Black background to avi and mpeg?

[Bienentanz]

I'm looking for a way to run avi's and mpeg's in the centre of computer screens with a nice black background. I know Macromedia Director will do the trick using a projector for avi's, but that software is very expensive and I've heard that sometimes they suddenly stop running without apparent cause. Does anyone know of an alternative?

[Batman]

If by "black background" you are referring to the aspect ratio. Software like GDIVX player and Radlight allow you to adjust he aspect ratio.

[Bienentanz]

black?

I believe that aspect ratio refers to 4:3 or 16:9. What I actually meant was a black background. Most compression techniques don't deliver good enough resolution to allow for full screen presentation - I usually choose 384x288. I'm just looking for something to make the rest of the screen look black so those viewing the film are not distracted.

[Batman]

I am not sure how changing the aspect ratio would improve quality. You could try. Also, reduce the screen area to like 640x480 (or the minimum).

In Virtual Dub you may be able to resize---however I do not think it will improve quality. You can add black bars as well. However, I have not done this.

[benderman]

Use the sasami2000 player, select fullscreen mode and use "ctrl"+"+" and "ctrl"+"-" to increase/decrease the size of the video.

[Bienentanz]

sasami2000

Thanks, Benderman. I've tried to find the software via search engines but havn't found anything. Do you know where?

Is it possible to create .exe-files so that the viewers don't have to download the software?