Which encoder keeps Pixel Aspect Ratio intact?

[hadiceberg]

Hi
assume that I'm trying to backup one of DVDs which is a PAL film with AR of 16:9 (no black stripes)
the original dimensions of video are 720 by 576. but when I try converting it to Xvid/x264, the converters choose a pixel aspect ratio of 1:1, thus at the highest quality settings the video height will be 9/16*720=405, which is considerably lower than original and results in loss of vertical resolution.
I'm looking for a converter which respects PAR. I already tried AutoGK (for xvid) and Fairuse Wizard (for x264).

[guns1inger]

Xvid4PSP will do it. So will AutoGK, but you will have to play with the hidden settings.

However, before you get too bent out of shape, think about what you are doing. DVD uses non-square pixels to achieve correct image shape on playback. This works because DVD players (hard and soft) understand and and expect Display Aspect Ratio flags to tell them how to display the video correctly. Many players (both hard and soft) do not do this for Divx/Xvid encoded avi files. They expect 1:1 PAR, and playback accordingly.

If you maintain the 720 width, converting to 1:1 PAR doesn't actually cost you anything in quality, and can increase the quality of you encodes because you have more bitrate to play with due to the lower number of pixel to encode.

[hadiceberg]

I don't agree with the part you said that I won't lose any quality. At playback time a 720x576 source will be resized to 1024x576 on my monitor (on 1024x768 resolution) which is only stretched in one direction. but when the source is 720x405, it will be stretched both horizontally and vertically. I really can feel the difference on my monitor. the first one has higher vertical resolution.

I can't find the option. this is a screenshot. can you tell me which one it is?

[guns1inger]

ctrl+F9 will open the hidden settings menu, although looking at it now it may not solve your problem. Xvid4PSP will though. However personally I find playback on non 1:1 AVI files too hit and miss to be worth the trouble.

[manono]

There's a way to keep it 720x576 using AutoGK, but I'm not entirely sure what it is. You definitely want to check the "Tune Autocrop Parameters", set "Threshold" to 0, and "Cropping" to 0. What I can't remember is if under "Aspect" you also have to check the "Override Input AR" box and set it to "Original" or not. A small test should help you figure it out.

[poisondeathray]

If you were encoding using x264, you would enter --sar 65:45 for a PAL 16:9 uncropped DVD. I don't think fairuse wizard has this functionality (it is a limited GUI for x264, and there are better front ends).

[jagabo]

MPEG4Modifier can set the Divx/Xvid AVI PAR/DAR after the fact.

[hadiceberg]

It seems that it's not worth the struggle.
I will stick to 1:1 PAR.
thanks for all your help people

[mh2360]

Handbrake does a fine DVD>MP4 conversion, and it has an option to keep the picture "anamorphic" (16:9 PAR).

I've been converting a few DVDs lately for use with W7 Media Center/Xbox 360 and the results are quite impressive.

[hadiceberg]

I tried Handbrake. It performs impressive regarding PAR. thanks
but it is considerably slower than fairuse wizard. what am I doing wrong here?

[mh2360]

It could just be that Handbrake's encoder settings are set to a higher quality than Fair Use Wizard, or it could be the encoding engine itself.

[hardy]

Slower encoding is usually a good thing. Until the encoder can actually produce quality at high speeds.