Need help with AR

[runman]

My DVD has a AR of 16:9 but I always get a 4:3 AR after processing with AGK. I have tried many times to force a AR of 16:9 by using the procedure detailed in FAQ 6.10 but apparently AGK won't read the .d2v file as modified with notepad for 16:9. First of all, how can I be sure AGK stops after fitting ESC? There is no indication that it does, so I assume that it does stop and does not continue to read the original .d2v. After hitting F4, do I save the over-written .d2v file in the agk__tmp folder in the output folder? In step 5, how do you close the first DGIndex.exe and make sure AGK reads only the second one? When I complete FAQ 6.10 and AGK resumes, the log window always shows a source AR of 4:3.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ukb007]

You can fool AGK by changing the d2v but keeping it authentic in all respects; for example, you can't change

16:9

into

4: 3, or

3:4, etc. You have to make it exactly

4:3

And one other thing, you must also fool AGK into believing that it is the same file that it has made. So you can't change it's location as AGK knows it.

And, moreover, if there are two programs, hitting a key will only modify one of the programs that is selected (but that's basic, and you know it, right?)

Do this:

Make the following folders:

1. RippedVOBs (there you will rip the DVD with DVDDecrypter in IFO mode)
2. AGKwork (here you will let AGK put the files)
3. Make a folder named xagk_tmp inside the folder AGKwork.

Open DGIndex; it's in your AGK program folder. Go to file > Autoincrement Open > ; browse for your RippedVOBs folder and point to the first VOB. This will autometically select all the VOBs. Sometimes, as in case of a non-standard DVD, all the VOBs might not get auto-selected. In that case, select all of them manually. After DGIndex opens the VOBs, you can select the range of movie-length to encode (you might wish to leave out 40 MB of the end-credits, for example).

Click File > Save Project (F4), cook up a short moviename and point to the folder 'xagk_tmp' inside the folder 'AGKwork'; it's in xagk_tmp that the d2v file will be saved.

Only one caution here, however. The DGIndex options must be the same as AGK operates them. For example, the ForceFilm must be OFF and so on and so forth. Don't let this scare you, though. If you do not mess with the options, then the first time you open it, it will have the same options that AGK uses.

After the d2v file is successfully made, close DGIndex. If you now open the xagk_tmp folder, you will find that it will contain the file moviename.d2v and at least one .ac3 file.

Open the .d2v file with notepad, make necessary changes, save, and close it.

Open AGK, Point to the RippedVOBs folder for the ripped DVD files; point inside the folder 'AGKwork' for your XviD/DivX to be saved. Be careful to keep the same moviename for the finished product. Order a suitable pre-programmed/custom file-size, select the audio of your choice, add project to the queue-box and hit Start.

Immediately AGK will launch DGIndex. Maximize it. Go to File > Stop (Esc). This will freeze DGIndex (and with it, the AGK) in its tracks.

Open the folder 'AGKwork'; in it now you should find two folders:

xagk_tmp (that's the one that you've made.)
agk_tmp (that's the one AGK has created.)

Note the ac3 audio file-name in the agk_tmp folder carefully. Open xagk_tmp and delete all ac3 files other than one with that same name. Close xagk_tmp.

Close agk_tmp and delete it.

Now rename xagk_tmp into agk_tmp.

Lastly, now close the DGIndex that AGK had launched and you had paused.

Immediately AGK will resume activity. Go ahead and get busy with something else, and let AGK work in peace.

Regards.

[runman]

Dear ukb007, Thank you very much for taking the time to write up that detailed solution to my problem. Much appreciated. What a graet forum this is, where newbies like me can get such wonderful help. I will try your procedure today and let you know how I make out.

Regards,
runman

[runman]

ukb007,
I tried your procedure today and it worked perfectly! It expands nicely on FAQ 6.10 and now I have a better understanding of what goes on in the background during AKG processing, thanks to you. My output AVI XviG file now has the correct AR. I guess my only remaining question is why did AKG (DGIndex) convert the original AR from 16:9 to 4:3??

Thanks again for your help.

regards

[ukb007]

Hi

DGIndex takes the AR from the Display Aspect Ratio (DAR) tag in the VOB itself. If wrongly authored/mastered, the DAR is wrong, and shows as such. That's what you have corrected.

Even if you do not correct it in AGK in the method described, you can always correct it every time you play the avi file in certain players, e.g., PowerDVD (unchecking the 'Keep Aspect Ratio' in the configuration and then resizing it manually) or in Zoom Player (which lets you toggle the AR between 16:9 and 4:3).

Cheers, and Regards.

[runman]

I wondered where that AR tag was. Thanks for the info.