# TVersity Aspect ratio problem, specifically with 2.35:1 movies



## Dixit (Mar 2, 2009)

So been trying to figure out this problem for weeks now and no success. If the Video Im watching (which is being streamed via gigabit hardwire from my HP Mediasmart Server running TVersity) is say a 16:9 aspect file (say a XVID/DIVX) it plays just fine on the Directv box (HR20/HR21/HR22) which is connected via HDMI to my Panasonic Plasma.

Now if I play a movie (again say an XVID/DIVX or even MKV) thats a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, Directv box always stretches it to 16:9 (1.78:1 AR). Im trying to get it to show it in normal letter box format but just cannot get it to do it. Tried multiple settings, even played with output setting of FFdshow and still nothing.

Tried this link here and that didnt work either, alot of movies today are all shot in 2.35:1 AR and should be shown in that format on the TV and not stretched, but Directv/Mediashare seems to insisty on filling the screen. This was the link with the settings some fellow suggested.

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1947157#post1947157

Any help on how I can get 2.35:1 using TVersity and DirecTV Mediashare to display as intended would be appreciated.

Dixit


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## Dixit (Mar 2, 2009)

Tried a bunch of other settings and nothing seems to affect the output via MediaShare. Im starting to feel this is a TVersity issue and maybe MediaShare. It seems like TVersity is sending the transcoding in stretched format and not in a 16:9 format with the aspect ratio of the original movie inside. There is no settings to force this on TVersity, so it seems like its sending it just full frame.

I really like TVersity and ease of use, but looks like Im going to have to try others since stretching a 2.35:1 to 16:9 via transcoding looks way too stretched for normal viewing.

Dixit


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## bleggett29 (Feb 2, 2008)

The directv boxes only display an AR of 4:3 or 16:9. Everything else is stretched or squished. The way I got around it was to re-encode the 2.35:1 to 16:9 and add padding (black bars) to the top and bottom.

Here's an example using ffmpeg:

```
ffmpeg.exe -i "c:\test-720p.mkv" -vcodec mpeg2video -b 6000k -maxrate 8000k -bufsize 4096k -padtop 92 -padbottom 92 -aspect 16:9 -acodec mp2 -ac 2 -ab 224k -sn -f vob "d:\Videos\test.mpg"
```
Depending on the actual dimensions of the source video, you would need to determine the amount of padding needed by trial and error. Also with these settings you can stream directly from Media Player.


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## Dixit (Mar 2, 2009)

So from the cmd you wrote seems like you basically recoding the video with the padding. So then you using TVersity to show the padded video?

I guess I could take that approach, but it is a pain to re-encode all the movies to make it DTV compatible, but seems like I probably dont have a choice.

I also have other Upnp players that dont have issues (like popcorn hours) but clearly those are higher end boxes and not some what I feel half ass design called Mediashare. Might just be cheaper to get another DLNA Upnp device since this Mediashare seems to be more problematic then its worth.

I will give that a shot though and see if I can come up with some middle ground before I go froggy and buy a real Upnp based device.

Dixit


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