Camera aspect ratio wrong (it's squished 4:3 instead of 16:9)

Report · May 06, 2020

Hello everyone,

I'm using Character Animator with two different camera capture tools (Mokose USB3.0 HDMI/SDI Video Capture Card and Magewell USB Capture HDMI) and getting the same results: my video has the wrong aspect ratio. The camera feed appears "squished" in 4:3 mode, when it should be 16:9. I've used both of these capture tools with other software (Wirecast, for example), and they work just fine there. In the screenshot below, you'll see how the video is squished. I'm holding a roll of tape, which should be perfectly round; instead, it's oval shaped. I can't find any setting in CA to change this. And when I switch to my computer's FaceTime camera, the video output appears normal (4:3 aspect ratio, but not "squished."). Is this a bug, or am I doing something wrong here? Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

-Brian

Report · May 07, 2020

First, I love the classic use of a roll of gaf tape to confirm whether your aspect ratio is correct. That brings me back a few years to when I would do the same thing with a portable SD switcher I used when recording on-site meetings (thrilling, I know). HD cameras, SD switcher, web streaming platform that supported 16:9 SD... it was less-than-exciting.

Anyway, it sounds like you need to change an output setting in your capture card or software before the feed makes it to Character Animator. I know you said that the feed works with Wirecast, but is there a place to setup a profile for different pieces of software? Ch is just taking the feed it's been given. The only options you have are the ones you likely already found in the flyout (hamburger) menu of the "Camera & Microphone" panel.

Report · May 08, 2020

I was also curious whether it matters that the aspect ratio is wrong. It is only used to move head, track facial expressions etc. Just wondering if it simply does not matter if the aspect ratio is wrong.

Report · May 08, 2020

That's a good question. If the facial features CH is looking for are properly tracked then it might not matter. My first thought was that the mouth shapes might be the most problematic since the lips might not be in the shapes CH is expecting.

I wonder, though, if that's any different than if the video wasn't distorted, but it was tracking a long and narrow face.

Report · May 08, 2020

Thanks for your input, everyone. So I was able to correct the aspect ratio by using Wirecast to virually broadcast my camera to Character Animator. My camera now shows up properly as a 16x9 frame. It's a less than ideal solution, since it does increase my CPU usage. I would definitely consider this a BUG that Adobe needs to fix.

And yes, having the correct aspect ratio is important for me, particularly since I'm also recording on the source camera and plan to merge elements from Character Animator with that footage.

Finally, regarding the first post and capture card settings. Both the Mokose and Magewell devices I tried are "webcam capture cards" that are recognized by any computer as a webcam and hence have no drivers or output settings. I also have various Blackmagic Design capture cards and may try them using Wirecast to virtually broadcast them to Ch. I'm hoping the CPU draw will be less in that case.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Hopefully Adobe fixes this bug eventually, but at least I have a work-a-round for the moment.

-B

Report · May 08, 2020

The team can't fix what they don't know about, so if you file a bug at the UserVoice site, it'll get in front of their eyes: https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911317-character-animator

post as much detail as you can, os, CH version, capture card, camera, etc. even link back to this post. That'll give them the best chance of reproducing this bug.

You could also give the public beta whirl to see if there's a fix. I've been exclusively working in the beta for a few weeks and it's been nice and stable.

Report · May 14, 2020

I will definitely post a bug report. Thanks for the assistance again!

-B