Convert 4:3 letterbox mpeg1 to 16:9 DVD

[Halen]

I've looked all over the forum and tried various guides, but I just can't seem to get it right with the tools I have.

I've got some mpeg1 files with a resolution of 352 x 240 at a 4:3 aspect ratio, but the actual image is letterboxed. I'd like to transfer the videos to a dvd and crop the image for display on my 16:9 TV. I've been trying to framserve from VirtualdubMod to CCE but I can't seem to get the right results.

I add the nulltransform filter in Virtualdub and then I use the crop button to remove the black borders on the top and the bottom. Then I've tried just about everything from adding the resize filter and resizing to 720x360 to not adding the resize filter at all. I've set the DAR to 16:9 in CCE as well as follow a best results guide from doom9.org to get a good mpeg2 file out of CCE, but the aspect ratio still comes out wrong.

Can anyone point me to the right guide or tell me what I'm missing in my current process?

Thanks a ton.

[dafreak]

have you tried running the video through tmpgenc and setting input video to 4:3 525 line ntsc, set the video arrange method to fullscreen, and set output to 16:9?

you could also set the video arrange method to custom and set the aspect ratio to what you want.

[Halen]

Haven't tried that, but I'll give it a shot and see what happens. Thanks!

[wingnut]

Morning, (well it is here )

I did something very similar a while back to convert a showing of dune on sci fi to an anamorphic SVCD. Captured used null transform / cropping to remove the bars in virtualdub then frameserved to TMPGENC.

Set the source as 4:3 and the output as 16:9.

Quality is very, very dependant on the source though, going from an mpeg 1, (vcd?), letterboxed source to a full resolution or half resolution anamorphic dvd could be pushing the source to a point where it may look worse than letterboxed video.

Cheers

Edz

[Bob W]

Seems to me a pan and scan has already been diluted by 40% of what was in the original movie so converting that back to letter box would only further reduce the image content JMO.

[wingnut]

Ok now I'm confused..
although its possibly a result of not having had enough time to absorb my morning coffee yet

I took this ...

but the actual image is letterboxed.

... to mean Halen had an mpeg source of a letterboxed movie/show and wanted to blow that up to a 16:9 anamorphic video, if not then you're right Bob, cropping a 4:3 file to give an anamorphic appearance and fill a 16:9 screen will loose more picture area.

Cheers all

Edz ... need coffee ........slurp...ahhhhhh

[Halen]

Set the source as 4:3 and the output as 16:9.

Quality is very, very dependant on the source though, going from an mpeg 1, (vcd?), letterboxed source to a full resolution or half resolution anamorphic dvd could be pushing the source to a point where it may look worse than letterboxed video.

Cheers

Edz

Yep, this is pretty much what I'm trying to do. It is basically a VCD source, and I'm just doing part of it to check and see if the quality blows or not. But I do plan on doing the same kind of thing to a higher quality source, so any info on the conversion is helpful. Thanks!