REsizing

[kirkmc]

I have an mpeg file which is 'squashed' horizontally. It was 16:9 ratio but has been changed to 4:3 so everything is tall and thin.
Is there a program that will let me stretch it back to normal?
NB. MPEG4Modifier.exe is no good, it needs an avi and won't accept this file. I did try converting to avi in VLC but got audio only.

[zing269]

ffmpeg can change the aspect ration without re-encoding.

Use
ffmpeg -i "$in_file" -c copy -aspect 16:9 "$out_file"
or
ffmpeg -i "$in_file" -c copy -bsf:v "h264_metadata=sample_aspect_ratio=16/9" out.mp4

The first will change it at the container level, the second will change it at the stream level.

[davexnet]

You can drop it into mkvtoolnix gui, correct the A/R, then save as MKV

[kirkmc]

I didn't have much luck with ffmpeg. I put the file into the same directory as ffmpeg and typed

D:\Program Files (x86)\DVD Flick\bin>ffmpeg -i aa.mpeg -c copy -aspect 16:9 ab.mpeg

I got back
FFmpeg version SVN-r19276, Copyright (c) 2000-2009 Fabrice Bellard, et al.
configuration: --enable-gpl --enable-memalign-hack --enable-runtime-cpudetect --disable-protocols --disable-indevs --disable-bsfs --disable-filters --disable-network --disable-ffplay --disable-ffserver --disable-encoders --disable-muxers --enable-w32threads --enable-libgsm --enable-libfaad --enable-encoder=mjpeg --enable-encoder=mpeg2video --enable-encoder=ac3 --enable-demuxers --enable-muxer=ac3 --enable-muxer=image2 --enable-muxer=mpeg2video --enable-muxer=dvd --enable-avisynth --enable-protocol=file --enable-protocol=pipe --enable-encoder=rawvideo --enable-muxer=yuv4mpegpipe
libavutil 50. 3. 0 / 50. 3. 0
libavcodec 52.32. 0 / 52.32. 0
libavformat 52.36. 0 / 52.36. 0
libavdevice 52. 2. 0 / 52. 2. 0
libswscale 0. 7. 1 / 0. 7. 1
built on Jun 26 2009 00:46:13, gcc: 4.4.0

Seems stream 0 codec frame rate differs from container frame rate: 50.00 (50/1) -> 25.00 (25/1)
Input #0, mpeg, from 'aa.mpeg':
Duration: 01:30:20.14, start: 0.242222, bitrate: 1602 kb/s
Stream #0.0[0x1e0]: Video: mpeg2video, yuv420p, 352x288 [PAR 12:11 DAR 4:3], 9523 kb/s, 25 tbr, 90k tbn, 50 tbc
Stream #0.1[0x80]: Audio: ac3, 48000 Hz, stereo, s16, 256 kb/s
[NULL @ 0x1a43940]Unknown option 'c'
[swscaler @ 0x1a448e0]Unknown option 'c'
ffmpeg: unrecognized option '-c'

So I then tried with quotes around the filenames but same problem. What did I do wrong ?

Will see what happens with mkvtoolnix

[kirkmc]

Sorry no luck with that either. I could drag the file into mkvtoolnix-gui.exe but that was all. No obvious way to change anything

[ProWo]

Use clever Ffmpeg-GUI.
Load your mpeg, click on main, click change video AR, set 16:9, click change AR. Done.

[kirkmc]

This sure is a hard road to hoe... that gave me .7z file. Can Windows use that? My Win 10 says No.

[ProWo]

This sure is a hard road to hoe... that gave me .7z file. Can Windows use that? My Win 10 says No.

Here you go:
https://www.7-zip.org/

[kirkmc]

How to Unzip Without WinZip Windows 10

Find the desired ZIP file.
Open the file explorer by double-clicking the desired file.
Locate “Compressed Folder Tools” at the top of the File Explorer menu.
Click “Extract” immediately below “Compressed Folder Tools”
Wait for a pop-up window to appear.

If I double click the file a popup says "How do you want to Open..." no opportunity to Locate “Compressed Folder Tools” at the top of the File Explorer menu.

[hech54]

Any program video program that gives you a 7zip file as an output needs to be deleted IMMEDIATELY. WTF is that?

[kirkmc]

I have downloaded installed 7-zip.org/ but how do you use it ?
If I d-click 7z.exe (dated 22 Feb 2019) 458KB it just briefly flashes something on the screen and appears to do nothing.

[kirkmc]

Hope it's not a bloody virus! Shall i delete it ?

[ProWo]

Any program video program that gives you a 7zip file as an output needs to be deleted IMMEDIATELY. WTF is that?

The program itself is delivered in a 7zip archive, not the program output

[ProWo]

Hope it's not a bloody virus! Shall i delete it ?

7zip is an archiver, like winzip or winrar.

[kirkmc]

Eventually unzipped it (and the extra files it wanted). It loaded the mpeg file but then reported an error. You could continue (which i did) but
there was just a "be patient" message for an hour. Then I closed it. If you run it again it still wants those extra files that are already there.
Sorry it seems a really crap program.

