TV-Rip to SVCD, having problems with aspect ratio in TMPGENC

[Mathew Lankard]

This is the first time Ive tried to convert a TV show to SVCD and I think Im losing my mind. The files in question are 640x480(NTSC TV Resolution correct?) AVI files (anime tv show). Everytime I try to convert these to MPEG2 with TMPGENC the show always spills over vertically and horizontally on the tv so the tops and sides are cut off. The settings where Im sure Im having the problem is in the Source Aspect Ratio and the Video Arrange Method. Ive tried everything from 1:1 and Fullscreen(Keep aspect ratio) all the way to 4:3 and center and all kinds of custom sizes. The best I get is some squishing and the sides spilling over. If anyone knows the correct setting I should be using or a template it would be greatly apprciated. Thanks!

[Tosti]

Same probleme here m8 ! What can we do about ?

[FulciLives]

Are you sure you are not talking about simple TV OVERSCAN?

All televisions overscan the video image to an extent causing all 4 sides of the image to be cut off.

This is normal.

But on a PC monitor that does not happen so when you are watching a TV capture on your PC monitor you are actually seeing the extreme edges (all 4 sides) whereas on your TV you would NEVER see that.

For instance ... take a prerecorded source like a VHS video. Capture a short segment. Watch the capture on your computer monitor and at the same time the same footage on the TV from the VHS. You will see that the TV cuts off some of the image.

Now burn a SVCD of that sample clip and play it back on your stand alone DVD player and compare it to the VHS at the same time (same TV just switch back and forth between inputs).

The two should look the same with the same amount of stuff cut off by the TV OVERSCAN.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Tosti]

OK, that I can live with !! But some AVI files have Subtitles which are cut of because of this problem, the thing i'm converting now only has one piece of text in the beginning of each episode.

[FulciLives]

OK, that I can live with !! But some AVI files have Subtitles which are cut of because of this problem, the thing i'm converting now only has one piece of text in the beginning of each episode.

You could try resizing it to something like 468x468 then put borders of 6 around each of the 4 sides to get back to 480x480 (this is for SVCD as per the original post).

If that isn't enough to make the subtitles visible on your TV then you might have to be more drastic like 460x460 with borders of 10 on each side or something along those lines.

Just make sure that your border is an even number. For instance the top and bottom border must be a multiple of 2 ... you can have 10 or 12 but not 11 for instance. That could throw off the field order if the original is INTERLACED.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Tosti]

Can you tell me the settings to put those borders in my video. I'm not a TMPGenc guru or anything

[wulf109]

Is the original avi in 4:3? 640x480 is not a standard resolution for VCD/SVCD. Some DVD will correctly display a 640x480 but many DVD players cannot properly display 640x480. What resolution are you using in TMPEG?

[FulciLives]

Can you tell me the settings to put those borders in my video. I'm not a TMPGenc guru or anything

Well if you are using TMPGEnc then you would use the CENTER (CUSTOM SIZE) for VIDEO ARRANGE METHOD and type in the size you want.

So for instance if you are creating a SVCD you might want to try 460x460

This will center your image at 460x460 in a window of 480x480 thus putting 10 lines of black all around the image (10 above, 10 below, 10 on the right side and 10 on the left side)

That should preserve the aspect ratio while shrinking the video enough to compensate for TV OVERSCAN.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Tosti]

The output is always 480x576 is this normal? (SVCD)

[FulciLives]

The output is always 480x576 is this normal? (SVCD)

Well I live in the USA so SVCD for NTSC is 480x480 but SVCD for PAL is 480x576

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
That's why it is helpfull if you list in your profile where you are from so we know if you are using PAL or NTSC. If you notice under my name it says I am in the USA and the USA uses NTSC.

Not enough people on this forum do that (list where they are from) so when you talk about a problem and no one mentions NTSC or PAL you tend to use the values that you tend to work with the most (in my case NTSC).

[Tosti]

432x324 this is the source resolution (AVI) !!!

I edited my profile I'm testing now with the PAL, so I should make it 460x556. And if still don't fit I should make it 455x551 right?

[FulciLives]

432x324 this is the source resolution (AVI) !!!

I edited my profile I'm testing now with the PAL, so I should make it 460x556. And if still don't fit I should make it 455x551 right?

Yes the resolution of 460x556 should work. Again if the TV OVERSCAN is still convering up too much (cutting of the subs) then you will have to use an even lower value.

However you can't use 455x551 because that will give you a border of 25 which is not an even number that can be divided by the number 2.

So for instance you could try 456x552 instead. That gives you a border of 24 (12 when divided in half) and is a "safe" number to use.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Tosti]

OK I'll keep on trying !!