Progressive (FILM) @ 23.976 fps conversion to 29.97 fps?

[Scooby-Doo]

I have two big questions that I am still unsure about, even after I've read over this tutorial a few times:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/

I am using Adobe Premiere 6.5 with an anime DVD that has footage in a 16:9 aspect ratio, and is Progressive meaning I was able to use "FORCE FILM" and it resulted in interlace-free footage.

QUESTION 1

The source footage that I am using has 16:9 Anamorphic ratio. I want to be able to resize it (while maintaining the aspect ratio). Specifically, I want to resize it so that I will not have to crop any of the frame, but instead just shrink it down, and letterbox it to compensate for the extra vertical space there will be.

I believe the resolution I would want is 720x480, and the AVS code I would need to use is:
LanczosResize()
But what parameters should I use? On the page:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/ ... atios.html
...for the "Entirely 16:9 Anamorphic Sources" section, it gives the following options:
1) Keep DVD Resolution and PAR
2) Resize to Square Pixel Aspect Ratio
And I thought #2 applied to me, but why does it list the resize as LanczosResize(848,480)? And how could I add a letterbox? Is the letterboxing something done in the editing program? Or should it be done in AVS?

QUESTION 2

I still cannot grasp completely how I should be converting my Progressive (FILM) footage @ 23.976 fps to 29.97 fps.

I want to be able to submit this video to a convention. So far, I have created my .avs and .d2v files. Before I begin editing, I would like to convert it to 29.97 fps so I won't have to worry about syncing issues later on.

How exactly do I do this? What is the most conventional thing to do? The only thing I could find related to this subject in the above tutorial was at the bottom of this page:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/ ... 24fps.html
...where it is titled, "What if I HAVE to edit 29.97fps but I want it to be progressive?"

Is this the most widely agreed upon method of converting Progressive (FILM) footage @ 23.976 fps to 29.97 fps, ESPECIALLY for the case of wanting the video to be in a convention? Are there any alternatives that I should consider.


Thank you if anyone can help...

[Scintilla]

And I thought #2 applied to me, but why does it list the resize as LanczosResize(848,480)?

That's the "resize to square pixel aspect ratio" option; 848x480 simplifies to approximately 16:9.

And how could I add a letterbox? Is the letterboxing something done in the editing program? Or should it be done in AVS?

You can do it in AVISynth with the <b>AddBorders()</b> command.

I still cannot grasp completely how I should be converting my Progressive (FILM) footage @ 23.976 fps to 29.97 fps.

I want to be able to submit this video to a convention.

What convention? Most conventions that take MPEG-2s are fine with MPEG-2s encoded at 23.976 progressive (with the 3:2 pulldown upon playback flag set).

So far, I have created my .avs and .d2v files. Before I begin editing, I would like to convert it to 29.97 fps so I won't have to worry about syncing issues later on.

Since you've already got Force FILMed footage, the usual way of doing this would be to edit at 23.976 (or 24, since you have Adobe Premiere) progressive, and then, if you HAVE to make it 29.97 interlaced, use the <b>ADTelecine()</b> AVISynth helper function that should be included in the AMVapp.

[Scooby-Doo]

And I thought #2 applied to me, but why does it list the resize as LanczosResize(848,480)?

That's the "resize to square pixel aspect ratio" option; 848x480 simplifies to approximately 16:9.

And how could I add a letterbox? Is the letterboxing something done in the editing program? Or should it be done in AVS?

You can do it in AVISynth with the <b>AddBorders()</b> command.

Do you mean that LanczosResize() command is what I want? For instance, would an AVS file with:
LanczosResize(720,405)
AddBorders(0,37.5,0,37.5)
...give me a final video with a resolution of 720x480, while maintaining the aspect ratio of the original movie, and also letterboxing it at the same time?

I still cannot grasp completely how I should be converting my Progressive (FILM) footage @ 23.976 fps to 29.97 fps.

I want to be able to submit this video to a convention.

What convention? Most conventions that take MPEG-2s are fine with MPEG-2s encoded at 23.976 progressive (with the 3:2 pulldown upon playback flag set).

So far, I have created my .avs and .d2v files. Before I begin editing, I would like to convert it to 29.97 fps so I won't have to worry about syncing issues later on.

