mpeg2avi and cropping

[hellno]

Hi ya all!
I got a tech question and am not after a sollution as I have it, more after an explenation

Take Harry potter for example. My DVD is:
16:9 (2.35:1) / 25.0 FPS

I think (and that might be where I get it all wrong) that this means its at 720x304

So if I want to downsize to say 512x"Y" it I need to do something like

(512/720)*304=216

So I conclude that to keep the ratio I need 512x216

Now when I downsize to the above I get two parallel black lines and a squashed picture.

If I set it to fill the two black lines (512x296) the picture is perfect and of course, there are no more black lines.

My question: Why?

[setarip]

"I think (and that might be where I get it all wrong) that this means its at 720x304"

Since you're in the PAL world (25.0Fps), the DVD resolution is 720x576...

[hellno]

Roger that!

I did a few tests and was about to contradict until I saw the light

You are absolutely right and I found that the following was a better ratio:

720x576 -> 512x408 (crop 512x304)

Any idea why the box states 16:9 (2.35:1) when it seems obvious it is in fact 4:3.

Thoughts?
Thanks
HN

[UncasMS]

harry potter is 2.35:1 and not 4:3

thus your cropped resolution of 512 x 304 is wrong since that would be 1.68:1.