720x480 video - but I see only 640x480 on TV rest is gone

[killmore]

I encoded video with 4:3 ratio with TEMPGEnc into 720x480 resolution.
But I noticed that left and right edge were cutoff on my TV. (I am only seeing 640x480 on TV)

So I encoded 720x480 with 40 pixel black bars on both sides (and 4:3). Now I see entire video with nothing cutoff - and no black bars.

1) Is this normal since I use 4:3
2) If it is normal then black sidebars save a lot of bits that can be used to encode the 640x480 with better detail

[FulciLives]

Hello

Well almost every TV (even a very expensive "high-end" TV) has some degree of what is called OVERSCAN. The image is ever so slightly "blown up" so that you do not see the very edges of the picture (including not just the sides but also the bottom and top as well). This is normal for a TV but a computer monitor does not have overscan so you are seeing the entire picture on the computer but not on the TV.

If it really bothers you then try this ...

Resize the video to something like (I'm guessing here) 700x460 in your avs script then do an addborders of 10 all around so that your final resolution is 720x480

This should (I say should because I never tried this) preserve the aspect ratio but it shrinks the image just enough so that with the borders you should be able to see it all. I don't know if 10 around will be enough for your TV so you might want to do a few tests with different settings to see which is best on your TV.

As far as I am concerned overscan doesn't really bother me but I can see how some might be troubled by it.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[killmore]

Top and bottom of the picture is not cut off at all.

Could this be more just then overscan? Just feels like too much of coincedence...

640/480 is 4:3 so maybe TV is just showing only picture that is 4:3 - everything else is out of the screen

[killmore]

I think 720x480 movie at 4:3 ratio gets "Pan & Scan" treatment and becomes 640x480 - anyone is that True?