Aspect Ratio from HTPC to HDTV

[ljay880]

Let me start off by saying that I hope the answer to this is not staring me in the face, or then I would feel foolish for spending the past 6 hours scouring Google, searching forums, and ultimately trying the search box on this forum, along with viewing pages 1 to 15. I will provide all information that might be pertinent, hopefully it is useful. I am new to HTPCs, but added a ASUS GTX610 to my rig and installed a WMC remote. I have encoded a few of my DVDs to Mp4 & MKV files via Hand Brake (brand new version) using the following settings: Regular> High Profile, variable frame rate, CQ 18, Placebo. I have a 60 inch Vizio LED HDTV (VIZIO E601i-A3) which is connected via an HDMI cable to an Onkyo TX-609, which is then connected via HDMI to the HTPC; this runs Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit) that is up to date through Windows Update. When I play a dvd through WMC that is 4:3, I get fat black bars on the left and right of my screen. The DVD is a Thunder Cats series volume that has half a dozen episodes on it. Whether I play it in the DVD drive of the HTPC, or play the encoded episodes, the black barred result is the same. I've ran the set up a few times, selected Flat panel and then TV another time, putting the resolution on 1080P. I know that 4:3 is suppose to display that way on wide screen TV, however, when this same DVD is played on the DVD player that is attached via HDMI to AV Receiver, it uses all 60 inches of the screen. The screen is not set to "zoom", or "stretch", but rather "Normal". I installed XBMC, which I launch from WMC, and after fiddling with the settings, the encoded files use all 60 inches. I really prefer WMC, so does anyone have any idea how to make WMC use the whole screen, without having to change "Zoom-Stretch-Normal" settings on my TV? Again, hopefully I have not rambled pointlessly too much, or asked a question that has been answered over and over, but I really have put in a few hours in search of an answer. Thanks in advance!

[lithium630]

Go to Settings in WMC and check you TV setup. WMC and the desktop use different settings. So maybe your desktop is set to 1080P and WMC to something else. XBMC might be launched by WMC but its using the desktop resolution.

*Edit* How big are the black bars?

[barnabas1969]

If the DVD is truly a 4:3 video, then you should have black bars on the sides, unless you use the zoom settings in Media Center (as opposed to the zoom settings in your TV). To use the zoom settings in Media Center, press the "Info" button on your remote, and move left/right until you find the zoom settings. Try each of them until you find the one you like.

Oh, and in the future, please add some paragraph breaks in your posts. It makes it easier to read.

[ljay880]

@ lithium630,
I checked the WMC settings (actually ran the TV Setup wizard again) and it is setting itself to 1080P, 59.9x (can't remember if is was .96, .97, .98) refresh rate. Funny thing is that when my HTPC is connected to my AV receiver, my monitor only displays a blue windows 7 splash screen that nothing can be done with. It stays like this until the AV receiver has been turned off and the PC rebooted. Is it possible to display on both displays at the same time? XBMC actually displayed the bars at first, but this changed after changing a few settings. I would say if you added both the left & right side bars together, they probably consume about 1/4 of the total screen size, give or take. Any other thoughts?

[ljay880]

@barnabas1969
First off, I apologize for jumble of information ... Although I attempt acceptable grammar, I often forget about structure when writing in a forum/blog.

I will try accessing the WMC zoom settings like you explained, once my wife is done watching her movie. The reason I don't like the zoom settings on the TV is that I don't want to have to change them back and forth every time I use the HTPC. As I won't be the only one using it, simplicity is key, which is another big reason I like WMC. Also, the best out of all settings on my TV will still lose some of the picture by pushing it past the parameters of the screen (over zooming), so to speak.

Out of curiosity, how/why does a DVD or Blu-Ray player (when playing a DVD) use the entire screen without altering any factory default setting?

[Shackleford]

Have you checked to see if the original dvd has both 4:3 and 16:9 versions of the movie? Sometimes dvd have both full and wide versions available on them.

[staknhalo]

The player might be detecting the black bars and automatically zoom to fit the screen. I believe I have seen this setting on some players. This function isn't in WMC though.

[ljay880]

@barabas1969
Its funny that the only way I can get into the Zoom settings in WMC is via that info button on the remote, which never actually caught my eye before you pointed it ... good tip on that ,it lets me use the whole screen, though it still overfills it a bit I think. It is still better that having 1/4 of my screen not in use.

It is still odd that every player I have ever encountered, performs an exact fit of the display, without stretching certain parts too far.

As my TV is wide screen, why are there bars on the top and bottom of every encoded file I play (that is WS)? Could it be that handbrake's default profiles are cropping it?

[Shackleford]

I believe what you are running into is the limit of dvd resolution which is displaying a 480 video on a 1080 display. A dvd player will output resolution at 720x480 where wmc is set up to output at 1920x1080 making it so you have to manually zoom.

[richard1980]

As my TV is wide screen, why are there bars on the top and bottom of every encoded file I play (that is WS)? Could it be that handbrake's default profiles are cropping it?

It's all about aspect ratio. You're sending a 16:9 signal to your TV, and I'm assuming your TV's aspect ratio is also 16:9. Any content that has the same aspect ratio will fill the screen completely, but any content that has a smaller aspect ratio (such as 4:3) will result in black bars on the sides and any content that has a larger aspect ratio (such as 21:9) will result in black bars on the top and bottom. Additionally, there's also the case where the frame is one aspect ratio (such as 4:3), but the main content within the frame has a larger aspect ratio (such as 16:9); the resulting frame will have black bars on the top and bottom. When displayed on a TV that has a larger aspect ratio than 4:3 (such as 16:9), the end result will be black bars all the way around.

[barnabas1969]

First, I don't think Shackleford is correct. Second, I know that some DVD and Bluray players have a setting to automatically stretch 4:3 content, and Media Center doesn't.

I don't have a 4:3 DVD to test right now, so I don't know if the zoom settings are the same when watching TV and DVD, but when I watch a 4:3 TV show (live or recorded WTV file), I prefer zoom 4. It's a well-known problem in Media Center that the zoom settings are mis-labeled. You just have to find the one you like best.

Media Center will remember your zoom settings on each channel, but I don't know if it will remember it for DVD.

There is a way, if you have a programmable remote, to toggle through the zoom settings by pressing a button on the remote. I can't remember the details right now though.

[barnabas1969]

Richard has a point that I didn't think of. Your DVD player sends a 4:3 image to your TV when you play a 4:3 DVD. Your TV may be automatically stretching when it sees a 4:3 signal. When you play a DVD in Media Center, your TV will always see a 16:9 signal.

[ljay880]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I have been using the zoom settings from the WMC remote, to switch back and forth. Its odd to me that the TV will always see 16:9 from WMC, but I think that is exactly what is going on. When I use some other players, this doesn't happen.