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This brings up a question of my own which I can’t seem to wrap my head around, and perhaps it is because I don’t understand the workflow.
Am I wrong in assuming that when you create a 100×100 pixel image with a non-square pixel aspect ratio that is dedicated to a particular video setup, that that 100×100 pixel image will display as a square in that particular video environment?
If I am right, then what is the point of previewing it with non-square pixels (the Photoshop default), when that does not reflect the final output? I simply can’t see why you would want to view the image distorted.
if the device has non-square pixels then a 100×100 image would not appear as a square. It would be squished or streched according to the PAR. Here’s an example: Think of a pixel in this case as being a rectangle that is wider than it is tall, say twice as wide to take an extreme case. A block that is 2 pixels tall and one pixel wide would appear as square. The whole point of using PAR preview is to approximate what the display will be on the target device.
John, some devices use non-square pixels, your TV set for instance. The point of having the non-square aspect in PS CS+ is that it can preview what the file will look like, it doesnt do a very good job because it uses square pixels to do it, but it’s a start.
Try drawing a circle in non-square and see how it helps with the preview on and off…on is what it will look like on the target device.
What then is the point of the Photoshop warning "Pixel aspect ratio correction purposes only. Turn it off for maximum image quality"
If you were working with non-square pixels you would want to view it as it will appear on the target device, no?
And your 100×100 canvas would display as a rectangle, but you could draw circles and squares within that non-square pixel matrix and they would appear square and circular unless you turned off PAR correction.
My guess is that Photoshop creates non-square pixels by using a special uni-directional image re-sizing so that you are looking at interpolation (lower quality) rather than "actual pixels"?
What I object to is that the warning "Pixel aspect ratio correction for preview purposes only. Turn it off for maximum image quality" implies that you must turn the PAR preview off to get the best preview of the file.
But this can hardly be the case. Why in the world would you want to view the image as distorted compared to how it will look in video?
I can just see showing a customer his file in Photoshop and saying, "Here, let me show you a higher quality display of your image" and turning PAR correction off, thus stretching the image. They would think you daft.
It’s the 8th item down the list. If you don’t see it, you have a bad install or have done something foolish like take the Photoshop icon out of its folder.
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