Apple Compressor 3 - Manual (Page 286)

Note: If you want to transcode a normal size standard definition (SD) source media file
(720 x 486) using an MPEG-2 NTSC setting, your output media file will be automatically
cropped (two pixels from the top and four from the bottom) to achieve the MPEG-2
required dimensions of 720 x 480, unless you already specified cropping attributes. This
crop attribute is only temporary and is not saved in the setting. You can see the
automatic crop in the usual way, by double-clicking the setting in the job to open the
Preview window. See
About the MPEG-2 Encoder Pane for more information about the
Video Format pop-up menu.
• Custom: Choose this option to manually enter values in the Left, Right, Top, and
Bottom cropping fields, or to adjust these values by dragging the red frame bars in
the Preview window. For more information, see
Making Geometry Adjustments to a
Setting .
• 4:3 (1.33:1): Applies an automatic center crop with an aspect ratio of 4:3.
• 16:9 (1.78:1): Applies an automatic center crop with an aspect ratio of 16:9.
• Panavision (2.35:1): Applies an automatic center crop with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
• Europe Standard (1.66:1): Applies an automatic center crop with an aspect ratio of
1.66:1.
• UK Standard (1.75:1): Applies an automatic center crop with an aspect ratio of 1.75:1.
• Academy (1.85:1): Applies an automatic center crop with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
• Letterbox area of source: This option allows Compressor to detect whether the source
media file has been letterboxed, and if it has, to enter crop values to remove the
letterbox.
• Left, Right, Top, and Bottom: The four cropping fields (Left, Top, Right, and Bottom)
allow you to crop the frame of your source media file in pixel increments. Most broadcast
video files have overscan areas. If the output file will be shown exclusively on a computer
screen rather than on a television screen, you can safely remove some edging from
your file without affecting the picture area. The numbers give the distance (in pixels)
between the edge of the original frame and the resulting cropped frame. All fields
default to 0.
Note: The regular (action safe) overscan area is the outer 5 percent of the image on all
four sides. Cut in an additional 5 percent and you have the more conservative title safe
area. So you can safely crop anywhere between 5 and 10 percent of your outer frame
area and still preserve the essential material.
286 Chapter 24 Adding Geometry Settings