Snapshot from Video Preview

RickD wrote on 12/7/2008, 12:15 PM
This used to work fine before version 8 but now I'm having trouble.

First, in the video preview window the project size is 720x480, the preview size is 720x480 but the display size is 655x480 and it's in red. Where did the 655 come from? How do I get it back to 720?

Second, the save snapshot button no longer works. Why?

Comments

goodtimej wrote on 12/7/2008, 12:31 PM
What you are seeing there is a representation of the square pixels being displayed. When working in NTSC DV (720x 480) you are working with a pixel aspect ratio of .9091. What this basically means is that your "width" pixels are stretched by .9091. If you multiply 720 (your width) by this pixel aspect ratio, you will come up with a number that rounds up to 655.
On the same token if you were working in NTSC DV widescreen (also 720 x 480), your pixel aspect ratio is 1.2121. Mutliply 720 (again the width) x 1.2121 you get a number that rounds up to 873, which is what would be displayed in that little field you were inquiring about.
You can find all these different pixel aspect ratios in your project properties. If you are just dying to have that display show in black and with the exact specs you list above, just change your PAR (pixel aspect ratio) to 1 in the project properties, but I really don't think this is advisable. I think you may want to just stay working in your intended delivery properties. I may be wrong, though, and hopefully someone here can shed some more light. Just filling you in on what I have learned.
Pixel aspect ratio gives me headaches and I hate it.
RickD wrote on 12/7/2008, 2:36 PM
So the behavior is different from 7.0? When saving a JPG file from the video preview window now with a width of 655, is it a more accurate representation than before when 720 was used?
Chienworks wrote on 12/7/2008, 3:14 PM
Is it more accurate or less accurate? The answer is ... yes!

If you're producing the still for use in photo editing software for printing or displaying as a still then 655x480 is better because it maintains the shape of the image. 720x480 would end up stretched out with "short'n'fat" people.

If you're making the still for tweaking and reimporting into Vegas then 720x480 is probably better since it will avoid resampling the image, twice.

Both versions of Vegas are capable of producing both sizes. It depends on the 'display square pixels' setting in the preview window and various other options. You probably changed these somewhere along the way with Vegas 7 and haven't changed them yet in 8.