Aspect Ratios Adjusting

[wedge_oli]

So I mean, I appreciate how, on older movies, they release the DVD with both letterbox and pan and scan versions. However, I have a widescreen monitor, and it just bugs the hell out of me to see the widescreen movie tucked into a 4:3 aspect ratio tucked into my widescreen monitor. The end effect, of course, is black bars both on the sides and on the top and bottom. Is there anyway to get around this in the copying process? Thanks!

-oliver

[CWR03]

If you're playing a DVD on your PC, your software player may be changing the resolution for you, and not to a widescreen resolution. If you're referring to copying to a normal DVD-ROM, it would play at the same resolution, so you'd need to fix the problem anyway. If you're talking about an .avi file backup, ordinarily the video will fill either the width or height of the screen, with black bars filling the remainder.

[manono]

Hello and welcome to the forum,

You can crop off the black bars, resize it, and then reencode it for 16:9. If you can use DVD Rebuilder, it has a check box to do it automatically. You won't get a better picture on your widescreen TV than you would just using the zoom on your remote control, though. 4:3 widescreen DVDs just don't have the resolution to begin with, and reencoding it won't help any.

Edit: I just realized you're talking about a computer monitor and not a television monitor. Maybe your software player also has zoom/resize options. I don't know. but yes, it's still a fairly simple procedure to convert from 4:3 to 16:9.

[BSpielbauer]

So I mean, I appreciate how, on older movies, they release the DVD with both letterbox and pan and scan versions. However, I have a widescreen monitor, and it just bugs the hell out of me to see the widescreen movie tucked into a 4:3 aspect ratio tucked into my widescreen monitor. The end effect, of course, is black bars both on the sides and on the top and bottom. Is there anyway to get around this in the copying process? Thanks!

-oliver

I have a strong suspicion that your copying has nothing to do with the issue, here, and that you just need to adjust the display settings on your computer's DVD playing software. You did not mention which program you use to view a DVD on your PC, so I cannot direct you to checking this.

If I am wrong, though, and you have actually altered the aspect ratio during the process of making a backup, then you need to carefully check the software settings for the program that you use for the backup. This should not be happening, unless you specifically want it to, and even then it is only a very few backup programs that even have this capability.

Are you seeing both "letterboxing" bars and also "window-boxing" bars? Your post seemed to be suggesting this, but it was not at all clear.

Give us more info, and you will receive much better (and more accurate) help.

-Is this problem occuring on playback on a PC? Or is it occuring on playback on a standalone DVD player? Or, is it occuring on both? The answer to that will REALLY help anyone to narrow the problem.
-Is this problem occuring on just the "backups," or is it also occurring on the original store-bought discs?
-WHAT software do you use on your PC when you view a DVD? Windows Media Player? Roxio? Nero Showtime? Power DVD? Some other DVD-playing software? They all allow you to change some options for how to "frame" or "not frame" a movie, and if set incorrectly, you can easily see those bars on all four sides of a movie, even when there is no reason for this.
-WHAT software programs are using in order to create a back-up? This will be important if I turn out to incorrect, in my original hunch.

-Bruce