Convert DVD Videos NOT enhanced for Wide Screen TV's

[Joetronics]

I am looking for a software that will accomplish the title's subject.
Most DVD's you purchase now days are "Enhanced for 16:9 TV's".
Older ones are not, so when you view them on a widescreen TV, you have the picture in the middle with black bars at the top and the bottom. The software I am looking for will convert the VOB files into that format so that if you set the IFO files to tell the TV it is a 16:9 widescreen feature, you will see that, the screen filled top and bottom with NO shrinking of the image.
This is done commercially by the people who produce DVD's from normal film images. So, I know it has to be available somewhere.
Thank You

[blutach]

DVD Rebuilder (both freeware and Pro versions) has the ability to convert 4:3 hard matte to 16:9 anamorphic.

Regards

[bluesdave]

This is done commercially by the people who produce DVD's from normal film images.

Not in the way you think. The original film is widescreen, and all they are doing is transferring it to digital format. They are not modifying the original film. If you look at the back of various DVDs you will see that there is a variation in the "widescreen" ratios, and you can see this physically represented on a 4:3 TV when the top and bottom black bars are sometimes thicker or thinner, when viewing different DVDs with different aspect ratios. Programs such as blutach has suggested, take the video (VOB), and manipulate it to give you the new aspect ratio - they cannot add detail that does not exist.

Just think about an old movie that was recorded in 4:3 (say an old James Stewart movie from the 30s). It is nearly square. In order to "stretch" it out to 16:9, the program has to fiddle with the image. This means that you will lose some of the original video (from the top and bottom of the image).

Trust me. I have just been through this exercise, and have seen the effect before my eyes. If I was you, I would live with the black bars and keep 100% of the original image, rather than compromising just for the sake of filling my screen.

Sorry blutach, I do not mean to tread on your toes - just putting my 5c worth in.

[Joetronics]

Converting DVD movies not enhanced for viewing on 16:9 TV's to ones that are enhanced

This is a difficult subject to describe. I know what I am saying, but no one seems to understand what I am looking for. They say pictures are worth thousands of words, so I will suggest this: I believe I can explain my point with pictures of a video on a screen to which I can point out the differences in viewing - but I cannot post pictures here. I will try with a few illustrations below to see if I can clarify my point.
-----------------------------------------
| |
| Black Bar |
| |
|----------------------------------------|
| |
| 2:35 to 1 Widescreen Video |
| |
| |
|----------------------------------------|
| |
| Black Bar |
| |
-----------------------------------------

Pretend that the above is a 4:3 aspect ratio screen.
Also, pretend that the center is a 2:35 to 1 Widescreen Video.

Below is the SAME Widescreen Video showing in the same CORRECT aspect ratio on a 16:9 screen

-----------------------------------------
| Black Bar |
|---------------------------------------|
| |
| 2:35 to 1 Widescreen Video |
| |
| |
|---------------------------------------|
| Black bar |
----------------------------------------

I hope these illustrations gets my point across. I need a software program that will convert the video to show on a 16:9 aspect ratio screen as above.

Thank You

[ed klein]

When I have a full screen television, 4:3 and a widescreen movie (any aspect ratio) I use TMPGEnc Plus mpeg2 encoder with the options frame clip on the north and south borders, and the option no margins keep aspect ratio.

What this does it makes a fake image 4:3, looks like a full screen but still keeps the same aspect ratio as the source movie and fills the entire 4:3 television screen, even if it is still a true widescreen aspect ratio of the source movie.

[Joetronics]

Eddie, thanks, but I am trying to do just the opposite of that - clip the black off the bottom and top of the frame so that it has the same aspect as a 16:9 TV screen with very little black at the bottom/top rather than a whole lot of it.

[Joetronics]

Note to Bluetach - I did try your suggestion using DVD Rebuilder, checked the convert from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio box, but it did nothing to the video - same as the original (plus about 3MB more data).
Thanks for the tip anyway.....

