Anomorphic Widescreen

[willster2k]

OK, I know that you are meant to encode these in 4:3 format. What I'd like to ask is there any chance of a thread where people submit the encoding of a wide screen dvd (eg 2.35:1 anamorphic) and the settings for correct encoding ?

[willster2k]

Or maybe I'm the only one that would want a comprehensive list of which format of widescreen a DVD is in order to make life that little bit easier... Is it just me or can you get anamorphic widescreen in 2.35:1 and 1.7x:1 ?

[markrb]

Actually movies are usually either 2.35:1 or 1.85:1 there are other formats as well, but these are the most common.
I really don't know how DVD2SVCD handles the different formats or if it uses 1 formula for all.

I always encode anamorphic as 16:9 and they have always come out fine. The only time I choose 4:3 is when it is matted letterbox, because the black bars are part of the original DVD encode.


Mark

[Matthew]

Originally posted by willster2k
OK, I know that you are meant to encode these in 4:3 format.

That's only if you want to play them on a widescreen television. On a 4:3 tv the picture will be stretched upwards (i.e. bad aspect ratio). If you encode at 16:9 then it will play fine on a 4:3 tv but on a 16:9 tv you will need to play in 4:3 mode - you'll get bars on the sides of the tv as well as the top.

www.amazon.com is a good source of info on format (for US region anyway).

[Linux]

It does not matter if the original movie was 2.35:1 or 1.85:1 or 4:3
A DVD is either 4:3 or 16:9, nothing else.
To compensate when a movie has greater width than the DVD, the DVD-maker adds borders at top and bottom.
When the DVD is 4:3 there is only one correct option and that is 4:3.
It is possible to convert a 4:3 to anamorfic 16:9 but this means chopping at the top and bottom and/or adding borders at the side. This is also a magnification of the movie, which should result in lower quality.
DVD2SVCD has only two options when the DVD is 16:9. If 16:9 is chosen borders are added to make a correct 4:3. Or if 4:3 is chosen the anamorfic structure is retained.

I myself prefer the last option because I have a 16:9 TV-set.

This is another ballroom when we are talking about avi/divx source which can be in any resolution

[markrb]

Linux thanks for the lesson I really did not know that. I have a 4:3 set and always just encoded by the way it said. If it was 16:9 I always did that and vice versa.
Now I know what to do if I get a 16:9 TV.

Mark

[SiliconSoul]

okay so if i have a normal tv what do i need to encode with 4:3 or 16:9 ? or just let dvd2svcd choice?

:confused:

yes i knwo im always confused... but they only way i will learn is to ask tons of questions!

[markrb]

If it's an anamorphic widescreen movie then 16:9.
If it's full screen then 4:3.

Tricky part is that if it's letterbox then use 4:3. This is usually only with older movies or better said older DVD's. I have only come across one when doing an encode. That was Dawn of the Dead directors cut.

This is for a regular square TV, which is 4:3.

Mark

[willster2k]

Encoding with DVD2SVCD with 16:9 option ADDS borders to the top and bottom of the movie - surely this means that if it's anamorphic then the correct aspect has now been lost when it's played back on a widescreen TV ? The future seems to be with digital TV's and probably widescreen too, so it would surely make sense to encode now for the future, unless you only plan to ever watch them on a 4:3 TV ?
Anamorphic DVDs have extra vertical resolution and don't need to be strecthed upwards by the widescreen TV, if these are encoded with the 16:9 option then you would be able to view them fine on a 4:3 TV or a widescreen in 4:3 mode. All I originally asked for was a thread which contained a list of DVDs and whether they were anamorphic or not as a lot of DVDs I have seen don't say if they are anamorphic which means having to search on several shop websites in order to find out if they are anamorphic.:confused:

[Kedirekin]

I don't think there is a list as such. People have mentioned that amazon.com is a good source for finding out if a DVD is anamorphic or letterbox. To me, it seems that whatever is on amazon (or anywhere else) is the result of human data-entry, probably by people who don't know anamorphic from a hole in the ground.

Perhaps a better way to tell is just to play the DVD in WinDVD. I've noticed that if a DVD is anamorphic, the playback window resizes so it's pretty wide. If it's letterbox, the window resizes narrower and you get black bars top and bottom in the playback window. If the DVD is full-screen 4:3, you get the narrow window, but without the black bars.

Note: you can get black bars with an anamorphic DVD too, if it is 1.85:1 or 2.35:1, so pay less attention to the black bars and more attention to the size of the window.

Hope that helps. Sorry I can't direct you to a list.

[mOE]

For me, DVD2AVI works very well to determine if it is an anamorphic or non-anamorphic dvd.

Just load the vobs and have a look at the statistics. If the aspect ratio shows 16:9 and the pictures are streched horizontally, so you have coneheads, the movie is anamorphic. In this case DVD2SVCD uses for aspect ratio 16:9 and will add black bars at top and bottom of the pix. Otherwise its 4:3 coded.

If you want anamorphic SVCDs always select 4:3 in DVD2SVCD. Then the aspect ratio is still the same as on dvd.

But my Philips player won't correct SVCDs for 4:3 TV sets so it is not possible to watch these movies on old TVs.:angry:

Thats all because Philips (and who else...) have standardize the SVCD format only for 4:3 sets.:devil:

[markrb]

Almost every DVD today says "Enhanced for Widescreen TV's" or Widescreen this means anamorphic 16:9.
Almost all 4:3 DVD's say Full Screen because most are anamorphic.
Letterbox usually means it's matted and encoded as 4:3.

I just randomly grabbed 10 DVD's from my collection and everyone of them says right on the box if it's widescreen (16:9) or not. You may have to look at the small print on the back, but it's there.
The DVD's I grabbed ranged from older to a new release.

Also as a last resort the DVD2AVI trick works well. When you start the rip hit the X to close DVD2SVCD this will finish the rip and then close DVD2SVCD. The just manually start DVD2AVI, load the Vob files into it and hit F5 there will be an info screen that tells you the aspect ration. Then simply start back up DVD2SVCD, shut off ripping, select the ripped IFO from you HD and go as normal.

As for creating a list here for movies it's just too huge of a task. There are thousands upon thousands of DVD's out now.

Mark

[mOE]

Even today you can buy 2.35:1 movies which are coded as 4:3 (but only older releases). e.g. Seven (NOT the platinum edition).

But how could be a 4:3 movie (1.33:1) coded anamorph?

[willster2k]

Originally posted by markrb
I just randomly grabbed 10 DVD's from my collection and everyone of them says right on the box if it's widescreen (16:9) or not. You may have to look at the small print on the back, but it's there.
The DVD's I grabbed ranged from older to a new release.
Mark

It may say it is widescreen, but it doesn't mean it is anamorphic !

[mOE]

@willster2k

yes, you are right.
The print "widescreen" on back of dvds say nothing about anamorphic if it isn't said separately (some do this). Even the many times recommended Amazon site say nothing about that theme.

Nearly every newer widescreen release is coded anamorph.This is my experience of the last four months testing circa 50 DVDs...