Encoding tips for a 400X300 source in TMPGEnc?

[tuxedotservo]

I'm a newbie, and have been playing around a bit...

Does anyone have some good tips on encoding for a 400X300, 23.976fps source file? I'm trying to make either a VCD or an SVCD out of this (an episode of The Slayers), but the best I have been able to do is have it cut a bit off the sides. The worst I've done is have it chop the top and bottom, and thus the subtitles.

The DiVx is 400X300.

Anyone have tips for getting this to look good (not cut off) in TMPGEnc?

Any tips are greatly appreciated!
--
TS

[Tommyknocker]

Have you used the templates?

[tuxedotservo]

Yes, and I'm not losing much...but I am losing just a touch off the corners, where I can tell. Probably being too picky, I know...

When I'm close, I have a bar at the top and bottom, and just a shave off each corner. Is that to be expected?

[Tommyknocker]

Did you do this step in TMPGEnc?

Select Other Settings
Click on Advanced
Change the Video arrange Method to Full screen (keep aspect ratio) if you wan't the movie to look exact the same as the video source.
If you have a widescreen movie and you want it to be fullscreen(no borders) select instead No margin(keep aspect ratio) and TMPGenc will cut it.

--http://www.vcdhelp.com/tmpgenc.htm

[tuxedotservo]

Did that step. When I use that with NTSC, I get chop at the top and bottom.

I think I have it figured out, but it involves using a non-compliant size setting in anything but SVCD.

[ya_jai]

how about 1:1 and full screen. It's still cut off some thou.

[tuxedotservo]

Here's what I finally did, and got it right:

VCD - PAL - 352 x 288
Aspect Ratio 4:3 (PAL 623 line)
Source Aspect Ratio VGA 1:1

Seems to work, at least in my Apex AD-500W.

[tuxedotservo]

ACK! It only worked once...I must have had something set that I didn't notice that wasn't saved when I saved the profile...

Am I missing something? The source video is 400X300, so that's a 4:3 aspect ratio for source, correct? I want it to keep the 4:3, so I select that (I've tried PAL and NTSC). Yet, I still get the edges chopped off when I play it on the TV (the mpeg looks fine run in Media Player).

The default templates do this to me as well, or chop the top and bottom (which is worse, because it's subtitled).

As I said before, I'm quite the newbie. I'm doing something stupid, but can't figure out what, exactly...