16:9 shot, but 4:3 in DVD Architect.

[zovx]

I went to properties and choose the 720x480 widescreen, the menu is 16:9 , but the file from the jvc cam seems to be 4:3 when i test the dvd!... in windows media player, the file also opens like a 4:3 .

how to correct this in dvd architect?

[guns1inger]

Is this the same file from your other post ?

If so, the source is identified as 16:9 in mediainfo, so that is a start. Have you checked the properties for the video asset ? It may have been misinterpreted as 4:3 and needs to be changed. (This is one of the reasons I stopped using DVDA a long time ago)

[zovx]

yes... the m2v is the file... sorry i wrote mpg....

so, how can i change the file so that dvd arch recognize this ? dvda and wmp!!!

and... what is the authoring soft you use now?

[guns1inger]

I use DVD Lab Pro, and have a for a number of years now.

Windows Media Player is a very poor test player, as it is notorious for not looking at the aspect ratio flag. I would not trust anything it says.

Open the m2v in MediaInfo (Tree View) and check to make sure it still has the 16:9 flag set. If it doesn't, you can use ReStream to fix it (only works on elementary video streams). If it is set to 16:9 then check the video properties in DVDA

[zovx]

thanks guns

[zovx]

in mediainfo tree view displays:
Display Aspect Ratio: 16:9
but in dvda ... it still seems like a 4:3

[zovx]

in dvd lab pro , the ratio of the demuxed mpv file is 4:3... but it was shot 16:9....

[guns1inger]

The use ReStream to put the flag back to 16:9.

In DVDA, I assume you have gone to File->Properties and set the Video format to NTSC (or PAL, whichever is appropriate) Widescreen ?

My tests with DVDA Pro 4.5 and a 16:9 mpg gave me letterboxed 4:3 (i.e. black bars top and bottom) if the project was 4:3, and full 16:9 if the project was set to widescreen. It has no issues reading the flags from the files, which would imply that the flags are not set correctly on your file. ReStream will fix and elementary stream, DVD Patcher will do MPG files. Make sure you patch the whole stream, not just the header.

[zovx]

ok


what i did was this..
i demuxed the video with mpg stream clip to a m2v and ac3 file. i open with restream the m2v file and change it to 16:9.
worked in dvda as a widescreen clip.
but...
something happens...in VLC the new m2v file is streached to the right and left... more wider than before. and mediainfo says its a 2:35.1 file!
strange... buy that worked on dvda.

vlc recognize the original stream as a 16:9... so if i change that, im doing a wider file!

[26kick]

Hi, I have the exact same problem. I'm a novice at this but am building a DVD from pro-shot material done in 16:9 and inserted into DVD Architect directly from the DVD masters (the VOB file). IOW, the masters have not been re-rendered in any way, yet they open as 4:3 in DVDA (4:3 box with bars on top and bottom). Properties are set up as NTSC Widescreen in DVDA, so my menus look perfect and fit my 16:9 TV screen (16:9 box) without bars.

I don't have mediainfo or restream and given that I'm working with masters that were supposedly done correctly, I don't think I should have to re-render, should I?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! Thank you!

[nic2k4]

I get that problem with some DVD camcorders, they're supposed to record in 16:9, but in reality they capture the images in 4:3 and set the flag to 16:9. When working with a program that reads the IFO everything is fine, but if your program only deals with the VOBs, you end up with 4:3 video. All I do is work with it as is and once the DVD is rendered I open the IFO for the actual movie with IFOedit, double click the movie AR flag and set it to 16:9.

[aedipuss]

dvd spec mpeg-2 only comes in 2 flavors that are both 720x480 if ntsc. either normal 4:3 or with the widescreen flag set on to "trick" displays to show it as widescreen. a vob has the widescreen flag in the separate ifo file. if you extract the mpeg-2 from the vob then import to dvda it is more likely to contain the necessary flag, or at least you can change the flag with restream. try vob2mpeg to convert the vobs.

[26kick]

Thanks nic2k4. Wow, ifoedit looks to be a bit over my head. Can you give a few more details so I can try it?

Would I do that to each of the 4 IFO files in my prepare folder?

[26kick]

aedipuss, cool, thanks. I want to try this first I think. Can I convert the vob to mpeg-2 with Vegas 7 to accomplish this? What settings do I need to make sure about in the process? Or do I need vob2mpeg?

Also, do I convert first then get restream to change the flag. What is the order? Would it be possible to set that flag in the render process in Vegas 7 so as to not require restream?

Sorry, I've got very little experience with this terminology.

I'm going to start a new thread with some screenshots so as to better explain my issue as well.....

