XVID/DIVX for 16:9 HDTV

[computerchuck]

I just got a 16x9 HDTV. For the hell of it I bought philips dvp642 player for xvid/divx titles. Last night I converted a dvd to xvid and divx (to test for quality purposes) and noticed that on playback I am getting larger blackbars on top and bottom compared to the original dvd. Also the aspect ratio seems to be off a little. Here are my settings:

DVD- TITAN AE
Philips dvp 642/17 (16:9 mode progressive scan on and using RGB out)
RCA 52" HDTV
DR DIVX 1.0.6
AUTOGK 1.56 BETA

For a reference point proceed to the end of the film where they show PLANET BOB (NEW EARTH). Well the planet appears to be stretched on both avi files. DVD on other hand is perfectly round. Now while I am getting use to dishnetwork being stretched on the tv, why should my avi files suffer the same fate when the original source does not? Is there a setting somewhere that will stop the 16:9 squish? or am I just not using the proper conversion program?

[RottenFoxBreath]

i checked my dvd of titanAE,and noticed that its anamorphic,so its being stretched vertically more.
thats probably the problem with your output on divx,xvid.
i would try the different aspect ratios of your tv,as i dont think divx,xvid on any player is anamorphic yet.

[vhelp]

You could also try a reverse stretch for your anamorphic divX
encodes. I only just made that up.

But if you can not get it aspect ratio 'wise, then perhaps in
your next trial encode to divX, you can stretch it the other
way.

Good luck,
-vhelp

[computerchuck]

I might have found a temporary solution. Using Dr Divx (not a fan of but for some reason cant get autogk to convert titan ae-keeps finding the dts track and not the ac3 track) on encode option I chose 4:3 instead of 16:9 and on the widescreen it shows same aspect ratio as the dvd, but ofcourse the pc makes the image taller. not a big deal. I'll give it a special label marking it for anamorphic purpose only. now to go and encode it all the way through. Also just curious whats the optimal bitrate that will yield the best picture quality? (will be using dvd-r's not cds)

[monzie]

My guess is its not the AR (though it could be) but more probably its the PIXEL RATIO that you havent taken into acount.

Your divx and xvid encodings should have used the settings below:

Remember a 720 wide 4:3 DVD's visible area is 704 (padded 8 front and rear) is the equivalent of 640 avi horizontal pixels (or 720 wide PAL equals 704 visible equals 768 horizontal avi pixels)..,..or ratio's of.

But if the original was a 16:9 enhanced DVD encoding the correct avi horizontals become 852 or 1024 (for PAL) from a 704 visible source (from a D1 720 standard DVD)....to keep them 'true',.. OR... you can use the above 4:3 sizes and use the widescreen mode of the TV to stretch them back (but they will not look correct on a pc).

AVI enabled DVD players add there own black bars to AVI sources when required (avi's generally NEVER have black bars even if the source was above 1.78:1 as its a waste of time encoding them). Also AVI DVD players know the difference between a 1:1 AVI pixel and a 11:10 (or 59:54 PAL) 'pixel' but do not understand widescreen pixels (40:33 or 118:81)..thats upto the TV to sort out.

Check out this guide for avi encoding sizes BUT remember the playback size will only be correct using the widescreen mode if the source was a 16:9 enhanced DVD.

http://www.nanomessiah.com/dvd-backup/dvd-to-divx.html

So the question is what size did you originally convert your avi's to (and did you crop the black bars from the source?), AND was it a 4:3 or 16:9 source? And what mode is your TV in?

[RottenFoxBreath]

TitanAE on my old 4:£ tv is letterbox in presentation,whereas on the widescreen tv,its got small black bars top and bottom,thats more than likely the problem.
the only way really is to make the 4:3 like you said.not ideal,but itll do.

[computerchuck]

Titan AE is 16:9 anamorphic enhanced, but still leaves small black bars at top and bottom. Yes I did tell it to crop the black bars and changed the resize option to 704 x 400 (when you choose 4:3 encode mode). But encoding it that way makes the planets round again and not stretched. Also fills more of the screen like the original dvd does. Now my only concern is the best bitrate.