Ripped DVDs Don't Fill Screen

[cm63118]

I've seen a lot of posts about widescreen bottom and side bars, but that's not my problem. What happens is, just about every anamorphic widescreen movie ripped to file system using DVDFab DVD Copy function will fill the full 16x9 width of my TV using WMC, but there will be anywhere from 1 to 2 cm black bars on the top and/or bottom, and sometimes on one or both sides too. It varies from movie to movie, every movie is consistent, and some movies don't have the problem at all.

Now, if I make a new DVD out of those same files, then the playback on my Onkyo DVD player fills the entire screen completely.

I use DVDFab 9 DVD Copy, main movie option to DVD9, default settings. Does anyone else have this issue, and know of a work-around?

[MOVIEGEEK]

I think it's WMC, have you tried VLC or another player in full screen mode?

[cm63118]

I'll try VLC, but not sure about the WMC integration. I'm running WMC as the Win7 shell. I found the following guide for WMC integration - any thoughts?

http://mintywhite.com/windows-7/7customization/ultimate-media-center-external-players-...nter-playback/

Looks like WMC remote commands are limited with VLC too... anyway, I'll try it out. I'd love to figure out how to solve this.

[hello_hello]

TV's normally "overscan", which means not all of the picture is displayed. Depending on the amount of overscanning, you might lose 5% to 10% of the picture. Think of it as zooming in on the picture a little. Some of it will be "lost" over the edges of the screen. That's overscanning.

When playing DVDs using the DVD player, it's probable the black borders are still there but you're not seeing them due to the overscanning. The PC input may not overscan, hence you see the black borders. Depending on the TV, overscanning may be disabled for individual inputs (in the case of my TV enabling "screen fit" disables overscanning). You'll need to check the manual. Some DVDs have small black borders, some don't. Normally when re-encoding a DVD you'd crop any black borders, but of course you can't do that when simply copying the DVD.

I use MPC-HC as my player and the input to which my PC is connected has overscanning disabled, so if there's black borders, I'll see them. However MPC-HC lets you easily zoom and stretch the video etc. Tapping the "9" key on the numeric keypad zooms in on the video a litttle. A couple of taps on the "9" key is usually enough to simulate overscanning and push the black borders off the edges of the screen. The "3" key zooms out and tapping the "5" key resets it. I also often zoom wider aspect ratio video (1.85:1, 2.35:1 etc) until it fills the 16:9 TV screen. I've no idea if VLC or WMC have a similar function.

If the PC input is "fixed" (no overscanning) you may be able to use your video card's settings to adjust the size of the desktop to simulate overscanning . It'll be fine for video but it may adversely effect the way text is displayed as ideally you probably don't want the PC input to overscan.

PS. What happens when you play the original DVD using the PC and PC monitor? PC monitors don't overscan so if you see black borders playing the ripped files you should see them playing the original discs too. If not, and the black borders are being introduced when ripping, then something's wrong, but I can't imagine how that could happen.

[cm63118]

I attached a screenshot (sample.jpg) of movie "Men at Work" rip when played with WMP on my PC, and it does the same thing. You'll notice the small bars on the top, bottom and right side. It does the exact same thing on my other PC (designated HTPC) too. I've read about overscan, but not sure if this is the problem. There's no option in WMC, that I am aware of, to zoom, only change aspect ratio, which is meant more for 4:3 ratio broadcasts than widescreen. I'd hate to think I'd have to crop every DVD I rip, but if others have the same problem and that's what it takes, then I'll do it - just want to make sure I'm headed down the right road before investing the extra time it takes.

Not sure if it matters, but I'm using HDMI out from the HTPC directly to the 46" Sony Bravia. I couldn't find an option on the Sony for auto zooming either.

[hello_hello]

The only way to know for sure if it's because of overscanning (or rather the lack thereof) is to play the original disc using the PC. It should display exactly the same way as the ripped version. I suspect it will. The small black bars in your screenshot don't appear to be anything out of the ordinary to me (I'd be very surprised if the original disc doesn't display the same way using the PC).

Although your screenshot is 960x540, not the original DVD resolution (720x576, 16:9, I assume). I gather that's simply because you resized the screenshot for posting?

I guess if you can't simulate overscanning using your video card or through a video player's zoom function, you may have to see if the TV input you're using can overscan. If you're using a dedicated PC input on the TV it might have overscanning disabled by default, and if you're using a PC monitor to check the rips.... I don't think any PC monitors overscan.

[cm63118]

Yep - I re-sized the screenshot. The DVD doesn't do this - it displays the full screen with no borders at all. If that's the case, would you say it is overscanning?

[hello_hello]

If you're talking about the DVD player, then yes, although as far as I know it's the TV which does the overscanning. As I said though, it's possible the PC input doesn't overscan while the input being used by the DVD player does (that's the logical explanation for what's happening), and many TVs won't disable overscanning unless the input resolution is 720p or greater. So unless the DVD player is upscaling and outputting 720p or 1080i/p. Chances are pretty good the DVD player input is being overscanned.

[hello_hello]

Typical DVD video with thin black bars down each side. And maybe a 1 pixel black line at the top. It's a bit hard to tell.

[cm63118]

Thanks hello_hello for the feedback on this one... I implemented the WMC overscan fix and noted that just about all of my DVDs are doing this. You're probably right that it's very likely that my DVD player is actually overscanning, resulting on the full screen being filled-up.

[hello_hello]

I'm glad to have helped. What does the "WMC overscan fix" involve?

[manono]

You're probably right that it's very likely that my DVD player is actually overscanning, resulting on the full screen being filled-up.

Many DVD players crop the video, but only the TV set can overscan.

[hello_hello]

Many DVD players crop the video......

I didn't know that. Apparently you can learn something new every day. Cheers.

[manono]

There used to be a really nice page comparing various DVD players, dozens of them. Among the categories was cropping and how much. And quite a few, and most of the well-known and less expensive brands and models, cropped. Unfortunately that page is no longer around. I think the authors had some sort of a disagreement with their sponsers and withdrew it.