Zooming out entire clip content

[petsas]

Hi all,
Although it is very easy to find tools, filters and advice on cropping clips, I have not managed to find tools and help for the reverse as yet. That is, how to zoom out the content of a clip while maintaining its original dimensions or equivalently how to add a thick black frame around the content of a clip while maintaining its original size/dimensions.

Why I need this? When capturing and converting a VHS into mpeg file creating a dvd, part of the edges of the original content are not visible on the TV. So I thought that by editing the captured file so as to zoom it out, I could make up for the above effect.
Is there an mpg editor to do this? How exactly this could be accomplished?
Any help on that, would be greatly appreciated
Thanks,
manolis

[manono]

Hi-

The "Blocks Overscan" settings in FitCD can easily do it for you. It'll create an AviSynth script file you can use when reencoding.

[mikiem]

"That is, how to zoom out the content of a clip while maintaining its original dimensions or equivalently how to add a thick black frame around the content of a clip while maintaining its original size/dimensions."

If your video is interlaced, unless you take extra steps to avoid it, the enlarging process can screw up your video, which is good reason to add the frame you were talking about, or letterboxing. Reducing frame size is much less effected if at all.

As pointed out by manono, can use Fit CD. Can also do this in VirtualDub -- use the resize filter with cropping & it'll also let you letterbox. Or can leave it alone. Chances are it won't show up as a huge difference on a TV -- if you're not working with sources that started out as film, overscan is built into the frame composition.

"When capturing and converting a VHS into mpeg file creating a dvd, part of the edges of the original content are not visible on the TV. So I thought that by editing the captured file so as to zoom it out, I could make up for the above effect.
Is there an mpg editor to do this?..."

Depending on your hardware, if you capture full frame, you should get the complete frame sent to your TV, including the overscan regions. Adding a black border will take up some of that space that isn't shown, but you don't want to eliminate all of it or some TVs will show the border (the amount shown varies by TV). More importantly, you take a quality hit resizing that may not be worth the extra picture.

For editors, most can handle this but Avisynth is probably the fastest, followed by V/Dub.

You'll find more on this by searching the forum.