On my 2nd DVD/Divx Player and still having issues

[ccc1005]

Well I just moved into my own apartment and got a 32" LCD HDTV so I figured I would get a DVD player to go with it. I have a bunch of Divx files I would like to play and am having numerous issues. I started with the Samsung 860 which wouldn't even play anything (even though 3 reps at BB told me it would).

So then I took it back and got the LG 191D and it loads everything fine but I am still having issues. First of all it never preserves the aspect ratio of the video, it usually seems to cutoff the top and bottom of the picture in order to fit the screen I guess. I have tried HMDI and Component without luck. Gspot says the FAR is 1.77 to 1 (for TV recordings and eps).

And now tonight I was playing a Divx movie and wanted to rewind a bit after i was 50+ mins into the movie, and it just froze the player. 3 other movies encoded with the same codecs etc work just fine, but no matter what I do I cannot seek with that movie. So now I have it playing from the beginning until it gets back to 50 mins.

So to make a long story short what HD upconvert players also play Divx/Xvid and keep the proper aspect ratio through HMDI. Any brand other than LG or Samsung? I am looking at the Toshiba SD-4990 which has gotten good reviews. Any ideas on this player?

Thanks!

[redwudz]

I would try a couple of things first before you give up hope. First, try a program like AVI.net that is specifically set up to make compliant Divx or Xivds for standalone players. Also you might look into trying a different brand of DVD if you haven't already. Media incompatibility and quality seem to cause the most problems for playback.

If you have one Divx/Xvid disc that has particular problems, run the file through VirtualDub and check it for errors. That can be one cause of 'rewind' problems. It may have a corrupted file or the index could be messed up.

I can't give you much help with aspect ratios as I play back my Divx/Xvids just on the computer. But someone here probably can.

And welcome to our forums.

[ccc1005]

Thanks for the reply and the welcome .

I am scanning the Divx file right now for errors, I am guessing thats the problem.

I downloaded the DivxTest 2.0 CD so I will try that out. My only real issue now is the aspect ratio. The stretching cuts off some of the image and ruins the quality as a result. I have tried both homemade Divx/Xvid and others so it seems to be a universal aspect ratio issue. I might even try giving LG a call before I give up as well. Has anyone gotten the 191H to display with the proper aspect ratio on a 16:9 tv with HMDI?

UPDATE: VirtualDub came up with no errors, I wonder why the player didn't like the file...

[Krispy Kritter]

Assuming it is a bad file, you could try running it through DivFix or DivXRepair. I've had some luck with both of them.

[jman98]

You could try posting a screenshot of what Gspot says about the problem video. If I may make a helpful suggestion, like many new people here, you have the mistaken idea that the less you say about your problem, the more likely you are to get help. It's like taking your car to a repair shop and saying "Please fix my car" and then refusing to say anything about what exactly it is doing. The more information you give us, the more likely you are to get help.

There are a lot of things that could be causing you to have problems. Your video could be greater than 2 GB in size, which is a big problem for most standalone DVD players that also play Divx. You might have too high a bit rate. We also don't know what you used to encode the video, assuming you encoded it, or if you downloaded it, in which case maybe it got corrupted on the network you got it from.

[redwudz]

The aspect ratio seems to be a common problem. There seems to be a flag for it in the bitstream, at least for Xvids, but apparently some players ignore it. Someone may have a solution, but I don't know of one myself.

When checking a file, VirtualDub may not find anything. That was a long shot and works best with a corrupted file that is missing frames. If it's an index problem, you might start VirtualDub, then click 'Open video file'. Use the checkbox at the bottom of the page, 'Ask for extended options after this dialog'. Then when you open, there will be a new page. Select 'Rederive keyframe flags'. This takes a while, but repairs the index better than some 'repair' programs. You would have to resave the file. You may be able to save it with 'Direct stream copy', but more likely 'Fast recompress' or even 'Full processing mode' may be required.

All this may be more effort than it's worth, and there is no guarantee that this will cure it all as far as 'seeking' in the file. But if a damaged index is the problem, that would be my method. Sometimes, just resaving or reencoding it through VirtualDub will do the trick.

[jagabo]

You can use MPEG4Modifier to set the aspect ratio (without reencoding) for MPEG 4 (divx/xvid) files. If your player supports the feature or not is the question.

[ccc1005]

Well there are 4 Xvid files I encoded myself on 1 DVD, all have the exact same codec, aspect ratios according to Gspot, the only difference is the bitrate (in the 1000-1500 range, nothing crazy). I will post some screenshots later from two of the movies just to make sure. I guess it just had an issue with that one movie all the others I have tried work just fine.

My only issue now is getting the right aspect ratio. When i play TV episodes I can see it cutting off the logos etc, so I know its cutting off quite a bit. I was just hoping it would act like VLC or WMP and put in the black bars when necessary but I guess thats hoping for too much... If anyone has had good results with Xvid/Divx aspect ratios on HDTV through HMDI please let me know. Also has anyone gotten the LG to play files with the proper aspect ratio?

O I also tried the Divx test cd and it seemed to keep the aspect ratio so I wonder if its a Xvid issue. Unfortunately most of my files are Xvid since its more common now. I will try to dig up some Divx files and see how it does. Thanks for the replies!

[jagabo]

Gspot does not show the MPEG4 internal picture aspect ratio flag. Open your video files with MPEG4Modifier and look at the Display Aspect Ratio. Just like with DVD's the frame size alone does not determine the aspect ratio at which the picture is to be displayed.

[JjMon]

ccc1005: Did you set the DVD Player to 16:9 for your Monitor?

[ccc1005]

Yup set it to 16:9. I even played around with the aspect on the TV with no luck

Also MPEG4Modifier says the aspect ratio is square pixel, but its not reading any display aspect ratio...

[jagabo]

Also MPEG4Modifier says the aspect ratio is square pixel, but its not reading any display aspect ratio...

Then set it to 16:9, Save, and see if your player pays any attention to it.

[Megahurts]

[quote="ccc1005"]Has anyone gotten the 191H to display with the proper aspect ratio on a 16:9 tv with HMDI?[quote]

I have an LG-191H and when upscaling to 720p or 1080i it displays 16x9 files (720x480) fine. When playing 4:3 files it displays at 16:9 (stretched).

To view 4:3 clips properly, I have to change the player output to 480i or 480p.

This happens with Xvid, Divx and Mpeg files.

What aspect ratios and resolutions are you working with?

[ccc1005]

Here is a Gspot readout for one of the TV eps that gets stretched. Looks like its close to 19:6 so I don't see why it acting so bad. What happens to 2.30:1 movies? Do they get the black boxes or stretched on your set?

I also tried setting the aspect ratio in MPEGEditor and it didn't do anything...

[Megahurts]

I made a Divx clip with he same AR (1.773) and in 1080i output it was stretched. With the player output at 480p, is was fine.

Have you tried setting the player output to 480p?

[ccc1005]

Yep set it to 480p but it still seems to be cutting off the bottom of the picture. The top seems to line up fine, but the video quality is still pretty poor (its a 1000 Kbps file, so it should be pretty good...) Looks to be about 13 pixels when I do the null transform in Virtualdub. I am just wondering if this is typical or if another drive would be better. Figure if I spend $110 it better work right.. Any other suggestions with this drive, or does anyone else have a drive that plays with the right aspect all the time?

UPDATE: Just tried a 2.35:1 movie and there were no black bars, it definately just stretched it to fill the screen on 480p and 720p...