User guide

15
Expert Mode Part 1: About
When you click the MODE button on the VIDEO or DVD VIDEO tab you switch between Simple Mode and Expert Mode. When in Expert
Mode, you see a new set of sub-tabs appear in the middle of the screen with additional encoding settings available. The options of each of
these tabs are discussed below.
Expert Mode Part 2: Quality Settings Tab
Options on this tab affect the quality of the video and audio channels of the output video file. The option ‘Keep Source’ retains the settings
already present in the video you’re converting.
Resolution: Pressing this button gives you a menu which allows you to select from a wide range of resolution options. You can choose your
resolution according to a percentage of the original source, screen size or aspect ratio.
Video Quality: This slider bar works in exactly the same way as the buttons described in Simple Mode. The higher the quality, the larger the
file.
Framerate: Again, this button gives you options to choose from. The greater the framerate, the smoother the movie, but the file size is
larger. By matching a PAL or NTSC framerate and resolution, you can convert a video file to PAL or NTSC respectively.
Sound: Choose between Stereo and Mono sound, and from a variety of quality settings. Where the sound coming from both channels is
predominantly the same, choosing Mono over Stereo will have little impact on reducing the size of the outputted file.
Expert Mode Part 3: Dimensions Tab (DIMS)
If the video you’re converting is off-centre, misaligned or zoomed in or out, you can correct this with the button marked ‘DIMMS’ (which is
short for ‘Dimensions’.
Position: Use the control arrows to change the position of the source file with relation to the output file. This can be useful for correcting
an off-centre source file or for eliminating subtitles or channel logos. Use the reset button in the centre to restore to default settings.
Zoom (middle): Use the zoom in and zoom out controls to magnify or shrink the source file with relation to the output file whilst
maintaining the aspect ratio. Use the reset button in the centre to restore to default settings.
Stretch / Shrink: Use the stretch and shrink controls to manually change the dimensions of the outputted file without linking those
dimensions to the aspect ratio of the source file. This can be useful for correcting files that have been encoded to a different video size
(widescreen, cinema screen etc) and have had their aspect ratio distorted.
Expert Mode Part 4: File Size Tab
Choose this tab and press the Estimate Video Size button and the Media Manager estimates the eventual file size of the converted video,
based on the currently chosen settings. If this is larger than you would like, go back and alter a few settings to encode it smaller. If you can
afford it to be a little larger, increase the quality. It’s a great way of finding out how big a converted file will be before going through the
process of actually converting it.
Expert Mode Part 5: Time Tab
Use the Time tab if you would like to encode only part of the source movie, for instance if you would like to crop the credits from the start
or end. Use the up and down arrows for Start Time and End Time to control Hours, Minutes, Seconds and even Frames.
The Media Manager will show you the total length of your output file after your changes.