Ipod video - adding letterbox.

[Prodigalfool]

Hey

I'm a new FFmpegX user, and I have a question. I'm looking to convert some TV shows I have into an iPod friendly format. The original video files (avi's) have a resolution of 528x288, or 1.85:1. I know that the the iPod video requires 320x240, but when i convert it to that resolution it stretches the image. Is there anyway to add letterboxes to my video so that the video is actually 320x240 but the content i want to watch stays in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio?

Thanks

`Anthony

[klutzak]

You don't need to. I've converted several widescreen format TV shows. If you set the size to 320w x 176h (set width and use the 1.85:1 pulldown to automatically set heighth) the iPod video will play the file as letterboxed, or you can set it to zoom (not stretch) to fullscreen in the iPod's video settings under widescreen.

[garethhk]

iPod Video can accept up to 480 x 480 MP4 files.
As I have both PSP and iPod Video (iPV), I convert all my 16:9 format clips to 368 x 208 with PSP preset.
The file will play fine in both PSP and iPV.
As klutzak mentioned, the Video setting in iPV allows you to switch between Widescreen mode and 4:3 mode.
If the option is set to off, Widescreen movies will take up the full height by upscaling (to 240) and trim off the sides at same time.
If your film is in 1.85:1 AR, you may try 444 x 240 size 1.85:1 AR and let ffmpegX decide the best Video bit rate by pressing the "Best" button in the Video tab. Encode with PSP preset to have MP4 baseline profile.
I believe the resulting files should play fine.