16:9 format override

[pe3k]

Hi,

I have a recorded a tv show that was aired in 16:9 but the station added some subtitles at the bottom (in the black area) and now when I try to encode the movie into xvid, it cuts off the black parts and subtitles too. I have tried to use the Hidden options (override input AR 4:3) and it did not work and still cuts the black parts. I would like to process the whole screen, what do I do?

[homermaster]

I haven't ever tried anynything like this but just looking at it I would try playing with the .autocrop section. I would increase the number of frames to examine. I don't know how long it would take but it might be worth increasing the number of frames quite a bit. If the subtitles are always in the same location it probably won't require examining more than a few frames to set the autocrop correctly. If there are multiple lines that move up and down into the black area a lot I would find out how many frames are in the clips and set it to something just under that. I don't know what that will do to encoding time though.... but if it works I guess it's worth the time.

Of course keep checking back.... jggimi posts answers to these kinds of questions a lot and will most likely have a better answer for you.

[unskinnyboy]

So I take it you want to disable the cropping altogether?

Go to hidden options, check 'Tune auto crop paramaters' and lower the Threshold all the way down to 0. This will disable autocropping altogether and retain the black bars.

[pe3k]

thanx a lot guys, I'll get back to ya l8ter when finished :)))

[pe3k]

thank you guys, it works perfectly :)

[netmask]

I have a similar problem - if I download a 16:9 file from a digital TV station that contains a 4:3 image within (an old B/W movie) and make a Divx there is no problem as AutoGK does a an automatic crop of the black curtains of either side of the file.

Now if I try to make a DVD from the original mpg file the resulting image on the TV monitor will have the black curtains either side unless I set the pan and scan flag within infoedit. This works on just about every DVD player I have had access to except for my friends DVD player a Pioneer DK-535!! The black bars either side are still there and the image is squashed upwards.

Sorry for the longwinded lead-up! The question is - is there an "AutoCrop" program that will accept a mpg file and output a mpg file - a sort of autocrop for making DVD's so that you would end up with a full screen 4:3 image... phew!!!

[dap_werewolf]

Sounds to me like that's not a cropping problem but a problem of choosing the wrong aspect ratio.

[netmask]

No the aspect ratio is correct - Digital TV in Australia always transmits a 16:9 transport stream. If the program that is being transmitted is an old movie shot in 4:3 then it appears (on a 4:3 TV) as a smaller 4:3 picture with black bands top and bottom and left and right. In the STB there is an option on the remote called 'Centre Cut 4:3' that makes the picture fill the 4:3 TV screen, purely a local effect that has no effect on the TS stream if you record it.

I have found a solution since posting. In ProjectX there is a default setting to untick 'set resolution in SDE' and again when makeing the DVD in the IFO files tick Pan and Scan and untick the other 2 options. This will force the DVD player, especially the older types including the Pioneer to display a full screen 4:3 image. Works like a dream.

If you are making a DivX you don't have to go to all this drama as long as you present a valid MPEG2 rendition to AutoGk it then takes care of the black bars with it's black detect and autocrop feature. I was just hoping there may be a MPEG2 bit of software to do this automatically... phew!!!

[soundview]

Could I ask a quick question along similar lines?

I'm in Oz also and have an Austar Satellite decoder which I've set to display 16:9, and my Widescreen TV is set to this ratio also. So far so good ... source programs that are broadcast in either 4:3 or 16:9 display correctly. But, here's my problem ... I also have a Pioneer DVR-520H on which I've recorded a 4:3 program to its hard drive. The recording looks fine when played back on a widescreen Tele in 16:9 mode, but unfortunately when the program is transferred to DVD-R, it's the wrong aspect when played back on a 4:3 TV ... the picture is understandably squashed horizontally. I understand why etc, ... but my question is, is there anyway I can re-scale the program so it's in its right proportion again for a 4:3 display?

I found a small PC app that can tell a DVD's info file(?) to change the displayed ratio, and although this fixes the proportion of the picture, the whole thing becomes much smaller and doesn't fill the screen. Can I somehow re-scale the recorded (horizontally-squashed) image so it's the right proportion again while at the same time filling a 4:3 screen ... kind of the exact opposite to what the Austar box does to a 4:3 program when it's set to output in 16:9?

I hope all that made sense. Any advice greatly appreciated.

[netmask]

You need a program called IFOEdit, maybe that is what you used to correct the Aspect ratio?
If it was open the file VTS_01_0.IFO and you need to untick all the buttons on the right except the top button called "Pan & Scan" Tick this button to force the DVD player to present a full screen 4:3 image. This is exactly the problem my friend had with his Pioneer DVD player - it seems Pioneer ignores the SDE flag so this should work around it.

For the future (assuming this works) - If you are doing a full author of a mpeg file I would demux it through ProjectX and set the SDE flag off (untick) Then edit the file and remux it as your final mpeg for presentation to your DVD Authoring program.
Hope it helps..

[soundview]

Hi Netmask

Thanks for your reply.

You need a program called IFOEdit, maybe that is what you used to correct the Aspect ratio?
No, it was "IfoAR2WS." I'll get hold of IFOEdit.

If it was open the file VTS_01_0.IFO and you need to untick all the buttons on the right except the top button called "Pan & Scan" Tick this button to force the DVD player to present a full screen 4:3 image. This is exactly the problem my friend had with his Pioneer DVD player - it seems Pioneer ignores the SDE flag so this should work around it.

Thanks for these instructions. I'll give this a try and let you know how I get on.

For the future (assuming this works) - If you are doing a full author of a mpeg file I would demux it through ProjectX and set the SDE flag off (untick) Then edit the file and remux it as your final mpeg for presentation to your DVD Authoring program.
Thanks for this. Alternatively, if I can remember to find out in advance the aspect ratio of the program I'm going to record, I could set the decoder's ratio to the correct setting beforehand. ;)

Thanks again for your help. Much appreciated!

B.

[soundview]

Hi again Netmask

No luck with IFOEdit unfortunately ... the picture looked exactly the same. And the more I think about it, I don't think this method is the answer, as the picture is already 4:3 and is currently horizontally-squashed at this ratio. I think I somehow have to re-size the image horizontally. Would you know if there's some way of stretching the picture outwards to get rid of the current black bars and re-fill the 4:3 screen when viewing in 4:3? The only way I can get it to display correctly when playing from either the Pioneer's internal hard drive or off a DVD copy, is to play it on a widescreen TV and set it to 16:9. Then it restores the picture to the correct 4:3 ratio again.

Hope all this makes sense.

Thanks again,

B.