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Chapter 58 Working with Mixed-Format Sequences 933
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Upconverting SD Video
Upconverting a 4:3 aspect ratio image to a 16:9 frame results in borders (or side panels)
on the left and right sides of the 4:3 image. This type of frame is sometimes referred to
as pillarboxed.
If the aspect ratios of the original and destination formats match (for example,
720 x 480 anamorphic footage upconverted to 1920 x 1080), you can simply scale
the original video to the destination size.
Rendering Mixed-Format Sequences
For the highest-quality output, you should always render any segments of a sequence
whose render status bars indicate that they need rendering. When you use the Print to
Video command, Final Cut Express automatically renders these segments for you. For
more information, see “About Render Status Bars” on page 884.
In some situations, you will need to render nonmatching clips to play back your
sequence. For example, if you add an uncompressed clip or HDV clip to a DV sequence,
you may need to render the clip in the Timeline if your computer cannot play back the
source media in real time.
Original
size
Original
aspect ratio
Destination
size
Destination
aspect ratio
Upconversion
method
720 x 480 4:3 (1.33) 1280 x 720,
1920 x 1080
16:9 (1.78) Scale up
and pillarbox
720 x 480
(anamorphic)
16:9 (1.78)
squeezed
1280 x 720,
1920 x 1080
16:9 (1.78) Scale up
1280 x 720 16:9 (1.78) 1920 x 1080 16:9 (1.78) Scale up