Conversion 4:3 to 16:9

[davexnet]

I get 320 mbits download normally from my ISP, I think sometimes those hosting sites are just overloaded. Also, yt-dlp has been updated twice in the last week.
Perhaps this is a factor.
I just tried it again using your m3u8 from above, got it all in less that 3 minutes

[Alwyn]

Your quotation is 'out of context' or misunderstood since what I was attempting to convey that if one already has a 1.85:1 source there is no point to reverse that back to 1.66:1. On the other hand, it is quite easy to start with a 1.66 source and create a 1.85:1 version

I surmise it is the opposite. The movie was made in 1.85:1. Due to the popularity of 1.66:1, being a better frame format for 4:3 screens/DVs at the time, the ends of the original version were chopped off to make the 1.66 version.

The along came Bluray and the bluray makers probably didn't have access to the original 1.85:1 movie so they hacked into the 1.66:1 version.

Anyway, all will be revealed when cholla gets his bluray version.

[Sharc]

.... Chop off the sides and a bit off the top and bottom and wa la! I have done the same side chop with the Bluray of Topgun 2 and it looks great on my 16:9 TV.

Caution. As far as I remember Topgun 2 was shown in cinemas with scene-dependent aspect ratios. Cropping and zooming based on 1 scene for full 16:9 will recklessly damage other scenes. I don't know how it was released as BD.

[Alwyn]

As far as I remember Topgun 2 was shown in cinemas with scene-dependent aspect ratios. Cropping and zooming based on 1 scene for full 16:9 will recklessly damage other scenes. I don't know how it was released as BD.

That's how the BD came out too, and it annoyed me intensely. Once you see it... So I edited each scene sequence.

[cholla]

The sofware used is called TubeDigger. But it is not as easy as it sounds. This was a 'real time' download

@DB83,
I DLed TubeDigger & installed it but the trial version had very limited length for downloads. Probably a good software but I did not want to buy it.
Was the real time download? Record Mode

From this site: https://ww1.m4uhd.tv/watch-movie-the-horse-soldiers-1959-235949.html I used a Firefox plugin called "The Stream Detector" to get a URL (and the rest of the yt-dlp command line) from the "#Backup" server:

yt-dlp --no-part --restrict-filenames -N 8 --user-agent "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0" --cookies-from-browser firefox --referer "https://vid2v11.site/" "https://mnlx.v4322a77e96.site/_v2-npxb/9a701df34da7e4ae16c25b01dd7fefae2a1975c4551681eb8d9a78fe4fcd06741ae3e719f0ef63837c6cf62e8daaecb28d7ff9aa0d734593957b6ecbd106443f79fd37946899f0e86494f37084539685009d7fa9fbb3cc1e90794ceee2c4e5f72c36999658b448f72d62/h/list;9d705ee448b4e4e553dc06568f6feda3345b239e1c12c8.m3u8"

Your URL worked for me after I removed "--user-agent "Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0" --cookies-from-browser firefox --referer"
I got yt-dlp some time ago but I had only used it for music.
I updated it with yt-dlp -U
I also tried yt-dlp --get-url https://ww1.m4uhd.tv/watch-movie-the-horse-soldiers-1959-235949.html (with & without quotes).
But I got the <HTTPError 403: Forbidden>.

The Stream Detector did not work to find the URL on this video for me.
I tested it with YouTube & Dailymotion videos.
It worked on some but not all videos on those web sites.

MediaInfo shows 1920x1148 & 3.12GB . Is this the video everyone else got ?

[DB83]

@cholla

Yes. There are two record modes. It can get many videos from online sources at speed but not this one.


I think 1920*1148 is what jagabo said in an earlier post is what he got although from the site only 360p and 720p showed up. But even the higher spec is still 1.66:1 just like the 1200*720 that I received and will require cropping for Blu Ray. You just get the extra vertical info for PC playback which adds nothing to the overall viewing pleasure. One reviewer at a link shared earlier took humbrage that the so-called 1.85:1 new Blu Ray cropped even more on the vertical yet, again, nothing critical is lost. The simple fact is that unless the movie is 1.78:1 - and that is NOT a film/projection standard - you will get sidebars when the AR is lower or pillarbars when higher. And even worse when you have a non-anamorphic release as with your dvd.


