Convert 480x480 to 702x480 w/o distortion

[Zlorfik]

I just got a DVD burner and am checking out putting multiple SVCDs onto a DVD. This is for others, so I would like to make a best compatibility DVD. I'd rather not place the 480x480's on there directly.

When I converted a 480x480 AVI to 702(Or 720? Don't recall)x480 MPEG2 in Tmpgenc, I noticed the viewable area of the screen got smaller, like I was zoomed into the picture more. It was definatly chopping off some of each side, and likely some of the top and bottom. I know when viewed as a SVCD, I could see more of the picture.

Is there a term, or conversion parameter to preserver the aspect and size of the SVCD when going to DVD?

I tried a search, but got way too many unrelated results.

Thanks!

[DJRumpy]

First issue...wrong end result in TMPGenc. First, SVCD does not support 16:9, so most SVCD's you find will have 4:3 video, and aspect ratios, even though they may appear to be 16:9 when viewed with your player. Decide whether or not to retain the 4:3 aspect ratio, or correct it to 16:9. If you stick with 4:3, then make sure your in/out settings in TMPGenc reflect either 4:3, or 1:1, so the output DAR (aspect ratio) isn't changed in your output file.

(NOTE: From this point on, this assumes you are going to correct the aspect ratio back to true 16:9. Skip this if your just resizing your existing to 720x480 letterbox and all)

If you want to correct the aspect ratio, then some editing is in order. I usually do this with AVISynth, to chop off any existing letterboxing, and then resize my remaining video to DVD standards with proper letterboxing, according to the movies intended aspect ratio. You can also do this with the filters in virtualdub to crop and add borders.

AVISynth Commands (the CLIP argument is optional..see the docs)

Crop(clip,left,top,right,bottom)
BicubicResize(clip,newwidth,newheight)
AddBorders(clip,left,top,right,bottom)

If your not sure what aspect ratio your movie is (a search on Google for Movie Title, and the keyword 'Aspect Ratio' will usually yield quick results), then you'll have to eyeball it. The movie should appear a bit 'tall' to the appearance. This is correct, as the player will stretch it horizontally when played back.

2.35:1 movies will have a minimal amount of letterboxing, even on widescreen

1.85:1 movies will have no letterboxing as widescreen.

NOTE: By "clip", I mean actual image area WITHOUT letterboxing

A 2.35:1 aspect ratio for DVD should put the movie clip at about 720x360, with the remaining space of 120 pixels (480-360=120) made up with letterboxing, 60 on top, 60 on the bottom ( 120/2 = 60 ).

A movie with a 1.85 aspect ratio can simply have any letterboxing lopped off, and then resize it to the full 720x480.

Movies with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 are essentially 4:3 anyway, and can be treated as such.

[Zlorfik]

Thanks for the reply. I should add that my video is a 480x480 capture from NTSC TV. It was captured at 480x480. There is no letterboxing, widescreen, etc.

[Zlorfik]

I found that encoding with a "Video Arrange Method" of "Center (Keep Aspect Ratio)" fixed my problem. I can see the whole picture again.

[DJRumpy]

Yep. Your video is 4:3. You can use either 4:3, or 1:1 for the VIDEO setting (this is where the DAR is set on your output file), and unless you want to chop up your video, or rearrange it onscreen, you can always use "Center - Keep Aspect Ratio" for any project.