How to convert from widescreen to fullscreen?

4Cowboys4Life · #1 (**permalink**) 11-20-2005, 04:44 AM

Hi everyone, I'm new to the scene and am looking to convert video files on my PC in the widescreen format to the fullscreen format so that I can burn them to DVD and watch on my fullscreen tv.

Any help concerning which software to use and guide to perform the action would be greatly appreciated.

Marc Peters · #2 (**permalink**) 11-20-2005, 09:43 AM

What software do you have available and are you intending to edit or just crop the sides of the video.

I assume you know that you will lose a lot of the picture and effective resolution by converting to 'full screen'?

Alan Mills · #3 (**permalink**) 11-21-2005, 12:18 PM

why not have the best of both worlds?

burn a widescreen presentation to DVD then anyone with a widescreen tv can watch it in all its glory. those with 'fullscreen' (4:3) tv can set the option on their dvd player to either 'letterbox' it automatically or 'pan and scan' it automatically.

The player's P&S option will likely as not simply crop the edges which may well be what you were going to do anyway. Unless of course you were going to go through the movie and p&S it 'properly', carefully framing each shot by hand.

Personally, I wouldn't be interested in a P&S copy of something I knew to have been widescreen originally. I would want the option.

4Cowboys4Life · #4 (**permalink**) 11-22-2005, 12:52 AM

Thanks both of you for your replies. You've pretty much told me what I needed to know, and that there is no way to convert from WS to FS without losing some of the frame.

Alan, so if I burn WS and set my DVD player to letterbox, what does that in effect bring?

Thanks again.

Alan Mills · #5 (**permalink**) 11-22-2005, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by 4Cowboys4Life

Alan, so if I burn WS and set my DVD player to letterbox, what does that in effect bring?

In truth I don't know what that combination will give. The two options do not really go together I don't think.

I suspect that you will get a small widescreen picture with a black border all the way around.

I suggest you have a test play at home. Just take any DVD you have as I can't remember the last time I bought a movie on DVD that was nto widescreen. Set you TV to P&S mode and then try the different display options on your DVD player. I believe havign the TV in P&S mode and the player in P&S mode also will effectively crop the sides off the full widescrene picture, filling your 4:3 TV with the middle part of the movie.

Assuming it does, then I think that is your best option and you can please everyone and, at the same time, only have to create one 'master' DVD.

4Cowboys4Life · #6 (**permalink**) 11-23-2005, 04:03 AM

Originally Posted by Alan Mills

Originally Posted by 4Cowboys4Life

Alan, so if I burn WS and set my DVD player to letterbox, what does that in effect bring?

In truth I don't know what that combination will give. The two options do not really go together I don't think.

I suspect that you will get a small widescreen picture with a black border all the way around.

I suggest you have a test play at home. Just take any DVD you have as I can't remember the last time I bought a movie on DVD that was nto widescreen. Set you TV to P&S mode and then try the different display options on your DVD player. I believe havign the TV in P&S mode and the player in P&S mode also will effectively crop the sides off the full widescrene picture, filling your 4:3 TV with the middle part of the movie.

Assuming it does, then I think that is your best option and you can please everyone and, at the same time, only have to create one 'master' DVD.

Thanks again.