Changing the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3

[2397to2997]

I have a source avi that is Xvid 23.97 (NTSC Film) 16:9 aspect ratio that I want to burn to SVCD.

I need to change the aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3, otherwise part of the left and right of the movie is lost (my TV is 4:3).

What is the best program/method of converting 16:9 to 4:3? If you can provide me w/ a step by step guide of how to change the aspect ratio, it would make me very happy.

Also, during what part of the conversion process would I convert the aspect ratio?

Here is my current process WITHOUT THE ASPECT CONVERSION:

1) Convert AVI to mpeg2 SVCD NTSC compliant file (480x480).

2) Demux mpeg2 to m2v video and mpeg-1 layer 2 audio files.

3) 3:2 pulldown conversion of m2v file from 23.976 (NTSC Film) to 29.97 (NTSC)

4) Mux m2v video and mpeg-1 layer 2 audio files to mpeg2.

5) Burn mpeg2 to SVCD.

Where does the conversion happen? Before the AVI is converted to mpeg2? After the conversion? What file is used for the aspect conversion? The avi? The mpeg2? The m2v file?

TIA.

Peace.

[guns1inger]

You need to do your aspect ratio conversion during step one. The simplest method would be to load your avi file into FitCD, select SVCD as the output type, and it will give you a resize avisynth script that will put the correct sized black bars in place. If you have avisynth installed (of course, you do, don't you ?), then load this script into your encoder and encode away.

Or, use the numbers FitCD produces to setup the resize in virtualdub and frameserve from there to your encoder.

After that you are on your own. I have never done an SVCD conversion, nor seen the need for them.

[drewzor]

deleted

[2397to2997]

You need to do your aspect ratio conversion during step one. The simplest method would be to load your avi file into FitCD, select SVCD as the output type, and it will give you a resize avisynth script that will put the correct sized black bars in place. If you have avisynth installed (of course, you do, don't you ?), then load this script into your encoder and encode away.

Or, use the numbers FitCD produces to setup the resize in virtualdub and frameserve from there to your encoder.

After that you are on your own. I have never done an SVCD conversion, nor seen the need for them.

Thanks for the reply.

I am currently using Avivo Video Converter to convert AVI to mpeg2, and there is no option/ability to convert the aspect ratio.

What program would you recommend I use instead of Avivo to do the aspect ratio conversion and the AVI to MPEG-2 conversion?

I tried using Avisynth, virtualdubmod, and dgdecode to encode the script in an earlier attempt, but being a newbie, I ended up w/ a ~2-10 GB mpeg2 file from a 350 MB source file. Since I had no idea what went wrong and/or how to correct the error, so I gave up on using Avisynth, virtualdubmod, and dgdecode.

I wouldn't mind trying Avisynth, and virtualdubmod again, IF there was a good step by step guide to encoding w/ avisynth and virtualdubmod. I really don't want to encode anymore 10 GB mpeg2 files from 350 MB avi files.

Is there a good step by step guide for avisynth and virtualdubmod? Also, what encoder can I use instead of DGDecode? Or can someone tell me where I went wrong w/ using DGDecode?

TIA.

Peace.

[2397to2997]

1)why not just burn 16x9 and pan&scan the dvd player?

2)If you just want a 4:3 mpeg use Null_Transform filter in Vdub_mpeg and crop edges off.

3)//Vdub_mpeg Resize filter add black bars top and bottom for 4:3 visual letterbox style.

1) 4:3 pan & scan does nothing on my Philips DVP 642/17 DVD player when playing the SVCD. Changing the video setting during playback doesn't change the SVCD playback (for whatever reason).

2) I can't crop off the left and right edges, since I would be losing hard-coded subtitles.

3) I'm gonna take guns1inger's advice and do the aspect ratio conversion during step 1 (the encoding of AVI to mpeg2). Forgive my ignorance, but is Vdub_mpeg used during the AVI to mpeg2 conversion (step 1) or after the conversion, on the resulting mpeg2 file??? If Vdub_mpeg does the conversion after step 1 (Avi to mpeg2 conversion), what is the benefit and/or downside of doing the aspect conversion this way?

TIA.

Peace.

[manono]

You have an AVI, so the DGDecode.dll isn't used.

As guns1inger said, use FITCD to give you the script (with the AR conversion already in it). Then open that script in an encoder that reads AviSynth script files, such as CCE, HC Encoder, or TMPGEnc.

You got oversized last time because of setting the wrong bitrate, and nothing to do with your script. SVCD has very strict bitrate limitations.

You can use an all-in-one app such as the AVI2SVCD portion of DVD2SVCD:

http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2svcd-avi.htm

Sefy has a couple of guides here:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?tools=81&madeby=&formatconversionselect=&howtosele...or+List+Guides

I don't know if they're any good.

VDub and its varients aren't used at all for the encoding part, but only for the frameserving. Faster and better quality as a frameserver is AviSynth.

[2397to2997]

You have an AVI, so the DGDecode.dll isn't used.

As guns1inger said, use FITCD to give you the script (with the AR conversion already in it). Then open that script in an encoder that reads AviSynth script files, such as CCE, HC Encoder, or TMPGEnc.

You got oversized last time because of setting the wrong bitrate, and nothing to do with your script. SVCD has very strict bitrate limitations.

You can use an all-in-one app such as the AVI2SVCD portion of DVD2SVCD:

http://www.doom9.org/mpg/dvd2svcd-avi.htm

Sefy has a couple of guides here:

https://www.videohelp.com/guides.php?tools=81&madeby=&formatconversionselect=&howtosele...or+List+Guides

I don't know if they're any good.

VDub and its varients aren't used at all for the encoding part, but only for the frameserving. Faster and better quality as a frameserver is AviSynth.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate the critical feedback, it will help me learn faster.