Since you've already got Force FILMed footage, the usual way of doing this would be to edit at 23.976 (or 24, since you have Adobe Premiere) progressive, and then, if you HAVE to make it 29.97 interlaced, use the <b>ADTelecine()</b> AVISynth helper function that should be included in the AMVapp.

The convention is Sakura-con in Seattle, WA. Last year, for 2007, they required that:

Entries may only be submitted in the following formats, and must conform with the National Television System Committee or NTSC standards of 29.97 frames per second, and be no smaller than 640X480

Does a file with 29.97 FPS necessarily mean that it is interlaced? Is the only advantage of editing progressive footage mean that I won't have to deal with that "two frames blended together" look?

For example, I edited the footage while it was progressive, but had to change it to "29.97 fps interlaced" in order to submit it to a convention...would that mean that it would look the same as if I edited interlaced in the first place?

[Scintilla]

And I thought #2 applied to me, but why does it list the resize as LanczosResize(848,480)?

That's the "resize to square pixel aspect ratio" option; 848x480 simplifies to approximately 16:9.

And how could I add a letterbox? Is the letterboxing something done in the editing program? Or should it be done in AVS?

You can do it in AVISynth with the <b>AddBorders()</b> command.

Do you mean that LanczosResize() command is what I want? For instance, would an AVS file with:
LanczosResize(720,405)
AddBorders(0,37.5,0,37.5)
...give me a final video with a resolution of 720x480, while maintaining the aspect ratio of the original movie, and also letterboxing it at the same time?

I don't know if you can specify fractional pixel values to AddBorders. In any case, it's much easier on the compressor if you do:
<b>LanczosResize(720,352)
AddBorders(0,64,0,64)</b>

Note that <i>this is not correct with square pixels,</i> so you wouldn't want your Internet distro copy to look like this -- BUT if you are submitting to a convention, then you would encode this to MPEG-2 with the standard 4:3 aspect ratio flag (since most of them can't handle the 16:9 flag anyway, but check with Seijin Dinger -- if the con can handle the 16:9 flag, then you don't need to resize or letterbox at all, just leave it anamorphic 720x480) and it would play back with the correct aspect ratio.

I still cannot grasp completely how I should be converting my Progressive (FILM) footage @ 23.976 fps to 29.97 fps.

I want to be able to submit this video to a convention.

What convention? Most conventions that take MPEG-2s are fine with MPEG-2s encoded at 23.976 progressive (with the 3:2 pulldown upon playback flag set).

So far, I have created my .avs and .d2v files. Before I begin editing, I would like to convert it to 29.97 fps so I won't have to worry about syncing issues later on.

Since you've already got Force FILMed footage, the usual way of doing this would be to edit at 23.976 (or 24, since you have Adobe Premiere) progressive, and then, if you HAVE to make it 29.97 interlaced, use the <b>ADTelecine()</b> AVISynth helper function that should be included in the AMVapp.

The convention is Sakura-con in Seattle, WA. Last year, for 2007, they required that:

Entries may only be submitted in the following formats, and must conform with the National Television System Committee or NTSC standards of 29.97 frames per second, and be no smaller than 640X480

Does a file with 29.97 FPS necessarily mean that it is interlaced?

Actually, no. You can encode 29.97 progressive as well; however, if you edited at 23.976 progressive, then playback will look smoother if you telecine it and encode interlaced.

Is the only advantage of editing progressive footage mean that I won't have to deal with that "two frames blended together" look?

The main advantages are these:

- Given a constant video quality, you can encode your video to a smaller filesize if you edit and encode at 23.976 progressive than if you edit and encode at 29.97 interlaced
- You won't have to deal with deinterlacing later on for your distro copy (this is big)
- You won't have to worry about field order when editing and encoding

If your source is already 23.976 progressive right off the DVD, then there really is no reason to edit interlaced; as I mentioned, you can just telecine it after you're done if you need to.

Ask Seijin Dinger if a 23.976 progressive MPEG-2 with the 3:2 pulldown upon playback flag is acceptable. Most cons will have no problem with this (because it'll effectively play back at 29.97 interlaced anyway).
Unfortunately, I can't find the script or the MPEG-2 for the video I submitted to Sakura-Con in 2005, or I'd refer to those.

[Scooby-Doo]

I really apologize for asking so many questions...but all of this stuff is very overwhelming...it's difficult for me, and I am really determined to make a video. Hopefully, you will be able to answer my remaining questions. And thank you for being so patient!

