Resizing to widescreen

[mumdigaueln]

Hello,

I've got a NTSC-avi video (PAR 1.0000, DAR 1.333) which has 320x420 resolution only, but is of excellent technical quality. So I decided to resize it to fill a 16:9 widescreen TV. A short test showed that the quality after reencoding (with CCE SP 2.70.02.00) is still quite good. My first approach was

AVISource("F:\Video\movie.avi")
SeparateFields()
LanczosResize(720,240,0,0,320,120).Weave()
ConvertToYUY2(interlaced=true)

But the movie's height is strechted to much, so there are some lines missing bottom and top. I tried many more settings. Actually they look like this:

LanczosResize(528,240,0,0,320,120).Weave()
AddBorders(96,0,96,0)

Now the proportions seem to be OK, but of course I have those black bars left and right. How can I modify the script in order to get rid of those bars or at least minimize them without loosing the correct proportions?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

mumdigaueln

[scharfis_brain]

uhm, why interlaced resize?

post a sample clip.

[CWR03]

When you said DAR of 1.333, did you mean the video size is correspondingly 320x240? If the video is indeed 1.333, you will either have black bars left and right or the image will be stretched for 16:9, unless you crop top and bottom until you basically have a 320x180 source.

[mumdigaueln]

uhm, why interlaced resize?

post a sample clip.

My standalone DVD-player is set to RGB output (best that can be delivered to my TV), but then progressive is automatically disabled by the player.

Do you mean I should upload the first 2 - 3 seconds of the video?

mumdigaueln

[scharfis_brain]

My standalone DVD-player is set to RGB output (best that can be delivered to my TV), but then progressive is automatically disabled by the player.

Don't understand that.
What has the resizing to do with the DVD-SAPs output?!?

Do you mean I should upload the first 2 - 3 seconds of the video?

Yeah. The more, the better.

[mumdigaueln]

When you said DAR of 1.333, did you mean the video size is correspondingly 320x240? If the video is indeed 1.333, you will either have black bars left and right or the image will be stretched for 16:9, unless you crop top and bottom until you basically have a 320x180 source.

I just posted the figures as shown by GSpot:

- Frame Aspect Ratio 1.333 (4:3)
- Pixel Aspect Ratio 1.000
- Display Aspect Ratio 1.333 (4:3)

Do you mean I can't get those bars smaller? I've set aspect ratio to 16:9 in CCE, should I try 4:3? But then how to get correct proportions when the picture is stretched by the TV in wide mode?

mumdigaueln

[CWR03]

The image is 4:3, the TV is 16:9, ergo the TV screen is wider aspect than the video. Unless you crop the top and bottom of the video, you will either have black bars or a stretched picture. There's simply no other way to do it.

[mumdigaueln]

@scharfis_brain

I use the LINE output of my DVD-player (Sony DVP-NS730P) which can be set to VIDEO, S-VIDEO or RGB. When set to RGB (as I did) the 'Progressive'-button on the player's front panel is disabled, and the video signal defaults to NORMAL mode which is interlace. That's why I encoded interlaced, because I can't use progressive (and the TV wouldn't understand either).

I added a small portion of the video as you suggested.

Best regards

mumdigaueln

[mumdigaueln]

The image is 4:3, the TV is 16:9, ergo the TV screen is wider aspect than the video. Unless you crop the top and bottom of the video, you will either have black bars or a stretched picture. There's simply no other way to do it.

Of course, you are right. The question is: Is that what I 've reached so far the best I can do, or is it possible to further squeeze the bars left and right?

Best regards

mumdigaueln

[scharfis_brain]

That's why I encoded interlaced, because I can't use progressive (and the TV wouldn't understand either).

That's nonsense. Even progressively enceded stuff can be (asn will) transmitted interlaced.
If so as you described, you couldn't view a single Movie DVD, cause the majority of them is encoded progressively.

Put up a sample video.

