stupid question

[shenmue]

hi to all
can anyone explain to me what is a letterbox and how to remove them?
i downloaded an avi file with 640x428 (1.50:1) [~3:2] aspect ratio i encoded it using tempgenc using a 720x576 4:3 aspect ratio i thought it will produce a full screen video but there is still a black bar oon top and bottom help please...

[redwudz]

https://www.videohelp.com/glossary?L#Letterbox

If you want to get rid of all of the picture that is outside of the 4:3 aspect ratio you can trim it. But you will loose that portion of the video.

See:https://www.videohelp.com/glossary?P#Pan%20&%20Scan

Or just zoom your video player if it has that function.

[presto]

There are no stupid questions ...just stupid subject titles :P

But seriously folks, why not create a subject title that actually describes your post in some way. Subject lines like "Help" or "A Question" are useless.

[Stormin Norman]

That would be "Utopia" presto. No offense shenmue. What redwudz said.

[shenmue]

so presto do you have any suggestion regarding my problem besides your comment on my stupid subject title

[presto]

Not particularly. Why do you ask?

[abc-123]

LOL. I love how people are first to point out that others look stupid, and make themselves look stupid in the process.

What is letterboxing? It's when you have a wide movie that is a rectangle that will not fit into your square tv unless there are black borders along the top and bottom, or unless the sides of the movie get cut off.

Why do people use letterboxing? Because if they stretched a wide screen movie to full screen the characters would look tall and skinny and more like aliens and it would be unwatchable.

How do you get rid of letterboxing? You don't unless you want your video stretched out of shape or cut. How do you minimize letterboxing? Tmpgenc>settings>advanced>clip frame filter>trim all the black borders off if there are any. In the same window hit 'arrange setting' and choose the arrange method that makes your movie look the most like the original. (Keep going back and forth between the clip frame button and the arrange setting button.)

Make sure your source aspect ratio under advanced tab and aspect ratio under video tab are set correctly.

Hope this helps.

[lordsmurf]

so presto do you have any suggestion regarding my problem besides your comment on my stupid subject title

Change your post title. It's in the forum rules.
"stupid question" is inappropriate. Use something that describes your problem.

[redwudz]

Your question has been answered. To convert to 4:3 you will have to crop everything outside the 4:3 area. I would just use the original format unless you want to delete a large portion of the picture area.

Widescreen movies are meant to be viewed in that format. TV, notably, uses 'Pan and Scan' to convert to the standard 4:3 TV format. And you lose everything that is beyond the 4:3 area. Even if you find a 4:3 version of a widescreen video, they will have used 'Pan and Scan' to create it.

[shenmue]

my mistake sorry lordsmurf im a newbie and made the mistake of just jumping right in and posting question and subject titles without reading the rules wont happen again

[Prot]

"Pan and scan" focuses on what is most important on the screen at the time. It is not a straight crop off the sides. You will lose valuable information on the screen if you do it yourself.

I would give a suggestion if you insist on doing it anyway. Keep the original video file in case you are unhappy with the results, then just suffer with the black bars on top an bottom. I find that as I'm watching the movie, I can just tune them out. I prefer to see the whole movie as it was meant to be seen anyway.