Converting to SD Video from a Widescreen (or letterboxed) source:

 

Programs Required: Goldwave Audio Editor, TMPGEnc MPEG Converter, Panasonic MovieStage

 

Part 1 – Goldwave Audio Editor

 

§         Run the program

 

§         File>Open the video file you are going to encode (this will take a while, depending on its length)

§         Once it opens, go to Effect>Resample on the toolbar.

 

§         On the box that pops up, type in 24000 as the value and click OK.  It will resample the piece.

 

§         File>Save As.  Save the file as a *.wav file that is PCM signed 16 bit, MONO. (preferably save the file into the same folder as the original video) This will take a while, depending on the length of the file.

 

§         Close the program

 

Part 2 – TMPGEnc MPEG Encoder

 

§         Run the progam

 

If this is your first time running the program, a wizard will appear.  If you wish, untick the box in the bottom left corner to prevent the wizard appearing again (you can find it later under the file menu), and click cancel.

 

§         Click browse, next to video source, and find the video file you wish to encode.

 

§         Click browse, next to audio source, and find the created audio file for the video you wish to encode.

 

§         Click setting, in the bottom right corner.

 

§         Ensure that the aspect ratio is set to 4:3, and at the bottom the motion search precision is set to highest quality (very slow) [this ensures the highest quality encoding, feel free to use the other settings if you want to encode quicker]

 

§         Click on the advanced tab.  Set the source aspect ratio correctly, if it has not been done by the program, depending on the file.  [Remember, if the video file is actually a square box, even with a letterbox picture inside it, the file is still classified as 4:3]  Also ensure the ‘video arrange setting’ is set to ‘no margin (keep aspect ratio)’.

 

>>> n.b. DivX TV shows are normally encoded with a 1:1 VGA format (this will show up in source aspect ratio under the advanced tab). In this instance, you will also want to make sure that your aspect ratio under the video tab is also 1:1 VGA.

 

>>> n.b. Where there is a letterbox picture on a 4:3 source, you may decide that you don’t want any border.  To solve this, double-click on clip frame under the advanced tab.  Use the top/bottom values to cut out any top/bottom border.  Once you have selected the correct values, click arrange setting and select no margin (keep aspect ratio).  Then click OK to return.   

 

§         Click OK to close the settings window.

 

Now comes the important part:

 

§         When you are finished with the settings (you may also wish to change the source range of the video file under the advanced tab, to select only a portion of the video file) click file>output to file>avi file.  A Save As dialog box will appear.

 

§         Firstly, set frame for interleave width to 5.

 

§         Next, click setting next to video.

 

§         Set compression to Microsoft MPEG-4 Video Codec V1 (you can leave the data rate). 

Note:  If you do not see this option, you will need to download the K-Lite Codec Pack – details are in Getting Started.

 

§         Now click setting on the right.

 

§         Set keyframe to every 1 second, set compression control to 75, and data rate to 6000.

 

§         Click OK twice to return to the Save As dialog box.

 

§         Click setting next to audio.

 

§         Set the audio to PCM, 24.000 kHz, 16 Bit, Mono. You may wish to save this as Sharp 902 for later use.

 

§         Click OK to return to the Save As dialog box.

 

§         The box should now look as is shown in the image below.

 

 

§         Go to your MovieStage Encoding folder and type in an appropriate filename if you want. 

 

§         Click Save to save the file.

 

§         The video will begin encoding.

 

§         While encoding, click Option>Preview Option and decide whether you want a preview as the file encodes, and how you want it to display.  You will want to click the fix to 320x240 option as this will enable you to make sure the file is being created with the correct aspect ratio – i.e. your people aren’t too thin or fat. 

 

[If you are having problems with this, you will need to play around with the source aspect ratio in the advanced tab of settings and/or the aspect ratio setting under video]

 

§         You may also want to set how much of the computers processing power you want to allow TMPGEnc to use in encoding.  Use Option>Task Priority to set these settings.  Basically, high priority will encode the file the quickest, but render the computer unusable during this period.

 

§         Ensure the video has encoded – it should say 100% in the progress bar, and start should reappear.

 

§         Close the program.

 

§         Follow the MovieStage instructions to convert to SD Video.