16:9 (fake) that I want to convert back to 4:3

[robjv1]

So I have a video recorded from a VHS tape that was (obviously) in a 4:3 (1.33:1) aspect ratio that someone has stretched to 16:9. I have some clips from an original source and it doesn't appear that any cropping was done, they just stretched it horizontally to fill the 16:9 frame in a 720x480 resolution. It's an MPEG2 file.

Can I convert it back to 4:3 without re-encoding it? I tried using DVDPatcher to flag the aspect ratio back to 4:3, but it didn't work as I'd expected it would.

Thanks in advance!

[guns1inger]

Start by posting a mediainfo of the VOBs. You can't easily stretch a 4:3 image to fill a 16:9 frame unless you then letterbox the output. If you make the output anamorphic, you would end up stretching the frame back to 4:3 again. (yes, I know you can stretch a 4:3 image to fill a 16:9 frame when viewing the view, but I am talking about the mechanics of authoring a DVD)

A screenshot or short clip of the output would help as well

[robjv1]

General
Complete name : M:\Concert - 1996\Copy of VTS_02_1.VOB
Format : MPEG-PS
File size : 3.44 GiB
Duration : 1h 25mn
Overall bit rate : 5 753 Kbps

Video
ID : 224 (0xE0)
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : Yes
Format settings, Matrix : Default
Duration : 33ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 4 757 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 5 000 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 480 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate : 29.970 fps
Standard : NTSC
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Bottom Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.459
Stream size : 19.2 KiB (0%)

Audio #1
ID : 128 (0x80)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Duration : 1h 25mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 192 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : -67ms
Stream size : 118 MiB (3%)

Audio #2
ID : 129 (0x81)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Duration : 1h 25mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 448 Kbps
Channel(s) : 6 channels
Channel positions : Front: L C R, Surround: L R, LFE
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : -67ms
Stream size : 274 MiB (8%)

Audio #3
ID : 130 (0x82)
Format : AC-3
Format/Info : Audio Coding 3
Duration : 1h 25mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 128 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Video delay : -67ms
Stream size : 78.4 MiB (2%)

[guns1inger]

Is that after DVD Patcher was run on it ? It still shows as being 16:9.

What happens if you play this back through a player that lets you override the AR back to 4:3 ? Does it look correct ?

[robjv1]

That is before DVD Patcher. I'm sorry I should have been more clear -- I haven't tried playing it on a DVD player yet, I am just working off the files on my hard-drive. I need to author it to a disc. I just used VLC and PowerDVD in default mode to play it, in both cases it is stretched horizontally. If I change the flag with DVD patcher and try to play it VLC or Power DVD, it still looks stretched. Let me run mediainfo on it and make DVD Patcher is patching it.

Edit: Yeah, sorry I inadvertently just chose the "Patch first header only" option instead of patching the whole file. Looks perfect now, thanks!

[guns1inger]

Good to hear