I don't know if you can specify fractional pixel values to AddBorders. In any case, it's much easier on the compressor if you do:
<b>LanczosResize(720,352)
AddBorders(0,64,0,64)</b>

Note that <i>this is not correct with square pixels,</i> so you wouldn't want your Internet distro copy to look like this -- BUT if you are submitting to a convention, then you would encode this to MPEG-2 with the standard 4:3 aspect ratio flag (since most of them can't handle the 16:9 flag anyway, but check with Seijin Dinger -- if the con can handle the 16:9 flag, then you don't need to resize or letterbox at all, just leave it anamorphic 720x480) and it would play back with the correct aspect ratio.

I'm so sorrrrry...but I am still getting confused. First of all, I am not exactly familiar with Seiji Dinger, but I have seen the name "Dinger" mentioned on the Sakura-con forums. How do I reach him/her? Secondly, if I used the above commands you said:
LanczosResize(720,352)
AddBorders(0,64,0,64)
What will this look correct on? I have read in that tutorial that a monitor and a TV both have different shaped pixels (square vs not square). When I tried a test video using the above code and exported a movie, it looked vertically squished on my computer monitor. Would it have looked correct on a TV? Specifically, do conventions use TVs to display the videos on those big screens?

Another question...I noticed you brought it up, and a lot of other people seem to do it too, but they make multiple versions of their video? As in, one for a convention and one for internet distribution? I was under the impression that once we started a Premiere project, the resolution and pixel aspect ratio cannot be changed. How are they able to make two separate versions? Is it just a matter of going back to the main source of the footage (the AVS file), and then changing a few numbers?

Is the only advantage of editing progressive footage mean that I won't have to deal with that "two frames blended together" look?

The main advantages are these:

- Given a constant video quality, you can encode your video to a smaller filesize if you edit and encode at 23.976 progressive than if you edit and encode at 29.97 interlaced
- You won't have to deal with deinterlacing later on for your distro copy (this is big)
- You won't have to worry about field order when editing and encoding

If your source is already 23.976 progressive right off the DVD, then there really is no reason to edit interlaced; as I mentioned, you can just telecine it after you're done if you need to.

Ask Seijin Dinger if a 23.976 progressive MPEG-2 with the 3:2 pulldown upon playback flag is acceptable. Most cons will have no problem with this (because it'll effectively play back at 29.97 interlaced anyway).
Unfortunately, I can't find the script or the MPEG-2 for the video I submitted to Sakura-Con in 2005, or I'd refer to those.

Ok, so it seems like the best thing to do from what you're saying is stay with the progressive, Force FILM footage I have and edit it at 23.976 (but really set Premiere to 24fps).

So if I made my video under those conditions of 24fps in Premiere, you're saying a process called "telecine" would make it 29.97 fps interlaced and also compatible with a convention's requirements. I just want to be sure of this so I don't start on something and then have it be worthless at the end. Sorry...but I feel safer if someone "holds my hand" through this whole process... >_<

But by doing it this way...in the way you suggested, will there be any ramifications if I edited in 24 fps progressive? Specifically I mean, when I telecine it afterwards to make it 29.97 fps interlaced, will it cause the audio (the song) to not synch up in the way that I edited in Premiere at 24 fps?

And one thing I didn't understand from the above quote is when you told me to ask Dinger if "23.976 progressive MPEG-2 with the 3:2 pulldown" is acceptable. I don't know what you mean by this. Is this telecine?

If there are no syncing issues in the end, I will follow your advice thankfully...and in order to do this, you said:

So far, I have created my .avs and .d2v files. Before I begin editing, I would like to convert it to 29.97 fps so I won't have to worry about syncing issues later on.

Since you've already got Force FILMed footage, the usual way of doing this would be to edit at 23.976 (or 24, since you have Adobe Premiere) progressive, and then, if you HAVE to make it 29.97 interlaced, use the <b>ADTelecine()</b> AVISynth helper function that should be included in the AMVapp.

Where exactly in the whole process of making my AMV do I apply this ADTelecine() function? Because, so far, I have only been using AVISynth to convert the VOB files straight from the DVD into something accessible by Adobe Premiere 6.5. Would I need to export my finished and edited video from Premiere, and then bring that finished product into AVISynth and apply the AdTelecine()?

