{{{What aspect ratio options to choose!???}}}

[Bravoxena]

I need to know what AR setting I should choose in TmgEnc so that when I view an S/VCD on my TV, it will be in it's ORIGINAL aspect ratio.

For example, if I have a 16:9 divx file, I will set the Source Aspect Ratio to "16:9 display".

But some of my widescreen divx's have black bars at the top and bla bla bla.

Is there a way I can FIND OUT what my file's AR is???????

Merci.

[ZippyP.]

Choose Full Screen(Keep Aspect Ratio) to preserve it's original form. 8)

(Sorry, original post made a mistake.)

[antoniosgubba]

If you want to preserve the original aspect ratio you don't need to find out anything...in the settings section of TMPGenc just make sure the source aspect ratio is set at 1:1 and then set the video arrange method to "full screen (keep aspect ratio).

I know this sounds confusing....1:1 just doesnt sound right if you're doing a widescreen movie...but those are the settings to use.

[antoniosgubba]

What does centre (keep aspect ratio) do then Zippy?...I've always used full screen (keep aspect ratio)...should I be using centre?

[flaninacupboard]

centre is useful if you have chopped only the top widescreen border off, and left the bottom, for the subtitles. using centre aligns it centrally, wheras fullscreen (keep) would have the video right at the top of the frame (i believe!) in any case, i always use full screen keep.
BY THE WAY Bravoxena, THIS MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A DUMBASS! DON'T DO IT!
you'll find far more people help you if you just ask a question sensibly.

[ZippyP.]

The only time I used Center (Keep Aspect Ratio) was when I was following this guide: https://www.videohelp.com/forum/userguides/91597.php

It leaves black borders all around and keeps the image smaller.

Sorry again for the brain freeze.

[Bravoxena]

then what is "centre keep aspect ratio 2"?
with my widescreen divx, I was advised to use 16:9 display as my source and "fullscreen, keep aspect ratio 2".

[Vejita-sama]

As far as display aspect ratios go there are 3 that you are likely to run into:

1:1 (PC)
4:3 (standard tv)
16:9 (wide screen TV and film)

However, widescreen TVs have an actually DAR of 1.77:1 and films come in either 1.85:1 (academy flat) or 2.35:1 (anamorphic scope).

VHS, VCD, and SVCD have a DAR of 4:3 ONLY. That means to display film sources at the correct aspect ratio you have to letter box your video.

DVDs can be anamorphic. You flag a DVD as either 4:3 or 16:9. So let's say you have a 16:9 flagged anamorphic DVD. If you play it on a normally TV the DVD player will letterbox the video on the fly (ie. add the black bars). If you play it on a widescreen TV, nothing happens.

As an aside 2.35:1 encoded anamorphic DVD actually has little black bars encoded as part of the video (sort of a pseudo-letterboxing)). Otherwise even on a widescreen TV the picture would look distored (widescreen TV 1.77:1).

So depending on your source, and what you are trying to encode too there can be a lot more variables in play. Now ALL divx files should have a DAR of 1:1 (I say should because a lot of people f&ck up when they encode divx files).

In TMPGenc you enter the DAR of your source (Divx and all PC video should be 1:1) then the output as 4:3 (and either NTSC or PAL), and the video arrange method as full screen keep aspect ratio. This will center the video and add black bars as necessary to perserve the aspec ratio.

Aside - center just centers the video on the screen. You would only do this if you DO NOT need to resize. If you have to resize choose full screen on only the center of the video that is within the assigned resolution will be displayed.

Take a look below for more info:

http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama.html