Different displays identical ratios for 2 MKV files

[radunn]

I have 2 different MKV files. My confusion is that both files have aspect ratios of 1280x720 but display differently on a 16*9 HDTV (even on the computer) Vid1 fills the screen whereas Vid2 has black bars at T/B. Any help pointing to the direction as to why is greatly appreciated. Listings below were copied via Mediainfo.
VID1:
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 1h 42mn
Bit rate mode : Constant
Nominal bit rate : 5 800 Kbps / 5 800 Kbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Standard : NTSC
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.262
Writing library : x264 core 114
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x113 / me=hex / subme=7 / psy=1 / psy_rd=1.00:0.00 / mixed_ref=1 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=1 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=2 / deadzone=21,11 / fast_pskip=1 / chroma_qp_offset=-2 / threads=12 / sliced_threads=0 / slices=1 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / interlaced=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / weightb=1 / open_gop=0 / weightp=2 / keyint=250 / keyint_min=23 / scenecut=40 / intra_refresh=0 / rc_lookahead=40 / rc=cbr / mbtree=1 / bitrate=5800 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.60 / qpmin=3 / qpmax=69 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=5800 / vbv_bufsize=5799 / nal_hrd=cbr / ip_ratio=1.40 / aq=1:1.00
Default : Yes
Forced : No
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709

VID2
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : High@L4.1
Format settings, CABAC : Yes
Format settings, ReFrames : 3 frames
Codec ID : V_MPEG4/ISO/AVC
Duration : 2h 18mn
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 5 994 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 6 330 Kbps
Maximum bit rate : 24.0 Mbps
Width : 1 280 pixels
Height : 720 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.271
Stream size : 5.80 GiB (91%)
Writing library : x264 core 78 r1309M 4d77de8
Encoding settings : cabac=1 / ref=3 / deblock=1:0:0 / analyse=0x3:0x12 / me=dia / subme=2 / psy=1 / psy_rd=0.0:0.0 / mixed_ref=0 / me_range=16 / chroma_me=1 / trellis=0 / 8x8dct=1 / cqm=0 / deadzone=21,11 / chroma_qp_offset=0 / threads=6 / nr=0 / decimate=1 / mbaff=0 / constrained_intra=0 / bframes=3 / b_pyramid=0 / b_adapt=1 / b_bias=0 / direct=1 / wpredb=1 / keyint=24 / keyint_min=2 / scenecut=40 / rc_lookahead=29 / rc=cbr / mbtree=0 / bitrate=6330 / ratetol=1.0 / qcomp=0.50 / qpmin=10 / qpmax=51 / qpstep=4 / vbv_maxrate=24000 / vbv_bufsize=30000 / ip_ratio=1.10 / pb_ratio=1.10 / aq=1:1.00
Default : Yes
Forced : No

[admin]

Is the aspect ratios of the video content the same for both videos (that is, does one of the videos look too tall or too fat?). If everything looks right when played back, then it probably means that T/B black bars were encoded into the second video in order to correct the aspect ratio (whereas the better way of doing this would be to actually encode the video at the appropriate resolution without the black bars, for example: 1280x544).

[radunn]

Is the aspect ratios of the video content the same for both videos (that is, does one of the videos look too tall or too fat?). If everything looks right when played back, then it probably means that T/B black bars were encoded into the second video in order to correct the aspect ratio (whereas the better way of doing this would be to actually encode the video at the appropriate resolution without the black bars, for example: 1280x544).

That is a good point. No, the original ARs for the videos were Vid1 1280x720; Vid2 1280x544. I used multAVCHD to encode to x720 because it says the height x544 is not compliant (480/576/720/1080); asking if I want to continue. I cropped with uncropMKV implementing the x720 ratio (from x544) therefore creating the T/B bars thinking I'd get a full screen view. I'll leave ratios as is, encode with multiAVCHD and see the results. Thanks.

[radunn]

That is a good point. No, the original ARs for the videos were Vid1 1280x720; Vid2 1280x544. I used multAVCHD to encode to x720 because it says the height x544 is not compliant (480/576/720/1080); asking if I want to continue. I cropped with uncropMKV implementing the x720 ratio (from x544) therefore creating the T/B bars thinking I'd get a full screen view. I'll leave ratios as is, encode with multiAVCHD and see the results. Thanks.

