How to get full screen on DVD

[zzviper]

Ok... before someone rips me to bits just here me out.. I have ripped a movie and I want to try and get it to full screen without streching the people.... can it be done ?? I am using SmartRip then Rempeg then Spruceup then Ifoedit to get the finishing product... is there something I can do to get it right ???
Thanks

[mats.hogberg]

What are you ripping it to? DVD-R, VCD, SVCD...

/Mats

[DJRumpy]

You should first check to see if the movie you ripped has a fullscreen version. Failing that, use a CROPPING function in your editor of choice, to clip of the sides of the movie, and reduce the ratio to 4:3.

[dmonty]

DJRumpy’s suggestion is valid but does have some issues.

One problem with cropping widescreen movies is that sometimes one or more main characters can be clipped because they are out of the 4:3 border. The movie “Domestic Disturbance” is a good example of this. There is a scene where John Travolta is sitting with his estranged wife talking to some guy about their son. In this scene John is on one side of the screen and his ex-wife is on the other side. If this scene was cropped you would see only John’s left shoulder the ex-wife’s right shoulder for the duration of the entire scene.

The other issue is that your efforts will only be good on a 4:3 TV. What happens when you one day get a widescreen TV? Will you redue the movie or will you stretch it to fit? ewww.

For widescreen video I recommend the following .....

On you finished movie, use IFOEdit to open the main movie’s IFO. At the root of your IFO you should see “Title Set (Movie) attributes:”. Double click “Video: MPEG-2 720x480.......” to open the video attributes. In the “Aspect Ratio” box check “16:9”. Resolution “720x480”. In Static remove any checks. Save and burn.

Using this method your can change between Pan & Scan (Full Screen) and Letterbox and 16:9 via your DVD player. This will allow you to force full screen on 4:3 TVs (same effect as cropping) with the added benefit of keeping the widescreen movie intact (great for when you one day get a widescreen tv).

Hope this helps.

D

[zzviper]

I am burning it to a DVD-R.... If I select the Pan and Scan in ifoedit will this strech the picture to fit in a 4:3 TV >??

[dmonty]

Ideally you do not want to enable any of the “static” options. If you enable “pan and scan” via IfoEdit your dvd player will be forced to display full screen regardless of whether you are using a 4:3 or 16:9 TV. I think it would be better to leave the “static” options unchecked. This way you can enable fullscreen via the DVD player menu.