[nic2k4]

You would do it to anything that is not displaying with the correct AR. Keep in mind that VIDEO_TS.IFO is usually the DVD main menu and the other IFOs go with their respective VOBs.

You only need to click the open button and choose the IFO, the first thing you see is the attributes. I can't remember what the exact wording is, but the descriptions should be self explanatory. You will see attributes for the menu and another set of attributes for the movie (look for the dolby logo and flag pictures).

If you want to change an attribute, just double click it, a panel will pop-up. Once everything is the way you want don't forget to hit save and let it generate the BUP as well. Then click the "-" next to the IFO in the list, to collapse the tree; makes it easier to keep track of where you're at. Click open and repeat for the other IFOs, that's it, no rendering or muxing to do.

[aedipuss]

use the free part of vob2mpeg to convert to mpeg-2 first. then try importing and see if it's recognized as 16/9. if not then use restream to set it to 16/9.

[26kick]

Ok, thanks for breaking it down some more. What you are saying is to render the DVD as is then perform the moves you've outlined, correct? I get it, no re-render or muxing, however I won't get to preview it in DVDA.

For the sake of clarification, here is what I was going to post as a new thread, but I'll put it here first. Please see the pics. Will ifoedit solve this??

I'm building a DVD of proshot material that I believe is all in 16:9 (not HD) and I'm having trouble getting it to preview (and subsequently play) in widescreen format. In other words, my DVD Arch project is setup widescreen and during preview, my menus (with still backgrounds) look great and fill a 16:9 box. However when I click on the buttons and play a file, that box changes to 4:3 and the video has black bars on top and bottom. These are straight vob files taken off of original DVD masters for each individual video.

For example, here is my menu screen:



And this is what happens when I play a file:




See how the box changes and consequently, the video output? I've also found in "media properties" (while not in preview mode), that I can change the aspect ratio of the file to widescreen, but that only squashes the output, leaving thicker bars on top and bottom, and the same size, 4:3 box.

I don't feel like I should have to re-render something that has already been "finalized" and finished....should I? Honestly, I would rather not re-render 1. because I don't want a loss in quality and 2. because I know just enough to get myself into trouble with "settings"!

Please let me know if this is a clear description or if you need any more information about the files, etc.

Thank you in advance!

[nic2k4]

I don't use DVDA, but it looks like your project settings might be off. It's not the media properties you want to change, but the way the DVDA project deals with video. I'm thinking something like the project is set to treat video as pan&scan and/or letterboxed instead of widescreen.

Don't use IFOedit to fix that!

[26kick]

@Nic,

Hmmmm, I've got video format set to NTSC widescreen, which is under the disc properties tab within the project properties. Seems like that should do it, no?

[nic2k4]

Your source is clearly widescreen, but the display safe area (the dotted line box) is definitely 4:3; so, it must be a DVDA setting. You have your project set to widescreen, but it's not doing it, why? I'd say there's something else that's set to 4:3 or pan&scan. Rummage through all the settings and look for anything that's related to aspect ratio, it might even be in the program's preferences. Try to start another project and go through all the steps one by one to see if you might have missed something the first time.

[26kick]

Cool, thanks for that feedback, which makes sense to me as well. I'll rummage deeper (I've been rummaging ) and see what I can find.

[26kick]

nic,

I've rummaged and have found nothing new. However, I just replaced one of the suspect files with a different version, an mp4 (compressed) and it seems to retain the 16:9 shape within preview! That means that it's the file, no?

Here's the mp4 in preview:



However it doesn't fill as much of the black box as the menus do. I'm not sure what that means.

And the same scene off the vob file:



I would just simply use the mp4 but the vob looks better. How do I display widescreen as such on my DVD??

[aedipuss]

you can use rejig to demux the mpg from vob2mpg to elementary streams for restream. after making the flag for the .mpv 16/9 you can import the streams into dvda.

[26kick]

I demuxed with rejig (not really knowing what I'm doing) and restream liked that file. I simply changed where it said 4:3 in restream to 16:9. When I plugged that output file into DVDA, it now previews in widescreen all the way across which is great, but it's slightly squashed (unacceptable, circles aren't perfectly round) and there are still bars on top and bottom. Here's a screenshot to compare:



I know it's not obvious in this shot, but it is squashed. Am I making sense? I'm feeling pretty confused about this!

[guns1inger]

If the source was badly resized during encoding then it won't matter what flag you set, the image will not look right. As much as I love Vegas, I won't touch DVDA with a barge pole

[26kick]

Thanks for all of the responses guys! At this point, I'm contacting the people who made the videos and asking them for 16:9, mpeg 2 renders from the masters. I may not be able to get that, but I'm asking!