HD 16:9 preview via Nx S-VHS

[Martin_Gleeson]

I'm sure there is nothing that can be done for this, but I'm just curious. HD and 16:9 in Edius is all new to me, so I'm sorry if this is question is a bit dense.

I have captured from HD camera using capture settings of HQ 1440x1080 50i. I think this is the correct setting. The footage certainly looks fine and when exported to DVD, it also looked fine.

However, at present, my preview monitor is a simple CRT 4:3 TV connected to the NX card via S-VHS. When I have project settings set to HD, I get no output on this monitor. This is fine as I presume that the S-VHS connection does not down-convert HD to SD for preview.

I then decided to change the project settings to SD so I could preview on the output monitor. This worked except I cannot find any 16:9 SD preset. They all seem to be 720x576 (PAL) settings. The result is the preview monitor shows the footage zoomed to 4:3 with sides missing.

Should there not be a project setting for SD 16:9? Or do I have to select the 720x576 SD preset and then change the properties of every clip so that the pix aspect ratio is different? I'm not even sure I can do that, and even if I could it would seem insane!

BTW: Yes, I will be getting a proper 16:9 HD monitor in the near future. But since I just bought two new HD cameras, mony is a bit tight at the moment!

Thanks
Martin

[antonsvideo]

the NX has 2 hardware 16:9 settings, 16:9 DV 720x576 and 16:9 D1 720x576, both will work fine but will never look correct on a 4:3 monitor that does not gave a switch for 16:9

no info will be missing at all, but everyone will look tall and skinny, good for some :)

[Martin_Gleeson]

Anton, yes, I think I had tried those settings too last night and as you say, tall and skinny (which would be good if film was of me). I guess I was hoping for a switcher, like a DVD does.

To be honest, I'm not surprised it's not in there. Anyone editing 16:9 footage should have a 16:9 monitor!

Now I have to buy a new 16:9 LCD TV. I can't justify the cost of a professional monitor. Any recommendations? I was looking at some of the new Samsungs. They seem to have fairly good contract ratio. I think a 23" HD 16:9 screen would do me.

Thanks for the answers
Martin

[antonsvideo]

open the TV and put a small screwdriver in a pot that says V-height and turn until you see black bars top and bottom and the aspect looks close enough

don't get zapped, be careful

[GrassValley_KH]

Yes, be very mindful of the main lead that runs along the centre to the back of the tube. Not that I recommend even contemplating opening up your TV.

Some 4:3 TVs from a more recent era do actually offer a "widescreen enhanced" mode buried in their menu system - this is simply to display an anamorphic picture in its correct AR. Have a check of your TV manual?

Otherwise, if it's merely to preview, save the project in HD, start a new 4:3 project and import the HD sequence - stuff should be auto letterboxed for your viewing enjoyment.

Your only other option is a scaler, running between the NX and the tv. Brandon knows more about them then I do.

[GrassValley_BH]

A number of TVs automatically support 16:9, or have a 16:9 mode.
It is quite likely, however, that your SVHS deck does not recognize the 16:9 flag (if it is present at all), so unless your TV has a widescreen mode or scan-compression, you will need to live with the "skinny people" picture.

It's probably not worth getting a scaler just for this. I would put that money toward getting a 16:9 HD display.

[dvpro]

software solution

work in a 4x3 Edius project settings - you'll see letter box on your 4x3 TV

when you finish your editing chenge proj back to 16x9 and export ...

[Martin_Gleeson]

Your only other option is a scaler, running between the NX and the tv. Brandon knows more about them then I do.

Thanks everyone.

Yes, I'm not going to waste much time or effort trying to get this to work on a 4:3 screen. I was looking at this TV in the 23" model. Anyone every use it:

http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/television/tftlcd/le26r87bdxxeu.asp

Thanks
Martin

[STORMDAVE]

Since you have the NX, you shouldn't have problems connecting to this monitor via a Component BNC to RCA adapter...but then again, SD might not look so good on it, and scaling is all dependent on your LCD's capabilities.

When I use FCP, sometimes I use my second 20" Samsung LCD, and the scaling looks kind of bad, even though it's software based. HD projects will look fantastic, though.