[Jnzk]

I'm so sorrrrry...but I am still getting confused. First of all, I am not exactly familiar with Seiji Dinger, but I have seen the name "Dinger" mentioned on the Sakura-con forums. How do I reach him/her?

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/phpBB/p ... file&u=960

Secondly, if I used the above commands you said:
LanczosResize(720,352)
AddBorders(0,64,0,64)
What will this look correct on? I have read in that tutorial that a monitor and a TV both have different shaped pixels (square vs not square). When I tried a test video using the above code and exported a movie, it looked vertically squished on my computer monitor. Would it have looked correct on a TV? Specifically, do conventions use TVs to display the videos on those big screens?

That script will create a letterboxed video with NTSC pixel aspect ratio. If you render to uncompressed AVI it will look vertically stretched on your PC monitor. However, you can encode this to MPEG-2 or MP4 (with x264) and specify the pixel aspect ratio as 10:11. Then the player should correct the aspect ratio automatically depending on what device you play the file on.

Another question...I noticed you brought it up, and a lot of other people seem to do it too, but they make multiple versions of their video? As in, one for a convention and one for internet distribution? I was under the impression that once we started a Premiere project, the resolution and pixel aspect ratio cannot be changed. How are they able to make two separate versions? Is it just a matter of going back to the main source of the footage (the AVS file), and then changing a few numbers?

You just have to decide if you want to edit with TV or PC pixel aspect ratio and resize the full quality export afterwards.

So if I made my video under those conditions of 24fps in Premiere, you're saying a process called "telecine" would make it 29.97 fps interlaced and also compatible with a convention's requirements.

Yes, 23.976 progressive -> 29.97 interlaced. If you use MPEG-2 you don't have to "hard" telecine the video. Just use the flag to make the player telecine it on playback, as Scintilla said.

But by doing it this way...in the way you suggested, will there be any ramifications if I edited in 24 fps progressive? Specifically I mean, when I telecine it afterwards to make it 29.97 fps interlaced, will it cause the audio (the song) to not synch up in the way that I edited in Premiere at 24 fps?

The run time of the video doesn't change. But remember you have to get your footage to 23.976 fps before telecining.

And one thing I didn't understand from the above quote is when you told me to ask Dinger if "23.976 progressive MPEG-2 with the 3:2 pulldown" is acceptable. I don't know what you mean by this. Is this telecine?

You can use a setting in the encoder to make your 23.976 fps progressive video play back 29.97 fps interlaced. In TMPGEnc for example you would have to set these options:

Frame rate: 23.976 fps (internally 29.97 fps)
Encode mode: 3:2 pulldown when playback

Where exactly in the whole process of making my AMV do I apply this ADTelecine() function? Because, so far, I have only been using AVISynth to convert the VOB files straight from the DVD into something accessible by Adobe Premiere 6.5. Would I need to export my finished and edited video from Premiere, and then bring that finished product into AVISynth and apply the AdTelecine()?

Yes.

[Scooby-Doo]

Thanks, both of you. Before this, I was really confused, and didn't really understand a lot of that article. I really appreciate your patience! I have a few more questions, but after that, I think I will hopefully have enough knowledge.

New Question
One question I have is in regards to the 24 fps editing. So, after I ripped the movie from the DVD, and brought it through the program to make the .d2v and .avs files, I have footage that is progressive at 23.976 fps. I read in the tutorial that Premiere cannot edit 23.976 fps footage well, but can edit 24 footage. Do I need to somehow change the fps of the actual footage from 23.976 fps to 24 fps (so that I can edit it at 24 fps in Premiere)? Or can I just import the 23.976 footage into Premiere and still select the 24 fps timebase regardless?

Secondly, if I used the above commands you said:
LanczosResize(720,352)
AddBorders(0,64,0,64)
What will this look correct on? I have read in that tutorial that a monitor and a TV both have different shaped pixels (square vs not square). When I tried a test video using the above code and exported a movie, it looked vertically squished on my computer monitor. Would it have looked correct on a TV? Specifically, do conventions use TVs to display the videos on those big screens?

That script will create a letterboxed video with NTSC pixel aspect ratio. If you render to uncompressed AVI it will look vertically stretched on your PC monitor. However, you can encode this to MPEG-2 or MP4 (with x264) and specify the pixel aspect ratio as 10:11. Then the player should correct the aspect ratio automatically depending on what device you play the file on.