[Chewy]

so you are wanting to crop the sides, makes sense now

thank goodness for my zoom feature on my toshiba remote, does that automatically

[Joetronics]

No Chewy, not the sides, the bottom and top.
My screen is 12 feet wide with a projector lighting it up, so something that shrinks the sides would not look cool at all.
All the new TV's coming out now have those features, but when you have invested about 30K in a theater that works just fine, you want to use what you got, not go out and re-do everything.

[ed klein]

@ joetronics

If you source movie is widescreen 16:9 (any widescreen aspect ratio)

And you TV is fullscreen 4:3

This is what you will seen on the TV screen:

North and south black borders and east and west boundries cut off.

Some methods to correct this:

Use the method I suggested in TMPGEnc Plus or use the first level of zoom on your TV remote.

Mabe this will help with definations:

fullscreen is taller than widescreen, thats why you have black north and south borders on widescreen
widescreen is wider than fullscreen, that why it is cut off when viewing on a fullscreen TV and NOT cut off when viewing on a widescreen TV.


If you have old movie built on 4:3 full screen aspect ratio and you want to view them on a new widescreen TV, due what blu has suggested and rebuild the movie using the option in DVD Rebuilder from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio.

[Joetronics]

Well, all I can say is that I guess the DVD industry has pretty much everyone buffaloed into thinking that a movie on DVD is gonna be just what they decide to put out with no altering possible.
They sure are wrong - the new Blue-Ray and HD CD's have already been cracked and they are just starting out.
Incidentally, I still do not think anyone other than Blutach really understands what I am looking for and trying to do. I appreciate all the suggestions and comments. Now if I could just have someone tell me how to alter the VOB Files from a 4:3 to a 16:9 aspect ratio WITHOUT altering the Picture aspect ratio I will be happy.

[bluesdave]

Now if I could just have someone tell me how to alter the VOB Files from a 4:3 to a 16:9 aspect ratio WITHOUT altering the Picture aspect ratio I will be happy.

I understand what you are trying to do. It is simple geometry. You cannot go from a non 16:9 ratio to 16:9 without losing something. It is simple mathematics. You either lose picture from the top, and or bottom, or both sides, or a combination of these. You also cannot add image data that you do not have in the first place (unless you can somehow simulate it). If you are prepared to accept that some manipulation of the image will occur, then by all means go with blutach's suggestion. There is nothing wrong with this if you accept the results.

[brownpelones]

Some dvd players have 3:2 pull down function that stretches the video vertically. If the dvd was recorded as 4:3 aspect ratio the film will appear horizontally stretched even though the film was authored as a wide picture if you display the dvd on a widescreen tv, with the 3:2 pull down it'll compensate chopping the black bars filling the picture almost or completely. Depending how the black bars were placed you may notice partial image chop. Setting the flags in the Ifos as 16:9 wont change the picture unless you reformat the entire picture as explain before in the previous posts.

[Chizzmo]

I have both a widescreen tv and a regular tv. I watch my dvd's on both. My widescreen has a function that with the push of a button I can change the aspect ratio of the incomming video to whatever I want. If I had a movie that was 4:3 and I left it alone I'd have black bars up both sides. Or I can change it to 16:9 and have the black bars top and bottom without the picture looking stretched. I can also change it so there are no black bars visible at all, but you do lose some of the pic with that option. Check your TV I thought this was an option on all widescreens.

[Joetronics]

Note to Bluetach - I did try your suggestion using DVD Rebuilder, checked the convert from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio box, but it did nothing to the video - same as the original (plus about 3MB more data).
Thanks for the tip anyway.....

Update - this is to let you all know that Bluetach was correct with his info all along. In order to convert, you need to use one of the associated Ratio Programs in DVD rebuilder - when i first did it, i did not need to alter the size of the video, so I just selected the 16:9 aspect convert with no ratio program selected, which is why it did nothing.
So, my thanks to Bluetach - he is the only one that understood what I was trying to do and he was totally correct.