Now me and @Alwyn have a 'history' - he does like to argue with me . But I still see no reason to author Blu Ray at 1.66:1 especially in 2011 when widescreen tvs were at the fore. I would still be interested in the disk you finally receive. The site that has a review of the 2011 Blu Ray suggests only Zone A whereas both Zone A and B are also mentioned. A version was also released in the UK in 2013 but I am not inclined to seek one out since this is not a movie I want - others, even older than this, I have obtained in every version ever released (super8 -German,VHS -UK and German-,dvd -UK and US- and BD -German )

[cholla]

@DB83,
I obviously am disappointed with the DVD I have.
Why I did the re encoding in the first place.
I decided to keep the blu ray I have coming even if it is 1.66.:1 because it was cheap enough.
I'm skeptical about any that are supposed to be 1.85:1 now.
After the links about "fakes" & the crop on the Kino Lorber version.

This is a bit off topic:
Are you a John Wayne fan ?
I have several of his movies on DVD.
I even like the very old B&Ws from about the mid 1930's to mid 1940's.
If I had to pick I guess my favorite JW movie is Rio Bravo.

I went to widescreen TVs a long while back but I did have a working 32" CRT until about 4 years ago. It finally failed so I disposed of it.

[DB83]

^ Not really. I have only one John Wayne filum.

But a special one both in VHS and DVD. And the VHS is rather special being the longer full version of 'The Alamo'. Tis now available on Blu Ray but the longer version is only SD rather than HD.

[cholla]

^ Not really. I have only one John Wayne filum.

But a special one both in VHS and DVD. And the VHS is rather special being the longer full version of 'The Alamo'. Tis now available on Blu Ray but the longer version is only SD rather than HD.

I still have a VHS/DVD player/recorder that I can use still connected to my entertainment system.
I seldom use it as I disposed of most of my VHS tapes.

Being a Texan the Alamo itself is a special place.

You probably know this but the Alamo used in the movie is a movie set.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo_Village

[DB83]

^^ I did not know but then I would hardly expect the original to be used

I had originally planned on using the dvd as the main source + the extra bits from the VHS to create a complete version. I soon ran into issues much like the movie we now discuss since ARs and cropping are different on both so I settled for a decent quality VHS capture version.

[cholla]

I settled for a decent quality VHS capture version.

I assume you captured The Alamo to a DVD or hard drive from the VHS.

Did you have any problems with Macrovision doing the capture.

I have a Grex to filter Macrovision.
It works fairly well but I long ago decided DVDs were usually better.

Still when the VHS is a longer version .It's good to have one.

[DB83]

No MV issues. Most VHS in the UK do not have MV and those that do, maybe not Disney but then I have none, are fine with my Hauppauge USB-Live2

[cholla]

Back when VHS was what most people were using in the US most had at least some Macrovision protection.
Of course I have heard of the Hauppauge electronics.
There used to be an internal Hauppauge card that was supposed to capture very well.

When I bought the Grex I have it came from the company that manufactures them in Israel.
That was the only place that had them.Probably over 20 years ago.
Now you can get one from Amazon.
They are making claims about DVDs that my Grex won't do & I bet the one they sell won't either.
But for removing Macrovision from VHS they work well.
https://www.amazon.com/XDIMAX-GREX-7-4-Grex-Video-Stabilizer/dp/B0096I2DNE

[cholla]

DB83 was correct below this was off topic.

[DB83]

Not wishing to scold you but I think we should keep the thread on-topic and not detour in the current direction

When you do get your Blu Ray having assessed it and if you then considered an attempt to convert that to a quasi-1.85:1 (assuming, of course, it is 1.66:1) I will be happy to chime in.


As for your last Q. I will be happy to continue the convo by means of PM.

[cholla]

I received the blu ray & it is the 2011 MGM 1.66:1 version.
DVDFab Passkey read it as Region B But my settop played it OK.
For the USA it should have been a Region A.
The case has Region A on it.

I probably will attempt to convert it to a 1.85:1.
I would like to eliminate the pillars.
They are a lot smaller than on the DVD & the top & bottom have no bars.
If I do this I know that some side information will still be missing.
It seems from what I read the 1.85:1 2022 BDs have the side information but have top & bottom cropping.
So some missing top & bottom information.
If anyone knows different then please post a link to a 1.85:1 BD with all the information included.

