You can choose to output movies in standard (4:3) aspect ratio, widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio, or a custom aspect ratio.
If you are making a movie for DVD, you can choose either standard (4:3) or widescreen (16:9). If you are making a movie to be shown on an High Definition TV, you should choose widescreen (16:9).
To change the aspect ratio for your document
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On Mac OS, choose
→ or click on the button in the tool bar. -
On Windows, choose
→ or click on the button in the tool bar. -
Select either Standard (4:3), Widescreen (16:9), or Same as Movie Size in the pop-up menu.
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If you selected Same as Movie Size, then the aspect ratio will match the values entered in the Movie Size section. Enter the desired values there.
An anamorphic video is one that is stretched. For instance, you can produce a 16:9 aspect ratio video but fit it into 640x480 pixels (4:3). The video will appear to be squished horizontally when played on a regular television. Some widescreen televisions will unstretch the video for you and allow you to view it properly as widescreen.
If you want to produce a widescreen DVD that will only play on televisions capable of playing anamorphic video (that is, televisions that can unstretch the video), render to Full Quality DV and burn a DVD anamorphically with Toast or iDVD and let the TV fix the aspect ratio. You will have to view the DVD on a TV that supports anamorphic video.
If you want to produce a widescreen DVD that plays with black bars on top/bottom when viewed on a regular television and plays widescreen on a widescreen television, you must use a sophisticated DVD burning software package such as DVD Studio Pro. It will play with black bars on the top and bottom on standard televisions and play widescreen on widescreen televisions.