[nflug] wide-screen dvd to full-screen

[John G. Boice]

Joe wrote:
> I don't have a wide-screen TV and  if I were to copy a wide-screen dvd,
> I'd like to be able to change it to full-screen before burning it.
>
> I've been reading Ubuntu Hacks and have installed a bunch of multimedia
> stuff including the following software:
> acidrip
> tovid
> dvdauthor
> makexml
>
> The book outlines the general rip/encode/burn process pretty clearly,
> but I'm not clear on how to change screen sizes without making a mess of
> the video.
>
> Any pointers or howto's would be appreciated.
>
> Joe
>
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>
>   
Hi, Joe.

I'm not at all certain that you can without, as you say, making a mess
of the video.

One of the reasons widescreen TV's are being made, is to watch movies,
which are made in a widescreen format, generally called "letterbox
format."  However, many times you will see movies on television that are
edited into "pan and scan" format to fit the 4:3 ratio of the
traditional TV screen.

Basically, what they have to do is center the picture, scene-by-scene,
on the main action, and just chop off all of the picture that extends to
the right and to the left of that.  So it's like looking at the original
movie through a rectangular 4:3 keyhole.

Turner Classic Movies channel has a good short 10-15 minute documentary
on this.  It clearly shows how badly this damages some films that depend
a a wide scope of action.  Ben Hur, for example: Letterbox: you see the
whole racetrack with a dozen chariots all cutting in on each other,
horses stumbling and going down in the background, forming the wild
context for Charleton Heston's part of the race. In pan&scan you get to
see Charleton Heston and one or two other chariots.  Check out wikipedia
for a better explanation than I'm giving of the technical process:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_and_scan

The point is that it's more than just transcoding the digital video to a
different framesize.  Because in some scenes, the center of the action
might not be in the center of the screen. Say, two figures in a fight,
struggling at the edge of a roof or something: The director might
intentionally have placed them off to one side to emphasize them being
"on the edge" of life and death.  If you just transcoded and chopped off
the right and left sides without re-centering the picture, you'd be left
with a scene with an empty roof and some noise occurring off to the side
someplace! You might see an occasional body part flash into view from
the side as they struggle.  Remember, pan & scan actually removes almost
45% of the picture!


Here's another website that goes into the whole deal in depth. This is
just the faq page. Browse the rest of the site until you are satisfied
with your current DVD:

http://www.widescreen.org/faq.shtml

I think you get the point by now, so I'll just conclude by saying that
movie afficianados ALWAYS buy the letterbox version of a DVD, because
that is the real movie the way the director filmed it.

Don't worry, be happy!
John
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