Frustrated Xvid to DVD conversion aspect probs - CCE help please.

[N3m1515]

Hi

I am not new to dvd to dvd but have never done avi/xvid to dvd.

When I play the xvid it has borders as I think it is widescreen. Gspot says it is 512x320 (1.60:1) [=8:5] which I don't understand. All I want to do is make it into a PAL dvd without losing any aspect or picture quality using CCE.

I am very tempted to use one of the all in one apps to do this but I am more concerned with quality than anything else, unless the difference would be very slight.

Please can someone advise me on this.

PS I also have another xvid at 640x352 (1.82:1) [=20:11] which I am not sure on either but the guide at least mentions this aspect ratio, well 1:1.85.

Totally confused and in need of guidance. :scared:

[gagamag]

Hello,

I am just searching the forum for aspect ratio info and came across your post. I have recently acquired several dvdrips and they have mostly funny aspect ratios. The latest one is 576:240 xvid mpeg4 ! This is an aspect ratio of 2.4. Maybe someone will shed some light on my inquiry as well as yours.

Regards.

[mgt]

First you need to get the actual video size without any borders. Normally, Xvid videos shouldn't have any borders! So I expect the video to have a size of 512x320.

Alright, now the video is resized to a width of 720, so the height is 320*720/512 = 450. As 16:9 videos need a height of not more than 405 (720x405 is 16:9), you have to encode your video as 4:3 or crop off 45 pixel lines. So using AviSynth you would write
LanczosResize(thevideo, 720, 450).AddBorders(0,64,0,62)
to get your PAL video with the correct aspect ratio.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'd do it like that. ;)

[manono]

Hi-

N3m1515-use FitCD (http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_tools/fitcd.cfm) to get the AVI to DVDR crop/resize/addborders values. I agree that 512x320 is a bit unusual, but maybe the movie was originally 1.66:1. You can check IMDB or DVD reviews of the film to confirm.

gagamag-use FitCD (http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/video_tools/fitcd.cfm) to get the AVI to DVDR information you need. There's nothing at all wrong with an AVI at 576x240 (2.4:1). What makes you think so?

And don't forget you guys, after opening an AVI, just to the right of where the input resolution is shown, you want to make sure that you show 1:1 Monitor. For other sources it's different. You can fool around with the other options, such as ITU or no ITU, or Blocks Overscan or not.

mgt-

Correct me if I'm wrong,

OK, you're wrong. :) Using FitCD on that 512x320 AVI, with the ITU box checked, resizing for PAL Anamorphic 16:9, I get:

LanczosResize(656,576,0,2,512,316)
AddBorders(32,0,32,0)

Resizing for a 4:3 PAL DVD it's:

LanczosResize(720,480)
AddBorders(0,48,0,48)

[mgt]

@manono
Hm now tell me why FitCD uses the width of 768 to get the height value. I mean, isn't it just the fact that 720x576 IS 4:3, and not 768x576?

But … hmm … seems to be right. Even if pixels aren't square pixels … the image is still streched … whereas and the height remains.
Pah shame on me, never thought about that! But I still prefer my calculator to FitCD. ;)

[manono]

But 720x576 isn't 4:3. It's 1.25:1, or 5:4. While AVIs are almost always 1:1, DVDs are encoded as either 4:3 or 16:9, with the player doing the resizing based on which DAR you set the encoder for. So, if you encode to 4:3, then yes, it'll get resized to 768x576. And if you encode it to 16:9, then it'll get resized to 1024x576.

[gagamag]

Hello guys,

I have been doing a little reading and it appears to me that my aspect ratio of 2.4:1
came from an anamorphic DVD and either I need some app that understands that or
I have to crop it to fill my tv screen.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Have you tried the free version of VSO's DivXtoDVD (http://www.vso-software.fr/download.htm)?

EDIT: It might help if you could provide a still image from your XviD (MPEG-4) source.


Cheers

[manono]

gagamag-

I already told you of a very good app that will give you all you need for your AviSynth script file, as long as you're using AviSynth as a frameserver to your encoder. You can take it or leave it. SeeMoreDigital just gave you a full program to try. Personally, I haven't used it, so I don't know. But he knows about these things.

...it appears to me that my aspect ratio of 2.4:1 came from an anamorphic DVD ...

Maybe it did and maybe it didn't. At this point it doesn't matter anyway, since you now have a 1:1 AVI to work with.

