Adding 15 black rows of pixels to the top and bottom of an entire clip

[Terrah]

As the title says, I'm trying to add a total of 30 rows of pixels to a video clip. Reason is that I have 1050p screen, and need 30 more in order for Youtube to not downgrade the resolution to 720p.

I found some software that does this automatically as part of their encoding, but I don't want to use that softwares default settings (which cannot be changed). Is there any way to add rows of pixels in this manner without encoding the video? Or an encoder that has this option but also allows access to the full set of options a codec provides?

[guns1inger]

You have to re-encode if you alter the video, which adding black bars does.

XvidforPSP can add the borders for you and has a wide range of input and output codec support. Worst case, installing FFDShow fills any codec gaps.

(Personally, I recommend version 5.0.3x, which can be downloaded from the Tools page at Videohelp)

[manono]

Is there any way to add rows of pixels in this manner without encoding the video?

No. And you'll probably want to add them in Mod2 - like 16 above and 14 below.

Or an encoder that has this option but also allows access to the full set of options a codec provides?

It might help if you told us the desired output format. In any event, an AviSynth script fed into just about any encoder will do the job, with this added somewhere:

AddBorders(0,16,0,14)

[Terrah]

Desired output is x264 if it changes anything.

Thanks for the suggestions - I will give them a go and reply with how it goes!

[Terrah]

Xvid4PSP did it. Thank you two for the info, this tool is just what I needed.

[Terrah]

Derp, I don't seem to have it down perfectly.

A few questions come to mind, as I am having a large number of aspect ratio issues (distorted video).

First off: In this program, I'm assuming aspect error will let me know by how much I am distorting the image - is it an infallible feature or can it be wrong sometimes?

2nd: Will messing with "Allow resolutions divisible by: X" make the output incompatible with anything or is it just there so the drop-down menus don't show every single possible resolution?

Those questions aside, the major issue is I don't quite understand how this program handles the output resolution. To give some details of my media and what I want to end up with, I have a 1680x1050 clip, and want a 1680x1080 clip with those 30 extra rows as black borders. Messing around in the Resolution/Aspect window of Xvid2PSP.

Now, where I'm having confusion is regarding the output resolution: Should it read 1680x1050 or 1680x1080? It seems to be the case that adding those black borders squeezes my video within the resolution its been provided, this (presumably) being the case, if I want to have absolutely no distortion in my image, I must set my output resolution to 1680x1080 and have Black Height set to 30.

I've been tinkering for a while and I think I'm nearing my answer but I'd like to get confirmation from some veterans to go with it if possible.

Edit: I forgot to note that the Aspect Error shows ~3% error when I use 1680x1080 with Black Height set to 30, which is the reason for my asking if Aspect Error ever flukes. Also, the clip I was using for my testing came with its own "cinematic" black border, I'm doing a new set of tests with a clip that doesn't have this since Xvid2PSP seemed to be sensitive to the black borders.

[manono]

I believe you want to leave it at the source resolution. Then you go AviSynth->Edit Filtering Script and add in that line I gave you. You can confirm (or disprove) by checking the resolution when all done. If you just resize it to 1680x1080 then, yes, you'll get about a 3% aspect error.

I find it a little hard to believe, though, that you have a 1680x1050 1:1 video. That's a 1.6:1 ratio, unlike any video I've ever seen. You sure it doesn't have any PAR values set? Or is there enough black that if removed it produces a more 'normal' aspect ratio?

[Terrah]

I find it a little hard to believe, though, that you have a 1680x1050 1:1 video. That's a 1.6:1 ratio, unlike any video I've ever seen. You sure it doesn't have any PAR values set? Or is there enough black that if removed it produces a more 'normal' aspect ratio?

1680x1050 is my monitor's resolution, these clips I am speaking of in my prior posts are made via FRAPS, a screen recording software. The things I'm trying to do aren't for any particular project, rather I'm trying to delve back in and learn more about encoding and video editing by just setting a goal and working towards it. Right now the goal is to get as high a quality video clip as possible on Youtube, even if the process is inefficient time-wise to do. Helps working with clips I've recorded as I know its about as good a start I can have in terms of quality.

Will try out your suggestion if this last batch of tests turns out to be another failure - thanks!

[Terrah]

Okay, turned out setting "30" to the height actually placed 30 top and 30 bottom pixels, and squished the image because the AviSynth code seemed to adjust the resolution to compensate for the 60 extra pixels. I set it to 1680x1050 manually and changed the AddBorders from 0, 30, 0, 30 to what you had posted and it worked out just fine - no distortions and the final resolution is 1680x1080. After seeing the final results I may just decide to simply increase the resolution and crop from the left/right sides in order to eliminate the black borders, though since just about every screen varies it may be a fruitless effort to try and get it to match any one screen.

Either way, thanks again for the help!