DVD Files Wrong Default Aspect Ratio

[jagabo]

On the Filter tab select Deinterlace -> Yadif. On the Video tab select Frame Rate -> 59.94, Constant Frame Rate.

[schipman3]

Is this a good instructional to follow for deinterlacing? Scroll down to near the bottom to the heading "How to deinterlace the movie the right way (Progressive Scan)." It doesn't use yadif but at least it tells me how to do it.

http://www.100fps.com/

[schipman3]

On the Filter tab select Deinterlace -> Yadif. On the Video tab select Frame Rate -> 59.94, Constant Frame Rate.

Oh, it's that easy? Great. Do the attached HandBrake settings look good? It won't let me adjust the width, so it forces it to 352x264. Is that OK, or is there another workaround?

[jagabo]

You want 640x480. I don't keep up with the latest changes in Handbrake -- but in the past it wouldn't let you enlarge the frame. You will lose nearly half the vertical resolution if you decrease the height from 480 to 264.

The techniques at 100fps are outdated. The best deinterlacer is now QTGMC in AviSynth. But it's a pain for beginners to get set up and there's a steep learning curve.

[schipman3]

For anyone else following along, I did figure out a way to enlarge the frame on Handbrake. Click "Options" and then "Reset Built-In Presets." Now it will let me change the resolution from the 352x480 input to 640x480, and then change all my other options to what I want. This seems to be a fact not well-known. All other threads I read on this issue seemed to conclude you can't increase the frame size in HandBrake. But this way seems to work, and it makes a big difference in quality.

Speaking of which, I've read on other threads that it doesn't make a difference to increase the frame size: after all, since you only have 352x480 pixels of data, stretching it to 640x480 just stretches out the pixels, so you might as well use the more compact 4:3 format of 352x264, since you only have that much data to work with anyway. This is absolutely not true! Not that I understand why, but I compared a 352x264 video to 640x480, and there was a huge difference in quality. All other parameters were the same. Go for the the 640x480, like jagabo was saying.

[DB83]

What you fail to appreciate is that those pixels on your original dvd are not square.

Whether you had a 352*480 dvd or a standard 720*480 dvd both effectively display as 640*480 to give you that required 4:3 playback.

As for the handbrake settings you must also appreciate that not all people use that version you are using. Many do not upgrade since 'if it works it does not really need fixing'. I noticed at least one checkbox on your screen that is not present in the version I use and I can easily change output to 640*480 if I need to.

[jagabo]

Speaking of which, I've read on other threads that it doesn't make a difference to increase the frame size: after all, since you only have 352x480 pixels of data, stretching it to 640x480 just stretches out the pixels, so you might as well use the more compact 4:3 format of 352x264, since you only have that much data to work with anyway. This is absolutely not true! Not that I understand why, but I compared a 352x264 video to 640x480, and there was a huge difference in quality. All other parameters were the same. Go for the the 640x480, like jagabo was saying.

You may not gain anything by stretching the width from 352 to 640. But by doing so you avoid having to decrease the height from 480 to 264. Ie, you avoid losing half the vertical resolution.

I don't normally use the program but thanks for the tip on how to get Handbrake to enlarge the frame. On the version I have, 1.0.7, it's also on the Presets menu, Reset Built-In Presets.

[schipman3]

For the sake of other amateurs like myself trying to accomplish the same task (i.e., convert half-width 352x480 DVDs recorded by a digital camcorder to a versatile, digital format - .mp4, .mkv - that will display properly in most any media player, enabling you to store the files on and play from an external drive onto TVs, PCs, and other devices), here is a summary of the process I am using:

1. Download and install Handbrake.
2. Load DVD and set as source in Handbrake.
3. "Reset Built-In Settings" so that Handbrake will let you increase the resolution. I have to repeat this step for every DVD.
4. On the "Picture" tab set width and height to 640x480.
5. On the "Filters" tab, set Deinterlace to Yadif.
6. On the video tab, set framerate to 59.94 and radio Constant Framerate.
7. Set your output folder and encode.

I use the default Fast 1080p30 preset. I did not notice any increase in quality using a SuperHQ setting, and it takes much longer. If you want, you can create another preset based on the Fast 1080p30 but with the deinterlace and framerate settings preset so that you don't have to redo those every time. I still find I have to "Reset Built-In Settings" each time though to get it to let me increase the resolution.

If your DVD has multiple titles on it, you will have to use DVDVob2Mpg first to create a single MPG file to use as input in Handbrake, if you want a single .mp4 file output.

[schipman3]

Whether you had a 352*480 dvd or a standard 720*480 dvd both effectively display as 640*480 to give you that required 4:3 playback.

On most DVD players, yes, they will display exactly the same. But if you are using a TV's media player (maybe new TVs are better), or default settings on a PC's media player, it does not know to resize a 352*480 resolution, and will display half-width. The only way to surmount that is to re-encode, as far as I can find.

And for those who download Handbrake in the future, perhaps my protocol will remain helpful.

@jagabo: True, nothing is gained over the original. You just avoid losing half the vertical resolution by doing 352x264.

[DB83]

Bear in mind that way back when I construed that you had to re-encode pls do not take credit for that.

352*264 was never going to display properly so I guess, from reading your earlier comments, that you mis-quoted that setting.

I do not have one of these media-player tvs but I would guess that the manual explicity tells you what formats/height-width ratios it supports.

Nothing wrong being an 'amateur'. Everyone has to learn. I have been doing pc video for over 10 years and I am still learning.