Question regarding resolutions...

[johneboy]

OK...
Hopefully I can explain this coherently..

With VCD's, the standard resolution is 352x240 (NTSC)
which means that the width of the video is 1.467 larger then the height.

Now this would seem to be the same type of aspect on a normal TV (not HDTV)

However, the standard resolution for SVCD is 480x480(NTSC)
this is a box?
A TV isn't square, so wouldnt it have to slightly squoosh the picture to fit the aspect ratio of the TV?

The reason i ask, is because while playing around with trying to make widescreen films, into fullscreen... i do the following to output a full screen VCD resolution


Input = 704x480
Black borders (top and bottom) = 55

So i crop 55 from the top and the bottom.. which just leaves me with 370 as the height of the movie...
Using the math of W>H by x1.467
this would mean i would need a Width of 543
so i would crop 80 off the left and right hand side.

Now the final size is 543x370 , which when resized to 352x240 shouldn't be stretched or anything...

I guess what im trying to ask is how the TV makes a square image (480x480) fit on a TV that is NOT square

[wulf109]

If your useing Tmpeg you would be better served useing the custom center option in the advanced settings tab. I've used it make 2:35 films 1:85 with correct aspect ratio.

[vitualis]

The "pixels" on VCD/SVCD/DVD are not square.

Furthermore, you will need to get it into your head that the digital resolution of the video clip has no bearing on the aspect ratio.

VCD/SVCD both must have a display aspect ratio (DAR) of 4:3. That means, regardless of the framesize of the video, the video is stretched by the play back device to fill a 4:3 screen.

Regards.

[johneboy]

The "pixels" on VCD/SVCD/DVD are not square.

Furthermore, you will need to get it into your head that the digital resolution of the video clip has no bearing on the aspect ratio.

VCD/SVCD both must have a display aspect ratio (DAR) of 4:3. That means, regardless of the framesize of the video, the video is stretched by the play back device to fill a 4:3 screen.

Regards.

Then why when played in wmp, does VCD show a proper looking aspect ratio, where SVCD plays in a square?

[bartman]

Do an Alt+Enter and WMP should play using the proper aspect ratio....WMP ignores DAR when in window'd mode....if that doesn't work, use a proper player that actually takes note of the DAR flag in the MPEG file.....like Power DVD....then your SVCD won't be square...

Bartman 8)

[johneboy]

So, knowing this... in theory, i could use the same technique to make fullscreen SVCDs from widescreen source..

So if my source is 704x480
and the black bars are say... 55 "pixels" high

i would chop those off, and then have a height of 370, so my width would also have to be 370?
so i would have to chop off 167 "pixels" off each side?

This doesnt sound right

[p_l]

Bartman, funny you should mention that. I remember 480x480 SVCDs (files on hard drive or burned to SVCD disc, I don't remember) playing in proper aspect ratio in full-screen mode on WMP several months ago, but it doesn't work anymore. I used to run ME with WMP 7, but now I run XP with WMP 8. What version of WMP do you have, that plays SVCD full-screen in the correct aspect ratio?

How about WMP 6.4? Does it play SVCDs at correct aspect ratio in full-screen mode too? And does anybody know if you can access WMP 6.4 in XP? It seems that it might be there, somewhere deep in the machine, because something that really looks like WMP 6.4 is used when playing streaming video embedded in a web page. If so, how can it be accessed in XP running WMP 8?

EDIT: OK, found it in Program Files -> Windows Media Player -> mplayer2.exe. But it doesn't play SVCD files from my hard drive in the correct aspect ratio in full-screen mode.

So back to my original question: what version of WMP displays SVCD in a proper aspect ratio in full-screen mode? Sure, SVCDs play OK in WinDVD, but I was wondering how it could be done in WMP. I remember being used to be able to.

[banjazzer]

You are best ditching WMP in all its incarnations IMO, and using something decent to play media files - such as PowerDVD or WinDVD. Both of these will correctly display SVCD, and despite the greater capabilityand sophistication of both programs, they make far fewer demands on system resources.

