Compressor setting to output 2:1 RED footage to DVD

Problem: If you want to make a 16:9 widescreen DVD from a video project that was shot in RED's 2:1 aspect ratio (ie. 2048x1024), some precautions must be taken during the final compression in order to avoid stretching.

If just drop your 2:1 video into Compressor, and apply a DVD preset, it will stretch your video vertically to fit the 16:9 frame. The problem is that it's a somewhat subtle stretch, so it's easy to miss the problem altogether.

Solution: We need to add letterboxing to the top and bottom of the video such that when it plays out in 16:9 widescreen, everything looks normal. It's easiest to just create a new Compressor setting to do this. If you don't want to follow these steps, skip to the download below.

In Compressor, locate the "DVD: Best Quality 90 Minutes" preset folder (in the "DVD" folder). Click on it, and then click on the "duplicate" icon (the third icon in the settings window). This will duplicate the entire folder, with the video and audio presets, into your custom settings folder (at the bottom of the settings window).

Locate the new settings folder. If you click on the folder, you can rename it in the Inspector window. I just appended "2:1 to 16:9" to the name.

Now, click on the MPEG-2 setting in that folder. This will bring up a bunch of info in the inspector window. Go to the Geometry tab of the inspector (5th icon), and change Padding Top to 27, and Padding Bottom to 27. Click on the save button in the lower right of the inspector.

Now all you have to do is drag your new "DVD: Best Quality 90 Minutes 2:1 to 16:9" folder on top of your video, and you're all set to go. The final output (which you can verify in DVD Studio Pro) will be a 16:9 Anamorphic video with some black on the top and bottom, so when it stretches out to widescreen everything will look right.

Download: If you're having problems, I've zipped up my Compressor setting for you. Download here. Unzip it, and drop the folder into the ~user/Library/Application Support/Compressor folder, then restart Compressor. The preset will appear in your custom settings.

Comments

[Bruce]

Thanks for the info here. It helped me tremendously. One question I need answering, though:

When I did this, I exported directly from FCP to Compressor. When I got the final render for the DVD, the black bars it gave me at the top and bottom were at 7.5 IRE and the rest of the blacks of the movie were in 0 IRE. To avoid this, do I have to export the movie as a Quicktime out of FCP and then import that into Compressor?

[John]

Hi Bruce,

The last time I did this, I felt that Compressor wasn't doing this process perfectly... text in my 2:1 project was a little messed up.

After fiddling with it, I'd now recommend creating a 1080p ProRes project (or even a 720x480 16:9 anamorphic ProRes project) in FCP, then drop the finished 2:1 quicktime on that project. It'll give you the proper black bars, and if you go with the SD size, FCP will likely resize better than Compressor. Then just output that as a quicktime and proceed in Compressor.

[Nicole Elmer]

Hi there...

We shot our feature on the Red in 4k at the 2:1 and have the hope for the final aspect ratio, through the use of matting, to be 2.35:1. We just taped off the monitor while on set to give us the correct perspective of what the final image was going to look like. However, we're having a lot of problems achieving this result.

I have been just using the widescreen effect in FCP set at 2.35:1 and exporting it to Compressor and doing the normal MPEG2 codec for the compression. But the subtle vertical stretching is there, and I'm not getting that lovely "panavision" aspect ratio I want.

Any recommendations?

[John]

Hi there, as far as I know there isnt a way to do 2.35 MPEG2 for DVD out of compressor, but this method should accomplish the same task for you: I think what I would try is to create a 16:9 HD sequence (ie. 1920x1080 ProRes HQ is good), then drop your final quicktime on that. Youll see the bars on the top and bottom representing 2:1. Then use the crop tool on the video youve just dropped in to bring it down even further to where you want it. In the end youll have a 16:9 sequence with bars on the top and bottom, and the actual picture will have a 2.35 aspect ratio. When you go to compress it, it wont get stretched or padded, and should look perfect.

[John]

Actually just to be safe, only use what I just said for a bluray project if you have to. For a DVD, do all of the above (cropping, etc) in a 720x480 anamorphic ProRes sequence. Thatll prevent both FCP *and* Compressor from resizing.

[Sarah]

Hi. I'm having this exact issue. Thank you for the zip file DVD preset folder. I just want to be clear... I shot with Red and I've been editing with the 2k files, thus my FCP setting for frame size has been 2048x1024 and I experienced the stretching to 720 x 404 when I compressed it for DVD in Compressor. I'm now exporting in FCP using Apple ProRes 422, frame size 720 x 480 with aspect ratio preserved in Letterbox. Is this correct or should I have used the a larger frame size? Also, I then drop this into Compressor with the preset folder you provided or it's all good to go without your custom preset now? Thanks so much!

[John]

Yup, dont need any bigger than 720x480 (but make sure its 16:9 anamorphic). Just use the default Compressor DVD compression settings though... you dont need my settings it youre doing that. I find my 2:1 setting best for quick outputs... just not final outputs.

[Sarah]

Thanks. It worked. I appreciate this information so much!