Panasonic E50 16x9/Letterbox sizing issue

[ejai]

I was wondering if anyone knows a way to get a program that is Letterbox on satelite TV to record in Letterbox using a Panasonic recorder?
I have not been able to get Letterbox movies on Direct TV to record in 16x9, only 4:3.

I've read the manual and I am using dvd-ram disks to make the recording because that is suppose to retain the signals original dimensions. I'm wondering if this only pertains to dvd disks and not signals from other sources.

If anyone knows the answer, please respond.

[handyguy]

Never happened to me. If the original is letterbox so is my recording.

the only thing I can think of is to change recording method from AUTO to FIXED. But I didn't have to do that.

[Synergy]

I have not been able to get Letterbox movies on Direct TV to record in 16x9, only 4:3.

When you said movies on Direct TV to record only in 4:3, did you mean the frames were distorted (squeezed horizontally) in 4:3 ratio? If this is the case, then it simply means that your recorder did record the 16x9 ehanced movies correctly, but there was no 16x9 flag embedded in the recording, and your recorder/player therefore cannot downconvert (or re-scale) to the correct ratio to display on a 4:3 TV. See post#14:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3764262#post3764262

I've read the manual and I am using dvd-ram disks to make the recording because that is suppose to retain the signals original dimensions. I'm wondering if this only pertains to dvd disks and not signals from other sources.

Discs recorded in the DVD-VR mode (DVD-RAM or DVD-RW) are supposed to correctly record the 16x9 source material, what really matters is that if a 16x9 flag was missing in the broadcast or not present out of the set-top box, then the recordings cannot be properly displayed on a 4:3 TV.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=3761125#post3761125

Also check out the following link for more discussion and how to add the flag on DVD-Video discs:

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=214323

[ejai]

Thanks for the response,

To answer your question, no the video does not appear to be squeezed in any way. I only notice that once I record the material and play it on my computer's dvd player (WinDVD) the video shows the black margins on the top and bottom, but doesn't stretch the players screen to accomodate a full screen video.

The video still appears to be in a small 4:3 box with the black margins on the top and bottom which indicate a 16x9 or letterbox video.

[Synergy]

no the video does not appear to be squeezed in any way... The video still appears to be in a small 4:3 box with the black margins on the top and bottom which indicate a 16x9 or letterbox video.

I think you need to distinguish the difference between 16x9 and letterbox video. Apparently your original video source was letterboxed (which means widescreen video frames are stored as 4:3 aspect ratio with black margins) and that's how it was recorded and displayed on your computer monitor. While the 16x9 enhanced (also called anamorphic) video is stored as a full picture although squeezed horizontally on the same 4:3 frame, and it would be displayed at the correct ratio when un-squeezed either on a computer monitor or a widescreen TV. But it needs a 16x9 flag to tell the player to downconvert and display the correct letterbox frame on a 4:3 TV.

So scratch my previous post and your recording is letterboxed but not 16x9 enhanced, and there is nothing wrong with its display on your computer.

[ejai]

While the 16x9 enhanced (also called anamorphic) video is stored as a full picture although squeezed horizontally on the same 4:3 frame, and it would be displayed at the correct ratio when un-squeezed either on a computer monitor or a widescreen TV. But it needs a 16x9 flag to tell the player to downconvert and display the correct letterbox frame on a 4:3 TV.

So scratch my previous post and your recording is letterboxed but not 16x9 enhanced, and there is nothing wrong with its display on your computer.

Thanks for the info, but how am I able to tell the dvd players to apply the correct flag?

Oops, I see you left an answer to my question in your earlier posts, I'm wondering if it will work on dvd-ram files .vro.