Letterbox format question

[rapscallion]

Now that I have a plasma, I'm running into a display problem with several of my discs. When played at the native aspect ratio, 2.35:1, there are black bars on all sides and the image is quite a bit smaller than the screen. ( as opposed to bars just on top and bottom) BTW, I've seen commercials on the networks (hi def) displayed the same way. My understanding is that this is called 4:3 LB vs 16:9 LB and is a result of the manufacturer's transfer method. The movies that are in question are both the Home Alone's and 7 Days 6 Nights (Touchstone). They display properly on a 4:3 crt of course.

Now the question : is there any way to edit the ifo's or anything else to force the image to display in 16:9 letterbox so that the bars are only at top and bottom and the image ar is preserved?

[r0lZ]

If I understand you correctly, this problem is caused by your hardware, and I doubt you will be able to fix it. However, you can try to change the AR settings in the IFOs with PgcEdit. (Right-click the movie PGC in the left pane, and select Domain Stream Attributes.)

BTW, have you verified the settings of your DVD player and of your plasma TV?

[rapscallion]

Thanks for the response rOIZ. No, the problem isn't hardware, it's directly related to how the dvd was originally authored/transferred by the manufacturer(ie 16:9 inside a 4:3 image vs 16:9 inside an 16:9 image). Universal is another one that used the 4:3 method. All the settings on my tv and dvd player are correct ( Pioneer 1140 and Samsung Blu-ray 1400). It is the same with these 3 movies on my older Samsung 850HD SD player as well. These are all SD discs BTW
I could select "widesreen" on the plasma but then the image is stretched/distorted.
Here's what I'm seeing (7 Days 6 Nights-pic 1 bars all around, X Men Last Stand -pic 2 bars top/bottom only, full 16:9):

http://mysite.verizon.net/fwk323/pics/ar_1.JPG

http://mysite.verizon.net/fwk323/pics/ar_2.JPG

[Video Dude]

DVD-RB by jdobbs can convert 4:3 LB to anamorphic 16:9.

[rapscallion]

DVD-RB by jdobbs can convert 4:3 LB to anamorphic 16:9.

Oh, really -I've been using RB since it's inception and never noticed that feature ! But, then again never had the need before. I'll take a look....thanks VD.

Edit: Coincidentaly I just received a mail that a new ver, 1.26.6, is released..

Edit#2: Ok I took a quick look and don't see that option. I use CCE as the encoder btw. Is it in a hidden setting or does it do the conversion automatically? Or via RBopt maybe? If you could steer me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

[Video Dude]

You can find the conversion feature in the AVS Expert Options section.

[rapscallion]

You can find the conversion feature in the AVS Expert Options section.
Got it VD-thank you very much ! I learn something new every day and thank you jdobbs for including that feature.

Why on earth any studio would opt for a 4:3 LB transfer is a big question. Thankfully, they're few and far between.

Edit:Encoding in process, I'll report the results, of course.

[r0lZ]

I understand now. Theoretically, there is a flag in the IFO to tell the player that the 4:3 image has already been letterboxed. You can turn it on with PgcEdit. It is called "Already letterboxed" and is available only when the AR is 4:3. When that flag is ticked, the player should send a signal to the TV and the TV should zoom in the image, to display the image full screen, without the black borders, but by preserving the pixel aspect ratio of the standard 4:3 image. However, very few DVD players take this flag into account, and here in Europe, we need to connect the player and the TV with a SCART cable, or the signal is lost. Anyway, you should have a display mode on your TV to do that manually. On my Philips 16:9 TV, it is called 16:9, and the real 16:9 anamorphic is called Full Screen. Somewhat confusing, but it works!

[rapscallion]

I do have the tv set to "full screen" but the image is as pictured. Yes, my Pioneer also is called "full screen" for 16:9 Anomorphic as well.

[rapscallion]

Re encoded 7 Days 6 Nights with the conversion in DVDRB and the result works perfectly ! Thanks for the help guys. (hopefully there aren't too many 4:3 LB discs in my collection)

[voo_doo99]

it seemed the conversion feature only available in the Pro version, true?

[rapscallion]

That is correct and I highly recommend it.