Photo DVD Slideshow Maker - How to set aspect ratio and TV cropping options. Intuitive photo slideshow and DVD slideshow software.
How to set aspect ratio and TV cropping options properly for your photo slideshow
Before getting started, we should have basic understanding of aspect ratio and cropping.
What is Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio of an image is its width divided by its height. Two common video graphic aspect ratios are:
- 4:3: universal for standard-definition video formats
- 16:9: universal to high-definition television
However, most digital cameras supports both of these aspect ratios. You can take pictures in 4:3 ratio or 16:9 ratio.
Changing between aspect ratios
In order to display images/videos in one aspect ratio in screen of another aspect ratio, resizing or cropping is neccessary.
Bacially, there are two ways to convert one aspect ratio to another:
- Cropping: Remove outer parts of the image/video
- Letterboxing: Resize the image/video, and fill the blank spaces with letterbox bars (black bars)
Important! When you create a slideshow DVD, you must choose the right aspect ratio that fits your TV, or you will be unhappy with the results.
Let's see some examples.
These examples illustrate what you will see when previewing 4:3 image in 16:9 screen and 16:9 image in 4:3 screen, respectively.
| From 4:3 to 16:9 | From 16:9 to 4:3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Original Image |
4:3 |
16:9 |
|
| Scale to Fit |
16:9 |
4:3 |
|
| Scale to Fill |
16:9 |
4:3 |
As you may see, if the cropping option is set to "Scale to Fit", no part of the image is cut out, but the image is resized to fit the target aspect ratio, and black bars are added to fill the blank area.
If the cropping option is set to "Scale to Fill", there is no black bar, but large chunks of the image are removed from the top & bottom in order to achieve the aspect ratio conversion.
How to set a proper aspect ratio and cropping option in Photo DVD Maker
There are several ways you can change the settings of aspect ratio and cropping in the Photo DVD Maker program. You may try and see which setting can generate the output you want.
1. Set default aspect ratio and cropping option for the slideshow
Click the menu "View > Options" , and change the settings in teh "General" panel.
2. Change aspect ratio and cropping option before exporting the slideshow
When you proceed to the last step of creating photo slideshow with the Photo DVD Maker program, that's "Burn Disc", click on the "TV System" tab, and then make changes to the settings.
3. Change aspect ratio and cropping option for an individual image
In the "Organize Photos" section, click on the "Album Photo" tab, and double-click any selected image, the "Photo Configuration" window will pop up.
Right-click on the large image, and select the aspect ratio and cropping option you want to apply to that image.
Learn more about TV Cropping
Cropping refers to the removal of the outer parts of an image to improve framing, accentuate subject matter or change aspect ratio.
TV screen's physical aspect ratio and the video’s aspect ratio may not necessarily be the same. In certain circumstances, pictures/videos may be cropped to change from one aspect ratio to another, without stretching the image or filling the blank spaces with letterbox bars.
Converting formats of unequal ratios is done by either cropping the original image to the receiving format's aspect ratio, by adding horizontal mattes (letterboxing) or vertical mattes (pillar boxing) to retain the original format's aspect ratio, or by distorting the image to fill the receiving format's ratio.
Since the advent of widescreen television, a similar process removes large chunks from the top & bottom to make a standard 4:3 image fit a 16:9 one, losing 25% of the original image.