Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 1917)

434 Part V Appendixes
Outputting Anamorphic Video to Tape
When outputting an edited sequence to tape using anamorphic video, you have two
choices, depending on what kind of equipment you want to play back from:
 Output as is, with the video appearing squeezed on a 4:3 monitor: This is the preferred
option if you’re planning to play back your video on a monitor that will compensate
for the proper aspect ratio, or if you’re planning to transfer to film. High-end
broadcast monitors can rescale for 16:9 at the push of a button. Some specialty
widescreen monitors, popular with home theater enthusiasts, will do this as well.
Some DVD players can letterbox or stretch anamorphic video on playback, so you
can keep your video in native 16:9 mode.
 Letterbox your video if you’re unsure how it will be viewed: If you’re unsure who is going
to be viewing the tape and you want to guarantee undistorted playback on a standard
4:3 monitor, you can letterbox your sequence by nesting it in a 4:3 sequence. For more
information about adding 16:9 footage to a 4:3 sequence, see Volume III, Chapter 30,
“Working with Mixed-Format Sequences.”
Exporting 16:9 Anamorphic Video
Instead of outputting to tape, you may want to export your 16:9 anamorphic sequence
to a media file for online distribution or DVD authoring. Here are some common export
file formats and the commands used to create them:
 QuickTime movie: For online distribution via the Export Using QuickTime
Conversion command
 MPEG-2, MPEG-4, or H.264: For DVD or online distribution via the Export Using
Compressor command
Unlike output to standard definition tape, which may require letterboxing to fit in a
4:3 aspect ratio, there is no need to letterbox media files because they can have any
dimensions you want (in this case, 16:9).