Another question...I noticed you brought it up, and a lot of other people seem to do it too, but they make multiple versions of their video? As in, one for a convention and one for internet distribution? I was under the impression that once we started a Premiere project, the resolution and pixel aspect ratio cannot be changed. How are they able to make two separate versions? Is it just a matter of going back to the main source of the footage (the AVS file), and then changing a few numbers?

You just have to decide if you want to edit with TV or PC pixel aspect ratio and resize the full quality export afterwards.

I just must be incredibly slow, but when I read this tutorial:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/ ... ocId742447
...and any of the replies here, I just get more confused. My main goal is to hopefully see this airing in a convention, but I just don't understand if a convention would use TV or PC pixels.

Would it be possible for one of you to type out a sample AVI script with the exact resizing numbers I need, so I can see a concrete example? The conditions for the resizing are:

Say I just ripped my footage off the DVD, made the .d2v project files, and now have the empty AVS script. I want to resize my anamorphic footage down to 720x480 with letterboxing while maintaining the aspect ratio.

So if I made my video under those conditions of 24fps in Premiere, you're saying a process called "telecine" would make it 29.97 fps interlaced and also compatible with a convention's requirements.

Yes, 23.976 progressive -> 29.97 interlaced. If you use MPEG-2 you don't have to "hard" telecine the video. Just use the flag to make the player telecine it on playback, as Scintilla said.

Another thing that confuses me, I don't understand what you guys mean when you say "use the flag" or "make the player telecine it on playback". By "flag", are you simply referring to checkbox? And what are you referring to when you say "player" ?

But by doing it this way...in the way you suggested, will there be any ramifications if I edited in 24 fps progressive? Specifically I mean, when I telecine it afterwards to make it 29.97 fps interlaced, will it cause the audio (the song) to not synch up in the way that I edited in Premiere at 24 fps?

The run time of the video doesn't change. But remember you have to get your footage to 23.976 fps before telecining.

But I thought that I already had footage at 23.976 fps? Or am I supposed to convert the fps of my footage to 24 fps (to be used in Premiere), and then convert back to 23.976 fps (in order to be able to telecine), and then finally go to 29.97 fps (for the convention)?

[Jnzk]

One question I have is in regards to the 24 fps editing. So, after I ripped the movie from the DVD, and brought it through the program to make the .d2v and .avs files, I have footage that is progressive at 23.976 fps. I read in the tutorial that Premiere cannot edit 23.976 fps footage well, but can edit 24 footage. Do I need to somehow change the fps of the actual footage from 23.976 fps to 24 fps (so that I can edit it at 24 fps in Premiere)? Or can I just import the 23.976 footage into Premiere and still select the 24 fps timebase regardless?

I used to edit with Premiere 6.5 before switching to Vegas, and one of the reasons was that it didn't support 23.976 fps. There is a workaround though:

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/ ... 24fps.html

I just must be incredibly slow, but when I read this tutorial:
http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/ ... ocId742447
...and any of the replies here, I just get more confused. My main goal is to hopefully see this airing in a convention, but I just don't understand if a convention would use TV or PC pixels.

Would it be possible for one of you to type out a sample AVI script with the exact resizing numbers I need, so I can see a concrete example? The conditions for the resizing are:

Say I just ripped my footage off the DVD, made the .d2v project files, and now have the empty AVS script. I want to resize my anamorphic footage down to 720x480 with letterboxing while maintaining the aspect ratio.

The script Scintilla gave above is fine. Encode it to MPEG-2 with the correct settings and it will play at the right aspect ratio on both PC and TV. The convention staff will probably want to put it on a DVD at least for backup so a standard NTSC MPEG-2 encode is a good idea anyway.

Another thing that confuses me, I don't understand what you guys mean when you say "use the flag" or "make the player telecine it on playback". By "flag", are you simply referring to checkbox? And what are you referring to when you say "player" ?

By "player" I meant a software player (Windows Media Player, Zoomplayer etc) or a real standalone DVD player. "Flag" is a setting in the encoder. It writes an instruction in the video file, which the player interprets and does the conversion. Here are my usual TMPGEnc settings for reference:



Note the Frame rate and Encode mode sections. It is important to set Aspect ratio correctly. In your case with 720x480 NTSC fullscreen material, you should set it to 4:3 display. This will tell the player that the video is not in square pixels. If you'd be encoding for example a 640x480 clip that had already been resized (a fansub for example), you could set Aspect ratio to 1:1 VGA.

