How to play 4:3 Aspect ratio in fullscreen using VLC,MPCHC?

[skorpinok]

Hi, i Ripped 'The ABYSS' DVD using dvd fab 8, but when i play it using VLC or MPCHC its not in fullscreen, is there any anyway around to watch this film in fullscreen or atleast 16:9 letterbox version or any tools that can re-encode? please advice & suggest me how to solve this, your help will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Attached is the dvd info..

[edDV]

2.35 to 1



That should play as letterbox

[guns1inger]

It clearly says widescreen 4:3, so it is 2.35:1 letterbox encoded in a 4:3 frame. You aren't going to get even close to 16:9, let alone fullscreen, without throwing away a lot of the picture.

That said, open the file in Media Player Classic Home Cinema, hit the NumPad key, and use a combination of 6 and 8 on the number pad to zoom in symmetrically until you have filled your screen without visible distortion. When you are done, hit 5 on the number pad to reset the view.

(At least our release is 16:9 anamorphic encoded)

[mike20021969]

"Digitally mastered for superior sound and picture quality" - why go to such trouble then to go and letterbox it within 4:3?
It seems strange why they didn't make a proper 16:9 version...

[guns1inger]

Especially when the region 4 version is 16:9. Often the UK and Australian releases use the same prints, unless there is a censorship issue (e.g. the UK version of The Matrix ran shorter than the Australian release, and hence had a different DVD release). That said, the original Criterion 2 disc release of Armageddon was also 4:3 letterboxed, and the Australian release of the same content, but under the studio label, was 16:9.

If the behaviour of the studios made sense, half the forums here wouldn't be needed.

[manono]

It seems strange why they didn't make a proper 16:9 version...

They did, but not till much later. This one is from the early days of DVD.

[mike20021969]

It seems strange why they didn't make a proper 16:9 version...

They did, but not till much later. This one is from the early days of DVD.

The version available on Amazon uk, released in 2006, hadn't fixed this issue (according to the comments).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abyss-Special-DVD/dp/B000ECXWEK

Some examples...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2CKRH0LWUCTAU/ref=cm_cr_dp_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000ECXWEK...wasThisHelpful

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000ECXWEK/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_1?ie=UTF8&showVie...rBy=addOneStar

[manono]

No, there's no 16:9 version available in the UK or even in the US. This is a film famous for being available only in 4:3 in most places. If you really like the film, the only 16:9 version available is out of China:

http://www.dvdtherapy.com/review_info.php?id=2182

[guns1inger]

Just dragged out my PAL R4 Australian release, which clearly says 16:9 Widescreen on the back. The copyright notice on startup is 16:9, the menus are 16:9, the film is 4:3 letterbox. Probably why I only bothered to watch this disc once.

Waiting on the bluray now.