Followup: I encoded at 1280*544 and got a full display on HDTV. I assumed height upconverted to 720 provides a larger display vs default 544 but apparently not. Can you fill me in on what I'm missing? Again thanks

[admin]

Are you making a AVCHD disc, in which case multAVCHD was right in regards to the accepted heights (480/576/720/1080). Otherwise, how are you playing the MKV file on your TV?

When you created the T/B bars, it ensured that the aspect ratio of the video would be correct when played back on your HDTV. So the whole picture with T/B bars would be played at 16:9 (or 1.85:1) on your HDTV, as that's the ratio of most display devices, while the actual video content (the video without T/B bars) would still be displaying correct in its original ratio of 2.35:1. This technique is called letterboxing.

If you want to have the 2.35:1 video (vid2) to occupy the entire screen of your 1.85:1 TV, you'll have to cut off the left and right of the video to change the aspect ratio. Obviously, this is not recommended as you'll lose a chunk of the picture.

If you're playing the 1280x544 MKV file *directly* on your TV using some kind of media player (or something built into the TV), it should have automatically added T/B bars during playback to preserve the aspect ratio (ie. letterboxing). Perhaps there's a playback option somewhere to do this (under zoom options, maybe).

[radunn]

Are you making a AVCHD disc, in which case multAVCHD was right in regards to the accepted heights (480/576/720/1080). Otherwise, how are you playing the MKV file on your TV?

Yes, I'm making AVCHD discs; I started with TsMuxer but like the menu layout and the ablity to convert DTS to AC-3 (on the fly) with multiAVCHD. TsMuxer doesn't complain about resolution compliancy.

If you want to have the 2.35:1 video (vid2) to occupy the entire screen of your 1.85:1 TV, you'll have to cut off the left and right of the video to change the aspect ratio. Obviously, this is not recommended as you'll lose a chunk of the picture.

Is what you are implying here referring to reverting back to 1280*544? I don't know what tool to use for that and haven't ran into a situation or file that requires that for a 2.35:1 display.


My other issue is in TsMuxer. I unchecked all of the SRT-subtitle files (because I don't enjoy CC during playback) leaving just the Video, Audio codecs enabled. I muxed the filem creating a new *.MKV. When creating the AVCHD disc in multiAVCHD it prompted the error "Important files missing (clpi/mpls/m2ts)" failing to encode. Does this reference the files unchecked in TsMuxer? I do find that leaving SRT-subtitles checked in TsMuxer and unchecking "Enable advanced procesing for text-based SFT/SSA/SUB subtitles" in multiAVCHD averts this error. Thanks for your support.

[radunn]

Are you making a AVCHD disc, in which case multAVCHD was right in regards to the accepted heights (480/576/720/1080). Otherwise, how are you playing the MKV file on your TV?

Yes, I'm making AVCHD discs; I started with TsMuxer but like the menu layout and the ablity to convert DTS to AC-3 (on the fly) with multiAVCHD. TsMuxer doesn't complain about resolution compliancy.

If you want to have the 2.35:1 video (vid2) to occupy the entire screen of your 1.85:1 TV, you'll have to cut off the left and right of the video to change the aspect ratio. Obviously, this is not recommended as you'll lose a chunk of the picture.

Is what you are implying here referring to reverting back to 1280*544? I don't know what tool to use for that and haven't ran into a situation or file that requires that for a 2.35:1 display.


My other issue is in TsMuxer. I unchecked all of the SRT-subtitle files (because I don't enjoy CC during playback) leaving just the Video, Audio codecs enabled. I muxed the filem creating a new *.MKV. When creating the AVCHD disc in multiAVCHD it prompted the error "Important files missing (clpi/mpls/m2ts)" failing to encode. ERROR: Compilation does not contain any HD-DVD/AVCHD/Blu-ray titles! Does this reference the files unchecked in TsMuxer? I do find that leaving SRT-subtitles checked in TsMuxer and unchecking "Enable advanced procesing for text-based SFT/SSA/SUB subtitles" in multiAVCHD averts this error. Thanks for your support.

[admin]

For AVCHD, it has to be one of the compliant heights (480/576/720/1080), so you just have to encode it like the way you did it the first time (so Vid2 will have to have the black bars at the top/bottom, because that's how the picture should be displayed).

Not sure about the TsMuxer error, sorry.