[p_l]

Yes, of course WinDVD and PowerDVD play SVCDs very well, and with the correct aspect ratio, but I was just curious which version of WMP bartman used to play them with the correct aspect ratio in full-screen mode, and if it was from a file on his hard drive or from a disc he burned.

[banjazzer]

Furry nuff. But remember, philanthropic Bill don't give away free software that is any good. Just look at Outlook Express. 8)

[bartman]

I have WMP 9 running on XP Pro.....But I use WMP 6.4 for testing all my mpeg's (doesn't have all the extra baggage that 7+ has).

You can start 6.4 by typing mplayer2 in the run dialogue box. The exe is located in "\Program Files\Windows Media Player".

Bartman 8)

[p_l]

My WMP 6.4 (running XP Home SP1 with WMP8 ) doesn't play SVCDs with the correct aspect ratio, and I System Restored WMP9 off my machine (not quite ready for prime time, IMHO), so I guess I'll keep playing them with WinDVD, which does work fine. 8) Curious, though; I could swear I used to be able to play SVCDs full-screen in WMP with the correct aspect ratio too.

[Megahurts]

To all

I think it depends on what MPEG2 codec WMP is using. My WMP 6.4 uses the 'Ligos MPEG video decoder' and with the 'Use Overlay Mixer' box checked, it will play the proper aspect ratio.

To check wich codec WMP 6.4 is using, start the movie, right click screen, properties, advanced tab, you will see the video decoder used. If it's Ligos then click properties and check the 'Use Overlay Mixer' box. Other codecs may have similar options. You must close the movie for it to take effect.

I tried checking with WMP7 by file, properies and it displayed the Ligos codec but could not figure how get to the options feature of the codec.

Chas

[p_l]

Ah, mystery solved. Thanks, megahurts. 8) ...for MPEG2, anyway.

However, I used to have the Ligos MPEG1 codec on my system, but got rid of it because when it was in use it caused my MPEG1s to play the video way slower than the audio, terribly out of sync. It took me a while to pinpoint the problem, but when I did, the only way I could find to remove it from my system was either to remove the video editing software program that used it and hence installed it on my machine, or do a -you guessed it- System Restore. Problem solved, and then my MPEG1 playback defaulted to using Microsoft's(?) MPEG1 codec.

But one thing I could never figure out was if you had more than one MPEG codec on a machine, whether it was possible to select which one you want to be used yourself, either by a file, a player, or by default for all MPEG files. It seems a file will be played with whatever MPEG codec was the most recently installed, leaving you no choice in the matter. Even going into WMP6.4 (where Megahurts correctly states is the only version of WMP I know of you can see the properties of a codec in use), it doesn't seem possible to select one given MPEG codec or another.

So, can this be done? If you have more than one MPEG1 codec installed on a machine, is there some way to choose one rather than another for playback?

But I suppose this question should be posted in the Software Playing section.

[banjazzer]

But I suppose this question should be posted in the Software Playing section.

The question is why people persevere with junk software!

[p_l]

Yes, I get it. Microsoft bad. Thanks for the refreshing insight.


Now, about the actual question regarding codecs... ?

[banjazzer]

Yes, I get it. Microsoft bad. Thanks for the refreshing insight.

It's not quite the flippant comment you take it to be. There are very many mpeg2 queries here that are totally related to using WMP - such as resolution problems and audio/video synch issues. Sometimes the kindest advice is to try get people to consider using software that is designed to do the job properly, rather than software that is both buggy and a hog of system resources. The only thing going for WMP is that it is free. As to versions beyong 6.4 I cannot seriously imagine why anyone would consider using them. Chacun a son gout.

[p_l]

The main reason I ask is that while I usually use WinDVD for SVCD playback, many friends and family members with whom I share SVCDs can't play them if they have a stand-alone player that doesn't support SVCD. Since many of them have a computer, but don't have a software DVD player such as WinDVD or PowerDVD, I would like to provide them with a way of playing SVCDs on WMP with the correct aspect ratio. With VCDs it's no problem, but not everyone has a software DVD player. En effet, chacun à son goût.