But I thought that I already had footage at 23.976 fps? Or am I supposed to convert the fps of my footage to 24 fps (to be used in Premiere), and then convert back to 23.976 fps (in order to be able to telecine), and then finally go to 29.97 fps (for the convention)?

If you do it "the right way", yes. See the workaround link I pasted above.

[Scintilla]

Janzki already hit most of the outstanding points, but:

Another question...I noticed you brought it up, and a lot of other people seem to do it too, but they make multiple versions of their video? As in, one for a convention and one for internet distribution? I was under the impression that once we started a Premiere project, the resolution and pixel aspect ratio cannot be changed. How are they able to make two separate versions? Is it just a matter of going back to the main source of the footage (the AVS file), and then changing a few numbers?

Not quite. You only have one version of the video project in Premiere or whatever your NLE of choice is. Then, after you're done editing and you've exported your master copy, you make multiple versions of <i>that</i> by applying different resizing and encoding settings to suit the applications.

For instance, my latest video used DVD footage that was 720x480, anamorphic 16:9.
I resized this up to square pixels and edited at 848x480. My Premiere Pro project was set to 848x480, and the master copy of my export was 848x480.
(You should always export at the same resolution as your project, of course.)

The version that went to conventions was 720x480 letterboxed in MPEG-2 and set with the 4:3 aspect ratio flag.
The three distribution versions were 848x480 in MP4, 640x352 in AVI, and 480x272 in MPEG-1.
For all of the above, I used AVISynth to resize and/or letterbox as appropriate to fit the desired size and AR.

[Scooby-Doo]

First off, I PMed Dinger and he said that I should letterbox and resize the footage.

The script Scintilla gave above is fine. Encode it to MPEG-2 with the correct settings and it will play at the right aspect ratio on both PC and TV. The convention staff will probably want to put it on a DVD at least for backup so a standard NTSC MPEG-2 encode is a good idea anyway.

The tutorial: http://www.animemusicvideos.org/guides/avtech/
...was a little ambiguous as to how to convert to MPEG-2. My understanding is that we must export our finished product into an AVI container using the HuffyUV codec. Is this file then just brought into TMPGEnc and put through the settings you have listed in the .png below?

Another thing that confuses me, I don't understand what you guys mean when you say "use the flag" or "make the player telecine it on playback". By "flag", are you simply referring to checkbox? And what are you referring to when you say "player" ?

By "player" I meant a software player (Windows Media Player, Zoomplayer etc) or a real standalone DVD player. "Flag" is a setting in the encoder. It writes an instruction in the video file, which the player interprets and does the conversion. Here are my usual TMPGEnc settings for reference:

Just to clarify, when you say "Flag is a setting in the encoder", the encoder we are referring to is TMPGEnc? And thank you for the settings in TMPGEnc, they will help a lot.

Also, do I have to worry about the settings in the other tabs, "Advanced", "GOP Structure", etc?

Not quite. You only have one version of the video project in Premiere or whatever your NLE of choice is. Then, after you're done editing and you've exported your master copy, you make multiple versions of <i>that</i> by applying different resizing and encoding settings to suit the applications.

For instance, my latest video used DVD footage that was 720x480, anamorphic 16:9.
I resized this up to square pixels and edited at 848x480. My Premiere Pro project was set to 848x480, and the master copy of my export was 848x480.
(You should always export at the same resolution as your project, of course.)

The version that went to conventions was 720x480 letterboxed in MPEG-2 and set with the 4:3 aspect ratio flag.
The three distribution versions were 848x480 in MP4, 640x352 in AVI, and 480x272 in MPEG-1.
For all of the above, I used AVISynth to resize and/or letterbox as appropriate to fit the desired size and AR.

Yay, thank you, I feel like I understand better now. So, does it really matter if I do any initial resizings? Can I just take the footage straight from the DVD and edit in Premiere, and worry about the resizings after the final product is done? Or do you recommend I do what you did, LanczosResize(848,480), and edit in Premiere in that size. Just to clarify, when you edited in Premiere at 848x480, you did not have a letterbox at this point and simply added it to the final product using AVISynth?



Also, I want to thank the both of you for taking the time and dealing with me. Your responses were very detailed, helped me a lot, and from this point on, I think I can safely start my project without any worries, aside from the smaller ones I asked above. I really appreciate it!