I was using this post https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=261056&start=31 , from the DGpulldown thread to try to do the 23.97 (NTSC film) to 29.97 (NTSC) conversion necessary for a compliant mpeg2 to burn to SVCD, HOWEVER, as a newbie, I really didn't have a clue what I was doing and just used the default settings on everything. Thanks to your post, I now know I don't need to use dgdecode.

I just downloaded TMPGEnc, so I guess I'll try using the mpeg2 encoder. I probably need to read a guide to learn how to complete the AVI to mpeg2 and correcting the aspect ratio properly.

By the way, what is the best freeware mpeg2 encoder to use when TMPGEnc's 30 day trial runs out?

Does anyone know the setting to create the mpeg2 that is SVCD compliant in TMPGEnc? When I used Avivo Video Converter, all I had to do was load the AVI and select SVCD and Avivo ran the conversion for me automatically. So I am kind of lost setting everything manually.

I think I will skip any all in one programs, since the process I'm using now works, and I am familiar w/ it.

TIA.

Peace.

[manono]

Hi-

Thanks to your post, I now know I don't need to use dgdecode.

Which is not to say that you don't still have to run pulldown afterwards. If NTSC, it's in your best interests to encode at 23.976fps progressive whenever possible. You said that the AVI you plan on converting to SVCD is 23.976fps. But NTSC televisions, and hence DVD/SVCD, require 29.97fps output. Pulldown adds flags into the video stream (software, kind of) that tell the player to output 6 additional frames, in the form of 12 additional fields, every second. These fields will be duplicates of already existing fields. This is commonly known as 3:2 pulldown.

There are several freeware MPEG-2 encoders. From what I've read, Hank's is about the best (HC Encoder). It takes only AviSynth script and D2V input, so if you plan on using it, you'll have to use AviSynth. Time to learn to use FitCD. Here's FulciLives' guide:

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1487285#1487285

You can't go wrong by following his guides. When using an AVI as a source, the source in FitCD will still be 1:1 Monitor, but if making an SVCD, your Destination is SVCD.

I can't help with TMPGEnc, as I don't use it. Plenty of people here do, though. As guns1inger implied earlier, making SVCD in this day and age is kind of a waste of time. Don't you have a $40 DVD burner yet so you can make DVDs?

[2397to2997]

I'm definitely going to read the guide you posted and learn to use FitCD.

I stubbornly decided to just encode using TMPGEnc from AVI to MPEG2 w/ the 4:3 aspect ratio conversion. TMPGEnc's MPEG-2 encoder is SLOW, Avivo is 3x faster. After, I demuxed, 3:2 pulldown conversion to NTSC, and mux; I burned it to SVCD. GSpot reported 4:3 480x480 SVCD compliant MPEG-2, Nero didn't like it, but I forced Nero to burn the SVCD anyway. Turns out that the SVCD came out 4:3 pan&scan, but it still cut off the left and right side, so hard coded subtitles were cut off.

So no quick fix for the newbie. I have to book up.

Thanks Manono. I will try FitCD & Avisynth.

And yeah, maybe I need a DVD Burner. Prior to a few days ago, I really only used the burner to author mp3 CDRs, so if someone broke into my car, only my CDRs would be stolen, not my import CDs. My car CD player doesn't play DVDs, and my Philips DVP 642 plays SVCD, VCD, and some DixV (non-Qpel, most have some audio sync problems though, hence the SVCD authoring).

Can I really get a DVD burner for only $40? I wouldn't mind a Lite-On (like my CD burner), since I really like my CD burner, and it came packaged w/ Nero OEM. I usually use my photo ink jet printer to print photo-quality labels, so I don't need lightscribe.

Peace.

[manono]

http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/SubCategory.asp?SubCategory=5

Sure, a good NEC or Lite-On costs around $40 or so.

[2397to2997]

Okay I read the guide for FitCD, but I still have a question.

What is the best method of resizing for different situations (and the reason why)? I'm down-sizing to SVCD, do I use Lanczos, Bicubic Precise, Bicubic Standard, etc?

The FitCD guide in the thread doesn't cover resizing methods.

TIA.

Peace.

[guns1inger]

It comes down to personal choice.

If I am resizing up, I use Lancsoz4 (just drop the 4 into the script that FitCd creates)

If I am resizing down, Bicubic Precise.

[2397to2997]

Thank you to everyone who posted a response to help me.

I really appreciate your help, and it made a big difference.

Special thanks to manono, who kept replying to my questions with helpful advice/guides and links to helpful threads.

FitCD is incredibly helpful and powerful utility. It took me a couple of days, encoding SVCDs and viewing the results on my DVD/TV, to get the results I was looking for w/ FitCD. Trial and error helped me to discover/learn to get the results I wanted w/ FitCD.

Thanks for the reply guns1inger, it tried both bicubic precise and lanczos, and I eventually went w/ lanczos. The subtitles seems to "shimmer" (like on a PC, when the refresh rate is not high enough) w/ bicubic precise. But otherwise, both methods were acceptable. I appreciate the advice.

Now the only questions I have is about SVCD authoring, but that question(s) is for another forum, and another thread.

BTW, I noticed manono is also in GMT -10 (right?).

Thank you.

Peace.

[manono]

BTW, I noticed manono is also in GMT -10 (right?).

I had to look that one up to see. Yes, you're right, although I'm not sure how you figured it out. Big Island no ka oi.

[2397to2997]

I had to look that one up to see. Yes, you're right, although I'm not sure how you figured it out. Big Island no ka oi.

I did alot of reading trying to be less of a basket case.

You post on Doom9 forums under the same name, and your location is listed under you name.

Peace.