Correct AR(aspect ratio) on dvd2avi conversion (16:9 vs 1.85:1)

[Visual-Artist27]

i'm bucking up all my dvd's....

i have many dvd's with DAR(display aspect ratio) 16/9[1.77 :1)
Megui and Gknot recognize them as 16/9 but according to amazon the AR of the movies is 1.85:1.

How can i find the real AR of a dvd ...το avoid deflectiion?

[manono]

16:9 is a DAR (Display Aspect Ratio). That tells the player how it's to be resized upon playback. 1.85:1 is an aspect ratio, the ratio of width divided by height at playback. They're 2 different things. They can be (and probably are) both at the same time. Take a look at the VOBs in DGIndex. If you see some small amount of black bars top and bottom, then it's probably 1.85:1 as well as being 16:9. Doom9 has an article on aspect ratios you might benefit from reading:

http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm

[guns1inger]

I also have a couple of discs (Gorky Park is one of them) that were shot 1.85:1, the DVD case says it is 1.85:1, but during the transfer they zoomed it to fill the 1.778:1 (16:9) frame to hide the bars (probably form Americans, who seem to have the most problem with the concept).

[Visual-Artist27]

@manono

thanks for the answer...
now i understand the difference between DAR and AR ...

so if i make the dvdrip at mod16 resolutions i can't avoid deflection?

[manono]

I'm not sure what you mean by deflection, but sometimes it's necessary to crop into the video to get a lower aspect error.

[Visual-Artist27]

by the word deflection ...i mean that the video pixels would be thinner or fatter ..

[manono]

Oh, I understand. My response sort of addressed that. Aspect Error is another way of saying not completely square pixels. I don't mind cutting into the active video by a very little bit in order to achieve square pixels with Mod16 resizing. Others don't like to do that and either won't use Mod16, or will put up with a slight aspect error.

[Visual-Artist27]

thanks for the answer...cheers ...

[schizoidman]

I also have a couple of discs (Gorky Park is one of them) that were shot 1.85:1, the DVD case says it is 1.85:1, but during the transfer they zoomed it to fill the 1.778:1 (16:9) frame to hide the bars (probably form Americans, who seem to have the most problem with the concept).

Yes, we Americans just can't seem to grasp those difficult concepts such as aspect ratio - all those numbers! Thank goodness we have geniuses such as yourself to point the way. Never mind Americans invented and developed the medium you are now using to slam them, let alone the aspect ratio standards, as well as the countless other developments that you take for granted in your everyday life. Yup, we're just a bunch of dolts without our English cousins, we are.

I forgot, what was it again that the U.K. contributed to media technology, in the last...say, century?

I love and admire the U.K. - its people, history, and culture. But it's pompous xenophobes like you who give the lot a bad name.

Cheers, mate.

[guns1inger]

Never been to the UK. Don't know what you are talking about (but then neither do you).

Whether you like it or not, the facts are pretty straight forward

1. Cropped 4:3 and dual format versions originated in the US because consumers didn't understand that widescreen was more, not less.
2. For years Disney only released 4:3 versions of their films in the US market because their market research showed that the majority of consumers thought they got more image that from widescreen (OAR) releases.
3. The majority of users who post here looking for information on how to crop down OAR material to fill the screen come form the US.

Stating fact is not xenophobic, just accurate.

[manono]

Yes, we Americans just can't seem to grasp those difficult concepts such as aspect ratio - all those numbers!

You're off base, schizoidman. guns1inger doesn't need me to defend him as he can (and did) do it himself, but speaking as a citizen of the great U S of A, what he said is absolutely right. Didn't you grow up watching what were originally widescreen movies panned and scanned for display on televisions? In much of the world that doesn't happen. They get the original aspect ratio, black bars and all. By the same token, ignorant DVD production companies have also been known to convert 1.85:1 movies to 1.78:1 so they'll fill a widescreen TV set. Even though not a lot of cropping was done, for some (me included), that's sacrilege. HBO as a matter of practice butchers 2.35:1 films down to 1.78:1 for the same reason. This just shouldn't happen.

Although he gave you a more polite answer than you deserved, in my opinion, maybe now you understand your reply had nothing to do with what he was saying. It's nothing to do with not understanding aspect ratio, but more with the importance of keeping the OAR (original aspect ratio) rather than giving us MAR (modified aspect ratio). Maybe you've seen those announcements sometimes shown on TV before we get some pan-and-scan piece of garbage, This film has been modified to fit your screen. First, it doesn't fit my screen as I have a widescreen TV and now I'll get what should be a widescreen movie cropped all to hell with big black bars on the sides. And second, how dare they presume to tell me what's best for me and what's the best way to see the movie when the director has already determined how his film should be displayed?