Reauthor DVD 2:35:1 to 1:85:1

[computerchuck]

Was wondering if there was a way to reauthor a anamorphic dvd 2:35:1 and make it more compliant for my 16:9 HDTV by giving the dvd a 1:85:1 screen size. I noticed on satellite a lot of these movies have been resized to fit the tv yet my dvds of same movies still shows black bars like star wars and such. I realize i still loose a little on sides, but I'd like to try it. any suggestions?

[manono]

Hi-

You can't just reauthor. You'll have to completely reencode, cropping away roughly 30% of the picture. Since, when it was created at 2.35:1 (usually closer to 2.40:1) the director often used the full width available to him, by cropping away the sides you'll sometimes be left with parts of figures, where originally the entire figures were visible. By "zooming" in, you're also losing resolution. Things will look "blurrier" and less detailed. In addition, you'll lose a lot of the "grandeur" that the wider format gives you. I can create the same effect by using the Zoom on my DVD Player remote, although I don't. You should also be able to do it, using the remote on your player or TV set. I guess you know these things already. So, personally, I, and a lot of other people, think this is a really dumb idea, and once you become more knowledgeable, you'll regret having done it. In addition, I believe that HBO and others, when they cut down the width, do a real Pan-And-Scan, whereas you can only do a crop.

So, this:

becomes this:

Kind of "claustrophobic", don't you think? Having said that, it's easily done in AviSynth:

Crop(84,56,-84,-56)
Lanczos4Resize(720,480)

Crop away the black above and below, and then crop away from the left and right until you reach the original dimensions (original 1.5:1 ratio). Resize to 720x480. I used the Resolution Tab of GKnot for this. Encode for 16:9.

[guns1inger]

2.35:1 inside an anamorphic 16:9 image area is as DVD compliant and 16:9 TV compliant as 1.85:1. Removing the black bars has nothing to do with compliance, and is nothing short of pointless butchering and needless encoding. I don't understand how a small back area can cause so many people so much concern and make them feel like they are missing something.