My first steps are a rip of the full BD with DVDFab Passkey.
I have done this.
Then to a DVD9 with BD Rebuilder.
I was not sure on at least one setting in BD Rebuilder as the guide in this forum did not say.
It was whether to use Directshow or LAV
So the first go is the default Directshow.
I am doing this now.

[DB83]

Why, pray are you converting the BD to DVD ? 1. You will lose quality bitrate-wise and 2. You end up with a smaller frame.

My interest is how your BD compares to the HQ online version. Only then can one asesse what info, if any, is missing. Maybe you can do a full-screen cap of a scene quite early in the film when John Wayne is discussing his plans. Even better would be a short sample of the actual movie but not a DVD version.

[cholla]

Why, pray are you converting the BD to DVD ?

I want to see what it looks like.

My interest is how your BD compares to the HQ online version. Only then can one asesse what info, if any, is missing. Maybe you can do a full-screen cap of a scene quite early in the film when John Wayne is discussing his plans. Even better would be a short sample of the actual movie

I will see what I can do to get a sample strait from the Passkey rip.

[cholla]

@ DB83,
This is a cut with ffmpeg with no encoding.
I did it .m2ts to .m2ts copy.
For me MPC-HC played it the best.
I have it set to use LAV filters.

[Alwyn]

Very noisy...

[DB83]

@cholla.

Thank you for the clip. Just what the doctor ordered. Here is a comparison frame-wise of the BD (cropped) and the HQ. Maybe not exactly the same frame but close enough. And I see no framing difference between the two versions.

So if you want to crop away the sidebars and re-author to Blu Ray from there there is an inevitable loss of some information on the vertical.

[cholla]

Very noisy...

I cut the video strait from the rip.
ffmpeg did the cut.
Maybe there is a better software to use for cutting a section from a blu ray rip but I do not believe I have one.
Maybe I do & don't know it.
I used DVDFab's Passkey The shareware version.
For both DVD & blu ray.

[Alwyn]

Dupe post.

[Alwyn]

@Cholla, not your fault, I was just commenting on the ugly "video" noise; look at the sky. That looks awful. It would be interesting to see if the DVD is that bad. @DB83 could check his downloaded version. Somewhere along the digitising line, a lot of noise has been introduced.

[DB83]

^ I have seen the original dvd,or at least the part as posted. We have moved on since then.

Any 'noise' - some people call it grain - can be reduced in post. Not the point of the excercise right now.

[cholla]

It would be interesting to see if the DVD is that bad.

Which DVD?
The original clip I posted from the DVD rip or the new DVD I created from the blu ray rip ?
The original DVD clip posted has the same scene in it as the post in #259.
It is just a longer clip.
I tried a clip with VDub2 I had to use the codecs that were available in it.
I tried with both .avi & mkv but a 16 second clip was over 1 GB.
I haven't done a clip from the blu ray to DVD conversion but I can do one.

Any 'noise' - some people call it grain - can be reduced in post.

That would be done with encoding? Correct?

[davexnet]

I tried with both .avi & mkv but a 16 second clip was over 1 GB.

You have to set the output type. In Video/Compression, pick and configure either x265 or x264

[cholla]

I tried with both .avi & mkv but a 16 second clip was over 1 GB.

You have to set the output type. In Video/Compression, pick and configure either x265 or x264

This is a clip I was able to do using Video/Compression set to "x264 8 bit - H.264/MPEG-4 AVC codec" to the right it states: "No conversion required on output".
Then File/Export/Stream copy.
This was the resulting much smaller .m2ts file.

[DB83]

As far as the discussion about 'noise' is concerned, can you play the original Blu Ray on a PC. Is the noise still there ?

If it is not then artifacts have been introduced in the 'ripping' process. Many on here would use MakeMKV for that.


But rather than waste words on this tis more useful to assist, if you need it, in the crop/resize/reencode from 1.66:1 to the quasi-1.85:1. The loss on the vertical is small but, as I already stated, is unavoidable otherwise you will stretch either on the horizontal, vertical or even both. And the tool I would use, as did in creating the latest comparison, does have noise-reduction filters if they are needed.

[cholla]

And the tool I would use, as did in creating the latest comparison, does have noise-reduction filters if they are needed.

Which tool ?

I will test the actual blu ray on my PC to look for noise or graining.