Having problems with aspect ratio!

[Adz]

Hi, first post n all.

I am trying to convert an AVI to DVD.

I have tmpgenc, and I use that to convert the AVI to one m2v and mp2 file.

All fine, I can then multiplex etc and end up with a dvd that works fine in dvd-players.

However, I am having a problem working out aspect ratio's.

my source is 640x352.

By my math, this works out as 720x400 (396) - fine. However, the source is widescreen, or should be, and im outputting as 16:9 widescreen in tmpgenc. But when I play these on the TV (Im introducing black borders in tmpgenc), they are too tall, they do not fill the sceen, but the black bars dont seem to represent what I had in the preview window in tmpgenc. (please dont confuse this as showing as 4:3 on my tv, its not, its perfectly wide :P )

is 720x400 (centered, 576p high) correct if I want it to look good widescreen?

[Kedirekin]

The avi probably uses square pixels (I think all avis do), but a DVD does not.

640x360 is 16:9, so 640x352 is only a little bit off from that. You'll want almost no letterboxing if you plan to author the DVD as anamorphic widescreen (i.e. 16:9). In other words, your resizing should be really close to 720x480 (NTSC) or 720x576 (PAL).

Sorry, but I don't have time at the moment to do the precise resize calculation (aspect ratio calculation always twist my brain). I'm hoping the above hint will be helpfull enough.