PotPlayer - How to deal with BLACK BARS? (Pillar Boxing?)

[Jynks]

Hi there....

Before I start I do not want to get into a conversation about "correct aspect ratio and video distortion". I know that using the STRETCH function on my TV with old TV Shows stretched the image. I do not care.. I prefer it that way. I get that others do not, but for me I prefer to have the image fill the entire screen and not have the top or bottom cut off with pan/scan.

I like to watch a lot of TV Shows in PotPlayer and many are not wide screen format. What I normally do is just "right-click-on-video/aspect-ratio/stretch" and everything is cool but sometimes the video files are not cropped to the video image itself and have the black bars physically in the image on either side of the action.

I "think" it is called "pillar boxing"?

Anyway, you can get around it by using NUMPAD-6 and NUMPAD-4 (in the right-click-on-image\Pan-&-scan\Frame Width). This is all cool and everything but kinda sucks when you are watching a playlist of an entire season as you need to do this every time for every video and everytime you load the player it forgets the settings.

Questions

1. Is it possible to save video settings like Frame Width into a playlist or something, so everytime you load that playlist it retains any settings?
2. Is it possible to save the width settings in a file, you can just load before you play a playlist with this problem, and when done load the defaults?
3. Is it possible to automatically "crop" the black bars on the side and then be able to use the STRETCH command like normal?
4. Is it possible to permanently save info for each video, so once you watch the playlist and have the width set, everytime you load that video again it will use those settings?

If you have any other solutions that might work that would be cool.

Thanks!
-Jynks

See I have it on stretch, nothing happens.. I think this is as the black bars on the sides are physically in the image itself
https://s9.postimg.org/qaq1krclr/Clipboard_2.jpg

This is after adjusting with NUMPAD+6 to change the WIDTH
https://s9.postimg.org/wn56ulfnz/Clipboard_1.jpg

But the next episode will again need manual adjustment, and if you close the player, next time you open it, this episode will as well.

[hello_hello]

I assume the screenshots you posted are the wrong way around?
I've often argued the side of the debate for not always having to watch video in it's original aspect ratio, but even I think stretching it like your Clipboard_1 image is a bit mental.

I don't use Potplayer much, but for me the NUMPAD+6 setting is remembered when I switch videos. It's not retained after closing the player. I can't find a setting to change either in preferences (not that I looked hard) but Potplayer has a Configuration section in it's preferences for creating presets. Maybe that will do what you want. MPC-HC has an option to remember the last pan and scan setting so it's retained when closing, but I couldn't find a similar option for Potplayer.
MPC-HC has the same NUMPAD options, which is probably where the Potplayer author lifted them from, but I don't find using them to zoom manually much bother. The player remembers the setting from one video to the next and if I'm watching a bunch of 4:3 videos, they all need to be zoomed the same way anyway, so it only needs to be done once. Resetting is as easy as one tap on the 5 key.

Personally I use CTRL+NUMPAD+2 to move the picture down for 4:3 video. Nine or ten taps on the (Ctrl+)2 key is usually about right. Then NUMPAD+9 to zoom until it fills the screen. Yes, you lose some picture top and bottom but the center of action tends to be slightly above the center of the frame, so moving the picture down a bit prevents peoples heads being cut off most of the time and I think it usually looks quite natural. Like this:



It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I think it's far less evil than stretching, which I find unwatchable.

[Jynks]

I swaped the images around...

I prefer it stretched.....

What I am asking is if there a way to make potplayer retain that setting if I play the videos a second time.

[netmask56]

To each his own ? When one goes to the cinema there are/can be black bars top and bottom and the sides albeit made of black velvet stretched on particle board and motorised. Been like the for decades - never full screen usually plenty of "unused" space on the expensive cinema screen.

[usually_quiet]

I have barely done more than look at this so I don't know for certain that it would do what is requested, but there is the previously mentioned Configuration page available under Preferences (F5) which allows creating and selecting presets. There is a section on the Configuration page where users can set up automatic selection conditions based on the file name. I did figure out that the preset must be selected before playing the file.

[Edit]I was able to produce the desired results by using F5 to open Preferences, selecting Video, clicking Extend/Crop, then setting the Extending/Cropping Method to 4:3 Cropping. When using either Fullscreen setting to watch on my 16:9 monitor, this produced video with the desired stretching for both true 4:3 and 4:3 pillar boxed to 16:9.

I often watch recorded TV shows with PotPlayer. Now I'll have to see if I can make a preset to reverse the stretching some HD channels inflict on classic 4:3 TV shows so I can watch them without having to suffer through all that fugly distortion.