[Kika]

@mumdigaueln
Progressive Scan on the player is disabled because it can't be used on F-Bas/Composite, S-Video, etc. This has nothing to do with an encoding mode (as scharfis_brain already said).

[mumdigaueln]

@Kika, @scharfis_brain

Yeah, according to my player's settings I can't use progressive scan. That means the video has to be delivered interlaced to the TV. Either the video is already interlaced (on the DVD), or the DVD-player has to put it into that mode.
From a quality point of view, which one is better: progressive video interlaced by the DVD-player, or interlaced video and the player takes it as it is? I don't look videos on the PC, so that doesn't have to be taken into account.

mumdigau

P.S. I just wonder why I can't see the sample clip I uploaded (as zip-file). Is there more I must do than hitting the upload button?

[scharfis_brain]

From a quality point of view, which one is better: progressive video interlaced by the DVD-player, or interlaced video and the player takes it as it is?

There is NO difference.

[mumdigaueln]

From a quality point of view, which one is better: progressive video interlaced by the DVD-player, or interlaced video and the player takes it as it is?

There is NO difference.

OK. Then I think it's better to encode progressive and let the DVD-player do what's best for the target device (interlaced output for standard TVs, progressive scan for beamers/TVs which can handle progressive videos).

Do you think the script is optimal as far as resizing is concerned?

Best regards

mumdigaueln

[scharfis_brain]

Do you think the script is optimal as far as resizing is concerned?

Put up a sample video.

.....

[mumdigaueln]

.....

Hopefully the sample clip uploads this time

[CWR03]

Of course, you are right. The question is: Is that what I 've reached so far the best I can do, or is it possible to further squeeze the bars left and right?

Best regards

mumdigaueln
Again, not without cropping top and bottom or stretching the picture. You can try a little of both until you find something satisfactory, but I personally would rather have the full, undistorted image.

[scharfis_brain]

I suggest to make a 4:3 DVD. 16x9 will be nonsense!

With the 4:3 DVD you can adjust the image with the 16:9 TV to your needs:
- pillarboxed in 4:3-mode
- lesser pillarboxing in 14:9-mode, but top & bottom slightly cropped
- fullscreen -> distorted AR
- cinemazoom (letterboxing) -> you loose a lot at top & bottom.

the script will be very simple:

avisource("model.05.avi")
bicubicresize(704,480)

but better use

avisource("model.05.avi")
limitedsharpen(dest_x=704,dest_y=480,ss_x=2.0,ss_y=2.0,strength=70)

[mumdigaueln]

I suggest to make a 4:3 DVD. 16x9 will be nonsense!

With the 4:3 DVD you can adjust the image with the 16:9 TV to your needs:
- pillarboxed in 4:3-mode
- lesser pillarboxing in 14:9-mode, but top & bottom slightly cropped
- fullscreen -> distorted AR
- cinemazoom (letterboxing) -> you loose a lot at top & bottom.

the script will be very simple:

avisource("model.05.avi")
bicubicresize(704,480)

but better use

avisource("model.05.avi")
limitedsharpen(dest_x=704,dest_y=480,ss_x=2.0,ss_y=2.0,strength=70)

Many thanks to your helpful reply.

I also had in mind to build a 4:3 DVD (that is where I started with in my resizing trials). But I gave that up, because as soon as I tried to enlarge the viewing area on the TV (4:3 --> 14:9 --> 16:9) I immediately run into loosing top and bottom lines, and proper aspect ratio. In opposite to your recommendation I resized to 720X480. Now I'll try and see how 704x480 will be less distructive.

May I ask two additional questions?

1. Your recommendations in limitedsharpen, are they of some kind of rule of thumb, or just related to the sample clip I uploaded?

2. Do you know of any method how to determine an appropriate average bitrate for encoding, i. e. a bitrate that keeps the source video's intrinsic video quailty? Using a too high bitrate would be a waste of space, too low would result in loss of quality. All bitrate calculating programs I came across so far, just rely on video length and target media capacity, none on the video quality itself.

Many thanks again.

mumdigaueln