SD in 16:9

[barnacle]

 I have a consumer grade Panasonic PV-GS90P camcorder.  One of the setup options on it is aspect ratio 16:9 or 4:3.  I’ve always had it set on 4:3 and always had standard definition televisions in the house.  We now have two high definition TVs.  Is there any pluses or minuses to changing the aspect ratio to 16:9?  Am I taking the same number of pixels and spreading them out?  This is a newbie question but that’s how guys like me learn.  From the pros.

Thank you

[Rob]

The difference is your 16:9 footage will be enlarged and fill your HD screen completely. With 4:3 footage, the image is enlarged, but black bars remain on the sides because the aspect ratio don’t match.

I don’t think there is a difference in quality. I believe both the 4:3 and 16:9 footage are upscaled equally. But the upscaled 16:9 is probably more pleasing to look at.

[doublehamm]

Depends on the camera. If it is scaling to 740×480 for 16:19 it is a good thing (DVD quality). Some cameras actually chop pixels off the 640×480 SD footage to make it 16:9. If this is the case, I would stick with 4:3

[barnacle]

I made a 20 sec vid of the front yard in 16:9 and a 20 sec vid of the back yard in 4:3.  Captured them in Adobe Premiere Elements 8 and rendered as an MPEG2 and save to a USB drive.  Plugged the USB drive into the HDTV and played it.  Other than the change of scene (front yard to back) I could not tell a difference between the two clips.

Thanks for the input and I guess I’ll leave the aspect ratio at 4:3.

[theonecanoe]

Bill Dillon writes, “Thanks for the input and I guess I’ll leave the aspect ratio at 4:3.” Bill, if you could not see the difference between the two clips, then why leave it at 4:3 and have to view everything with those black bars on the sides?The future is widescreen. Set that thing to 16:9 and enjoy the full picture!

Wayne

[Author]

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