SVCD Authoring with NO BLACK BARS!

[galactica]

Hello all

Have been using 42 to make SVCD's. Just recently added a 2nd love to my life (my 1st being my MAC ) a 42" 16:9 Flat Screen tv.

Here's my question. When I play DVD's that are widescreen, I dont get any black bars. The movie fills up the entire screen.
Im using an APEX AD-5131 for my DVD and SVCD player if that helps.

When I play a SVCD of the same dvd made on my Mac using 42 v1.5 I get the black bars at the top and the bottom.

Dont get me wrong, the quality is excellent and all, but is there any way to make the SVCD play like the DVD with out the black bars at the top and bottom.

Just checking

[the_locke]

Actually - I just returned my APEX 5131 this week. All of the VCD/SVCD I made with 42 played with a constant "stutter" in video - just couldn't stand it.
(still think this may be a toast burning issue - but whatever...)

ANYWAY - if I remember correctly - there is a *type of TV* option in the player set-up that might be affecting the playback of DVD. In my new Samsung player, if I select "widescreen TV" - no bars, all as full screen. So, DVDs will play like a "pan-and-scan" instead of widescreen.

Since the VCD/SVCD has the bars as *part of the file*, they ARE playing full screen.

[mlindber]

What you really need is an anamorphic SVCD, since you're running a 16:9 display. Unfortunately, you can't do this in 42. In ffmpegX, if you deselect VOB letterbox, the SVCD will be encoded anamorphically, and will play back without black bars on your display. This does mean, of course, that any 4:3 displays playing the SVCD will have to deal with a stretched image, but that isn't a big deal if you are the only one using the SVCDs.

[galactica]

Thanks guys
I have not had luck with FFMPEGX and svcd's they never sync.
Ill try the options on the player and see what happens

If that doesnt work, guess ill have to make ffmpegx work
thanks!

[KaiCherry]

What you really need is an anamorphic SVCD, since you're running a 16:9 display. Unfortunately, you can't do this in 42.

Do you have some bug up your ass about our software? For chrissakes.

The *reason* (what? you gave it some thought? OMG!) why 'you can't do this in forty-two' is because there are an assload of DVD players that *choke* on these kinds of SVCDs.

As forty-two is designed to be a program for Non-Advanced users that just want to back up their stuff with out the confusion of other programs, this option was left out.

-K

[mlindber]

The *reason* (what? you gave it some thought? OMG!) why 'you can't do this in forty-two' is because there are an assload of DVD players that *choke* on these kinds of SVCDs.

As forty-two is designed to be a program for Non-Advanced users that just want to back up their stuff with out the confusion of other programs, this option was left out.

I don't really know why it would "choke" on the SVCD (then it would choke on all SVCDs since they would use almost the exact same resolution, 480x480 is 480x480 no matter what is encoded), but I'll ignore that part.

Also, the reason I "have a bug up my ass" is non-existant. I don't have a bug up my ass, the original poster was asking about 42, and I was specifically saying that 42 doesn't do that. You have just confirmed that.

Their question was asking about why they were getting black bars. Using the knowledge I have about how 16:9 displays work, I just applied some thinking into what the problem would be. Don't think I'm attacking the software.

[geek rock]

there is no such thing as an anamorphic SVCD.

there is a common misconception that VCDs and SVCDs, because they are playable on a DVD player, can be anamorphic. (ie, black borders can be added "on the fly" by the DVD player for 4:3 TVs).

THIS IS A FEATURE EXCLUSIVE TO DVDS!

if you want to watch widescreen footage, you have two options..

1) encode the footage full-screen, meaning it will only appear correctly on a widescreen TV;

pro:
you can use all 480 lines of resolution for the picture

con:
the SVCD will look stretched on a 4:3 TV

2) encode the footage with borders, meaning it will appear correctly on a 4:3 TV;

pro:
appears correctly on a 4:3 TV (more commonly used than widescreen), plus widescreen sets can "zoom in" meaning you don't have to view the borders on a WS set

con:
you waste around 30% of the 480 pixel resolution to encode the black bars into the picture

[incredible]

As I already told you. If you want to see 16:9 video sources on a 4:3 TV without black borders you have to crop the left & right side before encoding to mpeg2!

If I author an anamorph DVD with DVD SP I set at the options of the track "Panscan & Letterbox" so I can choose at the menu of my DVD player if it will be played back in Letterbox (16:9 with black borders) or in PanScan (left & right copped!).

There are a few DVD Player which know how to play a SVCD in PanScan mode when watchin on a 4:3 TV but they are very rar! My DVD Player doesen't

So when you encode your VOB in FFmpgx choose the normal "NTSC SVCD" aspect ratio, not "16:9 SVCD"!!
Below right on the ffmpgx screen you have 4 fields, enter in the 3rd and 4th field the values of 90 (I testet it theese values and it will show circles correctly and not sqeezed).
With this you have cropped the sides and this is the same funktion as PanScanning with a DVD Player but already made during encoding your mpg2 videostream.

Also there is a Pipe in Mediapipe (if you use this appl.) wich is called "crop image".

But! .... by PanScanning the footage in FFmpgX or MMT or Mediapipe there will be a lot more Pixel-information in one Frame cause its full of video movement and it gots no longer its percentual amount of black bars!
You will receive more artefacts when using the same bitrate for video as you choose when Letterboxing!

Watch out

Markus