16:9 ratio playback problem, please help

[hethoi]

I have an avi 640x352, NTSC film and want to convert it to svcd to view on a 16:9 tv using Tmpgenc 2.56plus.
Setting for Video tap:
mpeg2, 480x480, CBR 1600, 3:2 pulldown, aspect 16:9, frame rate 23.97

Setting for Advance tap:
Non interlace, top field first, aspect ratio 1:1, full screen(keep aspect ratio).

The result mpeg2 looks fine on computer, but when i burn it using Nero, and play it on standalone dvd player, the screen becomes shaky all the time. With the same setting above, if I change the aspect ratio to 4:3 on video tap, the movie is fine on my standalone dvd player.

I did try to change the field order for the 16:9 encoding test but got the same shaky image when play the movie on dvd player. I have tried to convert several avis to either vcd or svcd, and always have problem with the 16:9 setting in video tap, the setting 4:3 is always fine. I use an Apex 1500 dvd player, my question is if I didn't anything wrong with the tmpence parameters or the problem is from my dvd player and how can I overcome it? Thank you in advance for your helps folks.

Hethoi.

[DJRumpy]

It's doubtful that Top Field First is the correct choice. Most broadcast, and DVD's are bottom field first. Getting it wrong will make your video jumpy.

You should also know that SVCD does not support 16:9 video. Your player may play it back, but it's not standard, and not supported by the format. If your still having problems, you might want to resize your video to the correct 4:3 ratio, and change the DAR to 4:3.

At the expense of being verbose, someone else has already asked this question. Rather than type all of it back in, you can find the info here:

http://www.vcdhelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=131807

[hethoi]

Thank you very much DJRumpy. I have read the issue on the link and still trying to understand it. My player does not support 16:9 mpeg regardless of field order setting so I have to encode the movie as 4:3. Should I resize the movie and adding letterbox in virtualdub or in tmpgenc? Let say I resize it in tmpgenc. From your example, movie size 1.85:1, resize to 480x256 (without letterboxing), then add letterbox to achieve 4:3 ratio. What is the size I should enter in Video tap 480x480 or 480x256, and what should I have for Video Arrange Method and Source aspect ratio fields in the Advance tap? And suppose that I got the movie encoded, how will it look like on a 16:9 tv ( any distortion)?

I have tried some tests using size of 480x256, and aspect 4:3 for the Video tap and looks like my dvd player refuses to play anything different from 704x480 and 480x480.

Thanks again for your time to my dummy questions
Regards,
Hethoi.

[DJRumpy]

I would do all pre-processing in VirtualDub, as this is what it's designed for. TMPGenc is slow enough as is. Don't add any unecessary work. Resize your video, and add your letterboxing in VirtualDub.

To answer your question, your output resolution in TMPGenc should be 480x480 for SVCD. Select 'Center - Keep Aspect Ratio', and set the Source aspect ratio to 4:3, and your output aspect ratio to 1:1, or 4:3 in TMPGenc.

Any 4:3 video viewed on a 16:9 TV will appear 'short'. You TV should come with various stretching modes to compensate for this, one of which will allow you to stretch the vertical range, which also happens to help correct the aspect ratio of 4:3 video, although not completely.

I have tried some tests using size of 480x256, and aspect 4:3 for the Video tap and looks like my dvd player refuses to play anything different from 704x480 and 480x480.

I'm not sure where your going here. SVCD is not a valid DVD resolution (480x480). Trying to trick your player into playing invalid resolutions, or bitrate's can have unexpected results. If you do not want to use 704x480, try 720x480, or 352x480, or even 352x240, all of which are valid resolutions for DVD.

[hethoi]

Hi DJRumpy,
I understood it now. Thank you very much.

FYI, the way I encode a 2.35:1 avi to mpeg2 is that :
Video tap: 480x480, aspect 4:3
Advance tap: 16:9 display, full screen (keep aspect)
The resulted mpeg will look vertically stretched on a 4:3 tv, but on a 16:9 tv it's ok, circle objects will look 95% circular with two reasonable size black bars on top and bottom of the screen, so i personally think it's acceptable. However, the price is that the svcd provides too much distortion on a 4:3 tv, so this way is not a good way if the svcd is to be watched on both 16:9 and 4:3 tv (which is not my case).
Thanks again,
Hethoi.

[DJRumpy]

Just so you know, you can simply create a 16:9 video in 4:3 aspect ratio. The proper resolution for your movie is 480x360, with letterboxing filling out the remaining 120 pixels (60 on top, 60 on bottom). This should give you a 16:9 movie, encoded as 4:3. Just remember, that it will look 'tall' if you play it back on a 4:3 TV.