Encoding a movie when the size is non-mod16 after cropping.

[mob]

I would just like some of your opinions on something.

Whenever I encode a movie and I am left with a mod16 size after cropping, I always encode it anamorphically with no resizing at all.

However, in the cases where I am left with a non-mod16 size after cropping, I am always trying a different method.

So what I would like to know is how you guys are handling the above situation.

Lets say you were about to encode a movie and after cropping you were left with a non-mod16 size.

Would you...

A) Encode anamorphically and resize to mod16.

B) Encode anamorphically and overcrop to mod16.

C) Encode anamorphically with the non-mod16 size.

D) Encode to a standard square pixel resolution.

E) Other. (Explain)

...and why?

I'm just trying to find out what the majority of people are doing in this situation so that I can be more confident with my own decision, or possibly even be influenced by someone elses views and opinions.

[GodofaGap]

I would do B. For me it is the fastest and easiest way. I don't mind missing 8 top or bottom pixels. A and D seem very clumsy to me.

[unmei]

I usually do B) if the "overcrop" is only slight (max maybe 2-3 pixels on the "worst" side, depends a bit on content and my mood).

If i had to crop a considerable amount i usually do one of three things instead:
*If the matte is quite large but borders are clean and fixed E1) "undercrop".
*If the matte is not that large or i'm lazy E2) encode uncropped.
*Sometimes i also do C) - especially if the borders are distracting, ie distortions or the bottom line ends somewhere in the middle, possibly even with a moving "tail".

So far i have never felt a clean matte or non-mod 16 resolution would cost much bitrate. Well, i know it does cost some, but for me the effect is not that dramatic that i would chop off a large part of the active picture area or resize to avoid it.

[akupenguin]

*If the matte is quite large but borders are clean and fixed E1) "undercrop".
That takes more bitrate than encoding with an exact crop and non-mod16.

Consider: either you tell the codec that the matte is part of the picture and it has to code it as-is, or you tell the codec the real extent of the picture and it can choose to put whatever is most efficient in the padding region (and possibly exclude it from motion estimation, or do other tricks).
If a clean black matte were efficient (and it's not), then the codec could just put the matte back.

[xyloy]

exact crop and non-mod16 for me. ;)

[mod]

Exact crop and resize to mod 16 with custom PAR.

[j7n]

D) Crop any odd borders down to mod16 (after resizing). Square pixels. Resample during playback is a pain.

[Blue_MiSfit]

I hate resizers. I overcrop to mod16, and then once I have my output file, I determine the exact proper AR with media player classic manually, then use that AR to find the correct display resolution and remux with mkvmerge, applying this display resolution.

Then when I open the mkv, it automatically reiszes correctly :D

If only I could figure out a way for ffdshow to kick in and automatically reisize to my full screen resolution with lanczos4 or spline36, while maintaining AR and requiring no tweaking on my part. That would be truly cool.

~MiSfit

[unmei]

Thank you aku, i will think about that next time. Well a little inconvienence remains as i can't crop to odd offsets in avisynth with YV12 (and some filters expect mod 4/8 or even 16 i think, but then again i can just add the crop at the end).