I always hated 4:3 format anyway, even for watching TV or movies privately)
I am not clear about the difference PAL DV, PAL DV widescreen,PAL Standard, Pal IMX;PAL widescreen IMX project settings in Vegas, at the moment I set it to PAL DV widescreen.
For export- rendering I made a template PAL Wide which is -output type DVD, 720x576, aspect ratio 16:9 display. This is for DVD use (normal till I can afford Pioneer) and for using with Arkaos-QT Photo jpeg 80%, 720X 405, mostly with no audio.
Since that clip work is the most time consuming, and not paid, of all VJ related activities, I want to minimise repeating of such procedures.
Today I work with Arkaos, but who knows next year it might be VJamm or whatever other software that might become more usefull for me then Arkaos, same with hardware, who knows with what we will be working with in 1-2 years.
Would appreciate any suggestion how I could do better.