Narrow screen and disorted picture when using Virtual dub

[Sulli]

Hello

I have been adding(hardcoding) SSA subtitles to AVI files using virtual dub. So far until now the results have been good and issue free. However with some files im trying to add subtitles to now the end result is different. The entire picture is now narrow and the images within are squashed i.e. people are distorted appearing thinner and taller than normal.

If i just play the file using VLC the picture appears normal and as it should be.

Can someone please tell me if there are any settings within virtualdub i can adjust so this problem doesnt happen?

Thanks in advance

sulli

[manono]

Those AVIs must have a PAR set in the video so they get resized properly during playback. If so, VDub shows the video as as it is before being resized. You can right-click on the screen and have the picture resized to 16:9 or 4:3, the one you choose depending on the DAR of your source or the one that makes the picture look 'normal'. But you can't hard sub them to that size without the subs looking odd after the picture is resized because it won't reencode to that 'normal' size.

One thing you can do is to resize them yourself in VDub using its resize filter, then add in the subs, and then reencode.

[Sulli]

Hello thanks for your suggestions. I changed the aspect in VLC to 16:9 and this was successful. Ill probably in the long term need to try your 2nd suggestion as I dont really want to be using VLC as i just store my files on an external hard drive and my TV has a USB port and supports that format. So in essence i need to get the file right before i load it on to my external hard drive as I cant change the apsect ration on the TV as i can on VLC.

I have found the resize option within virtualdub but there are a number of choices which im not sure which to choose. I am unsure which ones to alter and to change them to what settings?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

[manono]

Maybe post a picture. Although widescreen movies can be about anything, the two main resolutions are 1.85:1 (640x352, maybe) and 2.35 (or 2.39):1 (640x272, maybe). And of the resizer choices in VDub, maybe try Lanczos3. You can look up the movie in IMDB and under the technical specs it should tell you what the aspect ratio should be. But it's not always correct and sometimes the DVD doesn't have the same aspect ratio as the theatrical showing.

[Sulli]

Hello Manono

Thanks for taking the time. I think we can assume an aspect ratio of 16:9 ? Imdb says 1.78:1 which is that and when playing in VLC and changing to 16:9 it works fine.

So far ive tried the following in the resize of v/dub. In the Filter:Resize dialogue box under "Size Options" have selected against the "Aspect Ratio" buttons the " Compute Height From Ratio" option and changed the existing setting from 4:3 to 16:9. Within the Framing Options i have also changed the Asprect ratio to 16:9. If my next step is to only "save as" my file it will create the file as i want it to look but an extremely large file. I aborted the process early and the file i got was 10gig with the video length only being 7minutes. Had I let it run the full file of 60minute video probably would have created a 50gig file.

So i repeated the process, again changing the Aspect Ratio's as before but this time taking my normal step of Video>Compression>Xvid MPEG-4 Codec>OK before doing a Save As on the file. When I attempted the Save As i receieved the following error message:

Cannot start video compression :

An Unknown Error Occurred( May be corrupt Data).
(error code -100)

I also in the filter resize box tried Lanczos3 as you suggested as well as trying all the other options in the drop down of the Filter Mode.

Im hoping this explanation of what ive so far attempted can help narrow down the reason for the problem.

Regards

Sulli

[manono]

If it's a newer movie it might be 1.78:1. If so, the DVD shouldn't have any black above and below the picture, the way a 1.85:1 movie might. If 1.78:1, you might try 624x352 as a resolution.

I don't encode using any VDub filtering, but frameserve using AviSynth scripts. I don't really know what the problem might be, but others around here might.

You have codecs installed so VDub can read both the audio and the video? And if creating an XviD AVI, you need to both have the XviD codec installed and also set it up (Configure it). Or, if this is new to you, let AutoGK do the whole thing for you until you get the hang of it.

[Sulli]

Hello Manono

Just to let you know i found a way which may help you if someone else has the same problem. I have no idea why it works or even what it means but i just decided to click a few buttons randomly and stumbled upon a solution. The files by the way are a movie series from 2000 although im not sure if that will influence what the aspect ratio is or if there are any other factors that infleunce that. Anyway working on your "Resize" idea in v/dub and being convinced the aspect ratio was 16:9 i changed the aspect ratio to that in both the " compute height from ratio" and " letterbox to aspect ration" in the Framing Options". In the codec frindly sizing i changed the default selection from do not adjust to multiples of 2. I then followed normal processes and it created the file i wanted. I cant say for sure if the qulaity is the same but to the naked eye on on my HD Tv ( not that the files are in Hd) the quality seems fine to me. Hoope that helps you to helop someone in the future.
cheers

Sulli