...or I have to crop it to fill my tv screen.

Why on earth would you want to do that? It's 2.4:1. It's not meant to fill your TV screen, whether you have a widescreen TV set or a standard 1.33:1 TV set. It's supposed to play with black bars above and below.

[gagamag]

Hey Manono,
Sorry my lack of knowledge has angered you. I will be more circumspect about posting in the future. One thing though. How have you answered the original post by n3m155 ?

[manono]

That's alright, gagamag, I may be argumentative, but I won't strike you or anything like that. You can pretend I don't have that blue badge under my name. This is pretty much an AviSynth for frameserving site. For AVI to DVD, or DVD to DVD, most of us frameserve with an AviSynth script file, or use other programs such as DVD-Rebuilder or DVD2SVCD which also frameserve using AviSynth. Why? Because even though there's a bit of a learning curve before you can use it comfortably, it's the best and fastest way. For other methods, perhaps Videohelp.com might be a better choice for you. Here's a ton of guides you might check to see if there's something you like:

http://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?tools=&madeby=&formatconversionselect=AVI+to+DVD

Around here, unless you are capable of doing it yourself manually, many people use the AVI2DVD portion of DVD2SVCD. Here's Doom9's guide for doing it:

http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2svcd-avi.htm

If you are capable of doing it manually, and can use CCE, as the original poster, N3m1515, was asking, then here's a guide for AVI to DVD using CCE:

http://www.doom9.org/mpg/avi2dvdr.htm

You'll notice that his guide also uses AviSynth script files. AviSynth is simply the best way to do this.

How have you answered the original post by n3m155 ?

I'm not sure I understand. He said he wanted to use CCE, and was evidently already familiar with it, but just not for AVI to DVD. So I pointed him to FitCD, and gave him the script for one of the AVIs he wanted to convert in order for it to have good aspect ratio when done. Did I miss anything?

[gagamag]

hello N3M1515,

I found some info that explains the wide range of AR's. Check it out.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/

regards

[N3m1515]

Hi again,

Been away, just wanted to say thank you for all the help from you guys.

I am still a bit unsure as I prefer to understand what is going on rather than simply follow a procedure.

Anyhow I went ahead and converted both files and am pleased, but I noticed on one of them that something was missing from either side of the screen (about an inch both sides in real terms). I wondered if this was due to the encoding process or is a natural side effect of watching on a TV instead of on my PC. This was the 640x352 XviD.

I encoded it at 4x3 with borders (0,48,0,48) and the movie at 720x416.

Apart from the issue with the left/right edges the movie looked great!

Would these settings but encoded at 16x9 solve this problem or would I need a different .avs file?

My problem is that I don't understand the theory behind the conversion. If the DVD was 4:3 does the avi need to be encoded at 4:3 or is 16x9 possible? Is an XviD essentially aspect free?

PS is there anything I can use to take away the occasional red/green blurry small patch I see now and again on this black and white movie?

Still :confused:

Thanks again.

[manono]

AVIs are generally 1:1. Some encode anamorphically, and then use their player to give them the proper AR. To find how to resize when the source is DVD (either 4:3 or 16:9) and the output is 1:1 AVI, I use GKnot.

I encoded it at 4x3 with borders (0,48,0,48) and the movie at 720x416

You sure about that? That will give you a final resolution of 720x512.

As for losing some picture from the sides, all TVs have "Overscan", which means that you'll lose 5-10% of the picture. When you play it on the computer, all the picture is there, but when played on the TV, the overscan kicks in. To avoid that (something I'm not sure I'd recommend), you can set up your AviSynth script so that some black is added around the edges. For many TV sets, although it varies from set to set, adding 16 pixels to both sides will help. To find the new AviSynth script for adding black to the sides, fool around with "Blocks Overscan" in FitCd. Adding 2 blocks is adding 16 pixels to both the left and right sides, and somewhat less to the top and bottom.

[N3m1515]

I encoded it at 4x3 with borders (0,48,0,48) and the movie at 720x416

My bad, I meant (0,80,0,80).

And thanks, I appreciate the help. :D

[thecrock]

I had the same problem with the left and right of the screen missing when i burned to dvd with some-not all of the movies i have duplicated. Try using ifoedit(just started using it) to set your video flags to 16:9. This worked very well for me and was fast as there is no encoding to be done, the altered ifo files overwrite the originals.