Question about .avi--->DVD widescreen

[DjRags]

Ok, I have a few movies that are in .avi format on my computer. These movies are all widescreen (640x272) but when I convert them to DVD format in ffmpegx, burn them onto a dvd and play them on my dvd player, the video aspect is incorrect. I'm missing a large piece of video on all sides. I don't have a widescreen tv. I'm just wondering what settings my ffmpegx should be if I'm trying to do this conversion and have it work on a standard tv. Everything else comes out fine (sound, playback, etc) its just the aspect. Thanks for any help

[Case]

To get a correct aspect ratio, you should letterbox (add black bars to) 2.35:1 content to get a 16:9 frame or a 4:3 frame.

To get a DVD with widescreen content, you should set Autosize to DVD 16:9. Such a DVD will be compatible with 16:9 and 4:3 screens, as players can letterbox (extra) to make it fit in 4:3. Benefit is more detail on a computer and 16:9 tvs (of friends, family or your next tv).

Could it be that your set top DVD player has its tv setting set to "4:3 Pan & Scan" ? If so, try changing that to "4:3 Letterbox". That could explain large missing pieces on the left and right side.