[ProWo]

Upload your mpeg somewhere, post the link here and I'll fix it for you

[ProWo]

Eventually unzipped it (and the extra files it wanted). It loaded the mpeg file but then reported an error. You could continue (which i did) but
there was just a "be patient" message for an hour. Then I closed it. If you run it again it still wants those extra files that are already there.

You didn't follow the instructions.
clever FFmpeg GUI is, as the name suggests, a GUI for FFmpeg. The required files are ffmpeg.exe, ffplay.exe and ffprobe.exe.
At the first start of clever FFmpeg-GUI you have to specify the folder with these three files, then a destination folder where the outputs will be stored and then you can use the program.

[Alwyn]

MKVToolnix:

Open MKVToolnix

1. In the upper left box "Source Files", right click and choose Add Files

Browse to your MPEG and click Open; the video and audio components will appear in the lower left box ("Tracks, Chapters and tags").

2. Click on the video track (will probably be the top line)

3. Over in Properties (on the right on the screen) scroll down to Video Properties and click Set Aspect Ratio, then set what you want from the drop-down list.

4. Now, back to the bottom of the main window, set the destination file details

5. click "start Multiplexing".

Finito!

Edit: On my system, only VLC Player respects the changed ratio. No other program or media player I have displays the new ratio after using MKVToolnix.

[jagabo]

Visually...


[Attachment 60245 - Click to enlarge]

Note that not all players will respect the container's aspect ratio flag, especially outside a PC. So this may or may not work for you.

[Quint]

If your mpeg file is simply mpeg2 the good old Restream should be the easiest solution.

[Alwyn]

If your mpeg file is simply mpeg2 the good old Restream should be the easiest solution.

It looks like you have to demux the MPEG first (and then remux after)?

[jagabo]

If your mpeg file is simply mpeg2 the good old Restream should be the easiest solution.

It looks like you have to demux the MPEG first (and then remux after)?

Yes.

[Alwyn]

Note that not all players will respect the container's aspect ratio flag, especially outside a PC. So this may or may not work for you.

You're right there. VLC Player respects it, but my video editor doesn't, and nor does my Serviio/LG TV, nor VideoRedo, nor any of my other software players. So scratch that idea.

[ProWo]

Note that not all players will respect the container's aspect ratio flag, especially outside a PC. So this may or may not work for you.

You're right there. VLC Player respects it, but my video editor doesn't, and nor does my Serviio/LG TV, nor VideoRedo, nor any of my other software players. So scratch that idea.

Objection, that is not correct.
Just tested with VideoRedo and my Samsung TV.

[Alwyn]

We'll have to agree to disagree. I haven't tried a USB stick in my TV, but VideoRedo definitely does not respect the MKVToolnix flag here.

Mediainfo gives it away:

Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Original display aspect ratio : 4:3

I did have success with this:

Demux with DGIndex.

Convert to 16:9 with Restream

Remux with ImagoMPEG-Muxer

[Alwyn]

Use clever Ffmpeg-GUI.
Load your mpeg, click on main, click change video AR, set 16:9, click change AR. Done.

Doesn't work here. CleverFFMpegGUI even renames the file as 16-9 but it's still 4:3.

I did discover that if I went into the Video options and messed around with the video size, I got it to create a 16-9 file. But it was an MKV.

[ProWo]

Have changed the DAR with my clever FFmpeg-GUI. Successfully retested with Videoredo v.6.62.5.831 and VLC Player.
However, most video editors open the videos according to their resolution in pixels (width x height).

[Quint]

Restream is the only way here provided to change the headers INSIDE each packet in the mpeg-2-stream (although I guess that there might be such a functionality also in ffmpeg, but not sure).
MKV flags that are just set in the container's header are not very reliable. A real P* in the a* f. e. can be the feature that you can "change" the framerate in this way. Often done for a fast PAL speedup, but causes random stuttering, sometimes, sometimes not. Just by the way.

Edit: Did ffmpeg change ALL headers or only the first?

[kirkmc]

ProWo, thanks for the upload/fix offer, appreciate that but I'd like to learn hope to do it myself, as may get other files that need it.
It does look the most crazy, impossible, complicated thing... which even then may not work.
Perhaps I should flag the whole idea.
You chaps use jargon which I don't fully understand. It's a case of googling all the terms like MUX etc.
Anyway i did have another try with clever Ffmpeg-GUI.
Managed to point it to the 3 .exe files and load the video then get to the "main screen". Clicked Change VideoDAR and seen aspect ratio was already on 16:9.
The option after this was Main, then Set target, which I did. Then the only option was Quit. Which it did WITHOUT DOING A BLOODY THING !! It did not write anything to the Target folder.
What did I do wrong ?

[manono]

I did have success with this:

Demux with DGIndex.

Convert to 16:9 with Restream

Remux with muxman

Convert VOB to MPEG with DVDVOB2MPG.

You can save a step by remuxing using ImagoMPEG-Muxer. That's how I'd do it.