HELP: DVD Rip and convert 4:3 content to 16:9

[propman07]

Hi-

I've looked around, and couldn't find an answer to my situation, so here goes....flamethrowers on.

I've got some DVD content that is 4:3 aspect ratio. When I play it back on my 16:9 set, I have two sets of black bars, one vertical pair, and one horizontal pair with the picture in the middle. I'm in the process of creating files to store on a NAS, and I wanted to see if it was possible (or recommended) to:

1) Convert the DVD content to MKV
2) Revise the aspect ratio so that it displays "better" on the 16:9 set

I've been tinkering around with MakeMKV and Handbrake trying to get some test videos to work, but so far, no luck.

Any advice/suggestions?

Thanks.

[Baldrick]

Did you try crop the black borders and the resize to 16:9 size like 640x360 in handbrake? Crop and resize under the picture setting tab.

[jman98]

You do understand that converting 4:3 to 16:9 can only be done by throwing away some of the video image, right? If you don't care that's your business.

[propman07]

Thanks for the replies.

640x360. I'll have to give that one a try.

Hmmm...I had a feeling that I would have to throw some of the image away. Would it be better just to crop one set of bars, and live with the other set, and the full image? I'm assuming that I would have to crop the vertical bars, correct?

[wulf109]

You might try DVD Rebuilder,it has an option to convert 4:3 to 16:9. Your output will be DVD of course. Sounds like you have a letterboxed movie(black bars)on all four sides on a 16:9 TV.

[propman07]

You might try DVD Rebuilder,it has an option to convert 4:3 to 16:9. Your output will be DVD of course. Sounds like you have a letterboxed movie(black bars)on all four sides on a 16:9 TV.

Actually, it is a TV show that was not available in HD. I ordered the DVD boxset, and here I am. You're right, though, I've got black bars on all four sides.

My goal is to maximize the size of the video displayed on the screen. I can live with a pair of black bars, but I would like to see if I could get rid of at least two of them, as long as it doesn't totally degrade the video, or cost me hours of time re-encoding.

[Pinstripes23]

post a screenshot with the exact dimensions...and I can probably give you an avisynth script

[wulf109]

Most 16:9 TV's have an option zoom the 4:3 picture to 16:9. That usually produces better results than encoding the DVD.

[propman07]

Zoom option: I thought of that, but I'm trying to view the video via my HTPC....I guess that when I'm watching these specific shows, I could zoom, then reset it when I'm done since most of the other (if not all) of the content is widescreen.

I'll look into getting the dimensions. Thanks for the offer on the script.

[guns1inger]

Sounds like a widescreen show letterboxed to 4:3. For DVD output, the simplest method is to rip it, then use DVD Rebuilder to convert it to 16:9 (it's under advanced features). For MKV Handbrake is as good as anything else.

@wulf109 - This varies from TV to TV and even disc to disc. I have found that for most of my letterboxed 4:3 material, I get much better results converting it to 16:9 first. Keep in mind that your TV may already have to upscale the incoming signal in the first place, before it even begins to zoom.

[propman07]

Sounds like a widescreen show letterboxed to 4:3. For DVD output, the simplest method is to rip it, then use DVD Rebuilder to convert it to 16:9 (it's under advanced features). For MKV Handbrake is as good as anything else.

Thanks. So since I've already ripped the DVD to MKV, I'm going to need to run it through Handbrake to convert it to 16:9 format.

Would I maintain the aspect ratio, or force it to something that is a 16:9 ratio? I'm assuming that I would make the height as large as possible, and let the width be what it needs to me, while maintaining the same aspect ratio.

Have I got that right?

[propman07]

I haven't had a chance to try some of the suggestions above. My codecs got all screwed up, and now, I have limited audio with no video, a message stating that my player can't play a file it used to be able to play, and video with no audio....

freakin' codecs

[guns1inger]

Did you install a codec pack ?

[propman07]

Did you install a codec pack ?

Yes, I did. I had everything pretty much working using Shark007's codec pack. For some reason, I had a lapse in sanity, and installed a package that I found on Media Center Master's site. That pretty much broke everything. I tried to uninstall, then go back to Shark007's codecs, but so far, no luck. My plan is to try troubleshooting today for a few hours, and if I can't get it fixed, I'm going to do a fresh install of Win7.

[propman07]

I'm back....sorry for the delay.

I ended up doing a clean install of Win7. I was able to create a mkv file using Handbrake with the suggested picture size. I couldn't use 640 x 360 in Handbrake. It changed it to 640 x 352. I made a few test mkv files, and they played fine on my HTPC. I was able to get rid of the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen, and the black bars on the left and right hand side are considerably smaller now. I was able to use Handbrake in que mode to create four full length mkv files. I'll check them out, and report back. It looks like I will be able to go straight from DVD to mkv using AnyDVD and Handbrake, I just set up the encoding que with files before I go to bed, and it runs overnight to convert the files.

Thanks.

[azmoth]

ı was going to say try AVI ReComp (no use if you are using MKV container, great for AVI containers though) or AutoMKV which is excellent for resizing 4.3 to 16.9 or inputting DVD!

HDConvertToX might help you better with MKV bit later on if AutoMKV does not give you the image you wanted, though I cannot say I had much success with resizing here.