Encoding 1.66:1 video

[duffbeer]

I am compressing some files that are 1.66:1 ratio and I can't decide what is the best resolution to use. I generally prefer to reduce my encodes to 720p but I can't decide how to handle these ones.

The way I see it there are 2 choices: 1280x770 or 1195x720. Both result in approx. 1.66:1 image.

I'm just after some opinions on this one because I realise there is no right or wrong - just different options!

[KarMa]

*Deleted*

I'm tired and not thinking straight.

[hello_hello]

Standard practice, while still calling a video 720p, is a 1280 width for widescreen and a 720 height for not widescreen, but what I do depends on the amount of picture detail. I downscale until doing so results in a loss of fine detail. Usually 720p's the limit but I've re-encoded some really old black and white video at a lower resolution such as 576p or 540p. Or I've used 900p, which for 1.66 would be about 1494x900. Does that help?

[duffbeer]

Thanks to you both. I kind of knew that *x720 was technically more correct than 1280x* but I wanted some opinions.

[duffbeer]

Dragging up my old thread....
I have a 1.66:1 DVD that I want to encode anamorphic and I can't work out what resolution to use. What would you guys do?

[jagabo]

Crop off the black borders and use the same sampling aspect ratio as the DVD.

[Cornucopia]

You don't have a 1.66:1 dvd, though. Dvd only comes as 4:3 or 16:9. If the title was originally a different AR and was padded to accommodate the dvd format, and you now have a different (original?) AR, the file has been reencoded.

Scott