Wanted tool to change scale (aspect ratio) of video clip

[hand]

I have a video clip that was saved from a wide screen source and "squished" to 4:3. One effect of this is that all the people are tall and thin. I'm looking for a software tool that will allow me to convert it back to a wider scale.

[bugster]

What format is it in. If it is mpeg you can simply change the header with DVDpatcher or (I think) Re-Jig.

If it is avi, you will need to re-encode.

[hand]

I am fully prepared to reencode. The file I have at this point is DV (NTSC). Would the tools you mentioned apply?

[bugster]

No, that is avi.

AFAIK, avi does not include a flag to indicate the display aspect ratio like mpeg does. If you are trying to get this DVD format, simply encode to mpeg with the encoder set to produce a 16:9 output file. If you want to watch it on a PC, simply use a player that allows you to resize the display window.

[hand]

Please recommend a couple of applications (encoders) that will allow me to take the 4:3 and convert (output, export) to 16:9. Thank you!

[bugster]

What format do you want the output to bein?
What is your intended playback device?

[celtic_druid]

Actually the avi container can contain an AR flag (in the OpenDML vprp header). However mplayer and VLC are about the only players that will resize based on it.

You can use mencoder with -ovc copy -force-avi-aspect to change the flag.

Hmmm, not sure even VLC supports it.

[hand]

My input file is a 4:3 DV file created in Apple iMovie, playable in Quicktime. I will move it to a WinXP Pro machine to use software listed here if I need to. Then, I wish to simply change the aspect from 4:3 to 16:9 and re-encode to the exact same file format and properties. I will then movie it back to my Mac to edit and burn to DVD using iLife tools. The only thing I want to change is the aspect ratio, nothing else. Thanks.

[bugster]

I will then movie it back to my Mac to edit and burn to DVD using iLife tools. The only thing I want to change is the aspect ratio, nothing else. Thanks.

In that case there is no point doing anything to the avi. As I said before, just tell your DVD encoder to treat as 16:9 DAR. iLife tools (iDVD) can do that can't it

Its a pretty poor tool if it can't

[hand]

Yes, the iLife suite is a poor set of tools for file format and other changes that I'm trying to do here. iDVD takes the DV file as is. Quicktime Pro, as far I can see does not provide aspect ratio changes. This is the reason I started this post. I'm looking for another tool that can simply change the aspect from 4:3 to 16:9 so I don't have "tall thin people."

[bugster]

It is not the aspect ratio of the source file that is the problem. It is the 'DISPAY ASPECT RATIO' (DAR) of the ouput mpeg.

Your source file is DV. I assume NTSC. So that has a resolution of 720 * 480. The final DVD you produce will also be 720 * 480. This obviously is the same resolution so how can it be displayed as a 16:9 DVD The answer lies in the DAR which tells the player to display the video as either 4:3 or 16:9. Changing the resolution of the source file has no effect on this. If you can't set DAR to 16:9 in iLife tools, then it will display on your DVD player as 4:3 no matter what you do to the avi beforehand.

[hand]

Understood, I will conduct more tests and research iLife discussions on the Apple.com board. Thank you for your help. You can close the topic.

[bugster]

Understood, I will conduct more tests and research iLife discussions on the Apple.com board. Thank you for your help. You can close the topic.

There is an Apple forum here that will probably be able to help, try posting there.

[ChrissyBoy]

Just author the dvd as bugster said then change the AR of the .IFO files with IFOEDIT..... This is what i have to do with my DVD Recorder DVD's which refuse to set the IFO AR to 16:9 - it always sets to 4:3

[Public Image Ltd]

I have revived this thread, as I have a related problem and find that I am ignorant about when a header edit vis a vis a re-encode is necessary.

My situation is this. I have some hi-def MPV footage which I want to get into an acceptable DVD form. Gspot says the video details are as follows: 1280 X 720 PAL, 50 fps (prog), DAR 16:9, 9650 kbps; audio 448 kbps. With something like DVDPatcher, it is easy enough to go in and edit the header to 720 X 576, 25 fps. This edited MPV seems to play fine in WMP, but causes my software DVD players (ASUSDVD, PowerDVD) to hang. After muxing and authoring in GUIfordvdauthor, the resulting DVD plays, but stutters.

At this point, I must confess that I do not really know what I am doing. One possibility is that the muxed bit-rate is simply too high, although I wouldn't have thought that I was pushing the envelope all that much. The other possibility is that I need to downconvert the original data and not just the header. For instance, the question arises what that kbps spec in the MPEG header is actually doing, ie, is it a playback instruction, or is it something which is calculated as a function of other properties and is simply there for information? And even if header editing works, am I possibly suffering a performance hit by not hacking the actual data? Any pointers to tutorials on this sort of stuff would be appreciated.

[manono]

Hi-

Your problem is that your source is 1280x720 and 50fps, and no amount of patching will change it to the necessary 720x576 and 25fps. And as you speculated, the bitrate may jump out of DVD spec as well. Since GSpot shows the max bitrate set, that's probably not the case, though.

You need to resize it to 720x576, convert the framerate to 25fps, and then encode it for PAL DVD. Whether or not you can convert it to 25fps by just tossing out every other frame, or will have to reinterlace it, depends on what the source is like.

Some people around here like HDTV2DVD. I've never used it, so I can't comment.

Me, if I were doing it, I'd use an AviSynth script for the job. If you think you're up to the task, I or someone else can give you instructions. A very small sample of the source uploaded somewhere for us to have a look will help as well. But maybe HDTV2DVD will do the job for you OK.

[Public Image Ltd]

Manono

Thanks for that advice. However, I notice that even HDTV2DVD involves a MPEG <-> AVI conversion, which I would obviously like to avoid. Are you advocating these methods because of the general lack of cheap MPEG editors? Anything wrong with say HDTVtoMPEG2, or VideoReDo?

[manono]

HDTV2DVD is a freeware program to create DVDs from HDTV material (*.ts or *.tp HDTV MPEG-2 Transport Streams @ 1280 x 720p or 1920 x 1080i). Uses ffmpeg encoder. Requires .net framework.

Where does that say anything about converting to AVI? However, it does say it takes .ts and .tp transport streams, and you said your source is an MPV.

If you really only have an MPV, do you also have an audio stream of some kind? An MPV is only video. Or do you mean an MPG? Or do you really have a transport stream?

It looks to me that HDTVtoMPEG2 also takes only transport streams, and VideoReDo is an editor only, and not an encoder. Plus it costs money. It's excellent for what it does, but it's not going to convert your video to DVD.

So, although there may be programs that do what you want directly, I'd still use AviSynth to fix the framerate and resize, followed by frameserving to my encoder of choice.

There are others around here, I'm sure, that know more about converting HDTV sources to DVD.

[Public Image Ltd]

I have a MPG which I have demuxed to MPV/AC3 with PVAStrumento (without the demuxing, no audio). You're right, HDTVtoMPEG2 accepts TS input files only, whereas VideoReDo won't perform resizing/reframing (got fooled by the advertising). HDTV2DVD also seems to insist upon transport stream inputs. ffmpeg on its own looks like it accepts either TS or MPG: http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu/ffmpeg-doc.html, with the encoding quality being a bit of an unknown. Failing that, AVISynth/VirtualDub here I come, unless someone can suggest another MPG editor.

Grrrh, I can't believe this is getting so complicated. DVD players can obviously rescale aspect ratios on-the-fly, and I wouldn't have thought downconverting HD would be that much more difficult.