4:3 display on a 16:9 TV

[drfsupercenter]

I have a similar question - I have a movie that is in 4:3 aspect ratio. I want it to stay that way, but is there a way that I can make it so that black bars are added on the sides in a 16X9 screen? You know how the main menus of some DVD's are like that - in a norma TV they are 4:3 ratio but in a 16X9 TV there are extra stuff on the sides? Well can I do that making the black be the extra? If so, how?

-drfsupercenter

[drfsupercenter]

What about what I was saying?

[blutach]

I have a similar question - I have a movie that is in 4:3 aspect ratio. I want it to stay that way, but is there a way that I can make it so that black bars are added on the sides in a 16X9 screen? You know how the main menus of some DVD's are like that - in a norma TV they are 4:3 ratio but in a 16X9 TV there are extra stuff on the sides? Well can I do that making the black be the extra? If so, how?

-drfsupercenter

This is a player setup issue. Your 16:9 TV will automatically display 4:3 with sidebars. Just set your player up for a 16:9 TV.

Regards

[drfsupercenter]

There is no way to make this automatic? It just gets very annoying changing my standalone player back and forth (there is no seperate screen - it is a portable DVD player)

[blutach]

Well set the player up for the TV it is connected most to.

Regards

[drfsupercenter]

Yes, but I am talking about a setting IN the DVD. For example, you know how some DVD menus are 16x9 but then when you put them in a 4x3 TV, it automatically cuts the sides off? The movie is still widescreen, it is just the menu that does this. Can't I do that with the main movie as well, only the stuff on the sides is black?

[nwg]

If you set the player to 16:9 and the screen is 16:9. It will display 16:9 material in 16:9 and 4:3 in 4:3 (with black borders at the side).

If you play the DVD on a 4:3 TV. You have to set the player to 4:3 for both 4:3 and 16:9 DVD's. It will show 16:9 as 4:3 letterbox.

[drfsupercenter]

Right, I get what you are saying, but is there a way to encode that IN the DVD? Imagine that the hardware is automatically 16x9 and that I wanted bars then. What would I do in that case?

[blutach]

Yes, you cvould set the attrivutes for the video stream to 4:3 (why, I don't know).

Do this in PgcEdit - double click on the title and click on Domain Stream Attributes, change video to 4:3 and OK and save. Note: If it is anamorphic widescreen, the characters will look tall and thin.

Regards

[drfsupercenter]

Not quite what I had in mind. I will show you some pics of a DVD menu doing what I am talking about in 2 different TVs. I am at school right now so when I get home I will take those pics.

[drfsupercenter]

All right. I have taken some pics, but the quality of my camera is not very good, say 1MegaPixel is all, so it would be easier to do it this way: A good example of what I had in mind is The Incredibles - disc 2 (R1). On a 4x3 TV, obviously 4x3 stuff fills the screen, and widescreen material has bars on the top and bottom like normal. However, in a widescreen TV, 16x9 material fills the screen and 4x3 material has black bars on the sides. That is what I want to do with a homemade DVD. If you want, I will post the IFOs for this disc so someone can figure out what coding was used to make the disc do this.

[nwg]

On a 4x3 TV, obviously 4x3 stuff fills the screen, and widescreen material has bars on the top and bottom like normal. However, in a widescreen TV, 16x9 material fills the screen and 4x3 material has black bars on the sides.

That is correct. The DVD is 1:85:1 which will fill a widescreen TV. 4:3 will have black bars on the side.

I am still confused what you are trying to do. If you have a widesceen TV then it just needs to be set to 16:9 mode. 16:9 enhanced DVD's will look correct. 1.85:1 DVD's will fill the screen and 2.35:1 will have small bars at the top and bottom. 4:3 DVD's will have the bars at the sides. This is a player setting and not a DVD issue. So, if your homemade DVD is 4:3, then it will automatically have bars at the sides. If the DVD is 16:9 then it will fill the screen (it will be close to 1:85:1).

[drfsupercenter]

I am trying to force the player to add black bars. You see, it is not a 16x9 TV. It is a standalone player with a 7" diagonal widescreen screen. While it is true that I can change the ratio, it automatically stretches 4:3 movies. I can change it but NOT on menus and other spots. And frequently if it switches titles while playing, I have to manually change it again. See, I am trying to force the black bars, similar to what The Incredibles does. Would you like the IFOs so you could see what I am talking about?

[nwg]

The 7" screen is still 16:9 so it should be set to 16:9 or wide as it sometimes known. 4:3 will be 4:3 and 16:9 will be 16:9.

[drfsupercenter]

Arghhh!!! The SCREEN does not have a setting. It is the PLAYER. And the default is 16:9. However, it stretches a 4:3 movie. By default. Only way to change this is to manually say "vertical fit" for every title. However, if there are several titles on one disc I do not want to deal with changing that every title. I am just saying that discs like The Incredibles do this on their own. Is there a way to incorporate those IFO's programming into my homemade DVD?