Aspect Ratio, AVI to MP4

[Admiral Cuddles]

I just got ffmpegx so that I can convert files I downloaded to mpeg-4 to watch on my Xbox 360. I usually have letterboxed AVIs that are in a legitimate widescreen format, but when I convert them, they almost always end up in a "full screen" shape and contorted, on both my computer and my Xbox. I've tried manually changing the aspect ratio; I used the same file and tried converting it (over a long period of time, collectively) under each setting I could, but it didn't seem to fix the problem.

So my question is, is there a way to simply convert a file and maintain its aspect ratio in the process? Because I haven't had much luck so far with ffmpegx in this department.

(I also tried D-Vision 3, but I couldn't figure out how to use it at all)

[yoda313]

I've never used ffmpegx but usually for preserving aspect ratios there are often options to "keep aspect ratio". That would be the first choice to look for.

This would keep the ratio intact without altering it.

So you are saying these are in fact 4:3 letterboxed avis? In that case have you tried encoding from 4:3 to 4:3? That should let it preserve the original square so it won't be distorted.

Also there is some stuff out there about using "square pixels" in compressed video. However that is a little beyond my expertise. There are many other members here with more experience on that side of the equation.

----

Oh and welcome to the forum

[Admiral Cuddles]

I'm sorry. I realize this should be in the ffmpegx forum, not here. But still, any help would be appreciated.