Aspect Ratio of NeroVision Express

[Saito_Hajime]

I'm trying to make an avi video to dvd-video using NeroVision Express and set it up to NTSC. My problem is, when I set the aspect ratio to 16:9, the letterbox doesn't only appear at the top and bottom of the screen but also on the left and right sides too, and therefore compressing the video too much. I tried making another copy and this time, set the apect ratio to 4:3. The top and bottom of the screen still have a little letterbox, but my problem now is that the left and right sides of the video is now stretched too much that portions of the video doesn't appear on the screen. I can tell that because there was a text written at the top right of the video and the last 2 letters of the text doesn't appear. My question is, is this normal when watching it on standard tv?

[guns1inger]

Without knowing the aspect ratio of the source, I can only make assumptions, but here goes;

1. I suspect the source, while not 1.33:1, is probably around 1.66:1. Therefore it is taller than 16:9, and can only fit a 16:9 frame by having borders up the edges. This is normal (it's called pillarboxing), and in this case might be a good thing - see next point.

2. The edges have been encoded, and are there. They have been hidden by the overscan area (look it up in the glossary). You would not see these parts if you were watching it being broadcast. The only solution is to resize the video down and add borders.

Which goes back to point 1 - which solves your problem and sets you up for when you get a widescreen TV.

[Saito_Hajime]

Without knowing the aspect ratio of the source, I can only make assumptions, but here goes;

1. I suspect the source, while not 1.33:1, is probably around 1.66:1. Therefore it is taller than 16:9, and can only fit a 16:9 frame by having borders up the edges. This is normal (it's called pillarboxing), and in this case might be a good thing - see next point.

2. The edges have been encoded, and are there. They have been hidden by the overscan area (look it up in the glossary). You would not see these parts if you were watching it being broadcast. The only solution is to resize the video down and add borders.

Which goes back to point 1 - which solves your problem and sets you up for when you get a widescreen TV.

I don't know how to determine the aspect ratio of the source, so what I do is to choose "automatic" in NeroVision Express, and it will choose the aspect ratio. According to this setting, the avi file was 4:3. I tried putting other avi files too in automatic setting, and some of it shows 16:9, so I don't think NeroVision Express sets every avi file to 4:3 by default on automatic setting.

So, both cases are considered normal. Uh wait, so you mean to say the setting for the 16:9 of this dvd-video is meant for viewing in a widescreen tv? And also, I thought the word pillarboxing is only for videos with black bars on the sides. So it also applies to videos with black bars at the sides and at the same time have black bars on the top and bottom too? Sorry for asking about the terminology, I just want to broaden my knowledge on video jargons .

And about the other copy (4:3), isn't 4:3 meant for viewing in standard tv? So how come it encounter a problem (about the excess on the sides) like this when the setting is supposed to be compatible?

[guns1inger]

Use something like mediainfo or avicodec to tell you the details of the video. Even properties from WMP can probably tell you what the resolution is (n x n).

16:9 can be displayed on both widescreen and fullscreen TVs, as can 4:3. Each TV will compensate for the aspect ratio differently. 16:9 is the native aspect ratio of a widescreen TV. If the video is taller than 16:9 (i.e. has an aspect ratio less tahn 1.78:1) you will get black bars on the side (pillarboxing) on a widescreen TV. If you play this back on a :3 TV, you will still get the pillarboxing, but you will also get the widescreen bars top and bottom as well, giving you a border all the way around.

The same material, encoded for a 4:3 TV would have thin black bars top and bottom, but no bars on the side.

As for your missing logo - overscan occurs on pretty much all TVs to some degree. It doesn happen on computer monitors or professional video monitors. As we know nothing about the origin of your video, it could be that it was originally widescreen and has been badly cropped, it might have been broadcast like you have it. All that matters is that you have a video you want to watch.

So, your choices are

1. encode it widescreen as you have done, and enjoy it, albeit looking small on a 4:3 TV.

2. ditch Nero, use fitCD, avisynth and a good encoder and encode it 4:3 with appropriate borders to show you the edges. Search the forums for anime and overscan and you will find plenty of posts detailing how to do this.

[Saito_Hajime]

The resolution of the video is 720x480. Anyway, thanks for providing the info about pillarboxing. I guess I will have to choose the 2nd choice, because I need to see the subtitles of this video (it's audio is from a different language) and watching it compressed like that also makes it difficult to read the subtitles.

[Saito_Hajime]

Ok, one last question. I have burned an avi (this is a different file from the one I was talking about in my previous post) to DVD, and it's aspect ratio is 16:9. It's source have an aspect ratio of 16:9, so it shows no pillarboxing on my tv, but still have letterbox of course. So, is it possible that this video shows overscan on my tv too? I can't tell if it was shown with overscan because there was no logo on this video, unlike the other one (the 4:3 video).

By the way, talking about the other video, I saw the avi calculator link on your sig file and I tried using the software and followed the procedures. I made borders on the side of the screen of my avi file, burned it on dvd, and now I can see the whole video on my tv . Your software and the guide was very helpful. Thanks bro . And hope you can answer my latest inquery .