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View Full Version : Anamorphic vs. Letterbox in SubtitleCreator


vlada
2nd January 2006, 14:22
Hello,
I'm getting quite confused with subtitles on a 16:9 DVD. If I load a background image in SubtitleCreator and set AR to 16:9, it asks me, whether it is anamorphic or letterbox. I believe it has something to do with similar options in Muxman (PS, LB and Wide). I guess the first 2 options mean Pan&Scan and LetterBox. If the movie is 16:9, I can only select the last 2 possibilities. How is all this linked?
Edit: I found out it depends on setting PS/LB for video stream. I guess PS crops the image while LB adds black borders. Am I right?
I know that a standalone DVD player can work in 2 modes - anamorphic output and letterbox. In the first mode, all 576 lines (for PAL) are carrying one line from source image nad the player is signalling to TV, that the movie is 16:9. It is for sure a better option if a TV supports it and almost all modern TV do. The other option is there for old TVs and it adds black borders to bottom and top and resizes horizontally the movie.
Now when are the subtitles added to the movie? Before resizing or after resizing? Will the subtitles be stretched then? If I had a 16:9 TV (or a 4:3 TV in 16:9 mode) it will stretch the whole picture (including subtitles). So do I have to stretch them horizontally in SubtitleCreator? The subtitles will always be placed over the image in anamorphic mode. If I have a 4:3 TV and use letterbox, will the subtitles be placed below movie (in the added black border)?
What is worrying me is the fact, that if I choose in SubtitleCreator 16:9 and Letterbox or Anamorphic, there is always a black stripe below and above the active picture. I think this is simply wrong. If I choose anamorphic, the whole space should be filled with the active picture and the subtitles can't be moved outside of it. Unfortunately I don't have a standalone DVD player to test it.
I know I'm asking too many questions, but I'm trying to write a guide to create subtitles for DVD and I wnat to be absolutely sure about this. I don't want to spread any misinformation. And I got really confused.

Thank you,
Vlada

vlada
2nd January 2006, 21:44
I did a test and it really looks bad on a PC, as I expected. The subtitles are placed quite deep in active picture and are vertically stretched in VLC and MPC. I think the best solution is to have one subtitles in safe area for 16:9 displays. Then I will suggest to make a second verison, where the subtitles will be at the bottom of active picture.
But I still have no idea, how will the subtitles be displayed on a 4:3 with letterboxed output from DVD player.
Anyway I can say that SubtitleCreator is displaying the position of subtitles incorrectly. They simply cannot be moved outside active picture, but it looks like if you can in this program.