Hi to anyone that can help me,I am dubbing from the HD of my Sony RDR-HX1000 to a DVD+RW disc. However each time I try, the copy on the DVD is in a 4.3 format. I have tried several times using different discs and quality settings but the result is always the same. The problem is that every time I want to watch something I have recorded on DVD I have to set the screen size to 16.9 (widescreen) as this is not the default, even if the original was recorded in 16.9 on the hard disc.
There must be a way to dub in the 16.9 format but I cannot find out how, can anyone help?
Read the manual very carefully; you will find there are an awful lot of strange conditions that must be fulfilled before you will obtain a successful 16:9 copy. Unless ALL these conditions are satisfied, the machine will perform a 16:9 to 4:3 conversion whether you like it or not! Some of these conditions are sensible i.e. the original recorded quality must NOT have been LP, EP or SLP as these operate in half D1 resolution which doesn't lend itself too well to the horizontal 'stretch' inherent in 16:9 presentation. Other conditions seem daft, such as the need to dub to DVD-R discs, not DVD+R. I have no idea why this should make the slightest difference. It may be a commercial decision - Sony is allied to the DVD-R consortium so they may be attempting to make -R the more attractive format.
One clue that (sort of) reveals whether you will get a 16:9 copy is to check the availability of high speed dubbing. If this IS available, it implies that the machine is performing a straight copy. Any copying involving processing (such as aspect ratio conversion) can only be performed in real time.
Thanks for your advice Pluto. I have just re-read the manual, especially the section 'Before you start...’ which states quite clearly - When dubbed from HDD to DVD+RW or DVD+R, the picture size is always 4:3. it also confirms – When dubbed from HDD to DVD-RW (VR mode), the originally recorded picture size is retained.
The player does perform/allow high speed dubbing so I will try this method with a DVD+RW (as this is the only disc I have at the moment!) to see if this will preserve the original screen size, however I suspect it will not.
I suspect you are right. I also suspect that if you dub from HDD to DVD-R(W) that the original aspect ratio will be maintained when the DVD is formatted normally. VR mode seems to be sufficiently rare to be a real pain. I avoid it.
The manual implies that, in some circumstances, VR mode has different 16:9 behaviour to normal DVD mode. I fail to understand why this should be as the choice of mode has no bearing on resolution or other technical parameters. It's merely a format more suited to video camera use than standard DVD format.
Also, don't forget that anything recorded on the HDD in the lowest three quality options will always be converted to 4:3 regardless.
