Files for both TV and Computer?

[philipjharrison]

Hi
This may be my second post or possibly my first as I thought I had posted but can't find it! I have used AnyDVD HD to rip some of my Blu Ray disks and then used Handbrake to convert these to .m4v files. These play perfectly on a computer but when streamed to my Pioneer Plasma (via Windows Home Server) they play but some are at the wrong size. Movies which were originally 16:9 are fine as they are the same size as the screen but 2.35:1 movies are stretched to fill the screen thus distorting the picture.

Is this because Handbrake is cropping the black bars top and bottom of the 2.35:1 movie and the TV then stretches the resultant file to fit the 16:9 screen? If that's correct can I assume that I can set up manual cropping not to crop the bars away? If that works, I then assume the file will not play properly on the computer as it will be a 2.35:1 picture including black bars top and bottom? If all that is correct, is there a way of creating a single 2.35:1 file that will play well on both computer and TV?

Thanks
Phil

[Deleted User 11865]

Is this because Handbrake is cropping the black bars top and bottom of the 2.35:1 movie and the TV then stretches the resultant file to fit the 16:9 screen?

HandBrake is cropping the blacks bars, but that's not the cause of the issue (any non-broken player will display it as 2.35:1 and add the letterboxing automatically). A likely issue is that you TV stupidly scales the 2.35:1 source to fill the 16:9 display without adding the letterboxing like it should.

If that's correct can I assume that I can set up manual cropping not to crop the bars away? If that works, I then assume the file will not play properly on the computer as it will be a 2.35:1 picture including black bars top and bottom?

No, a computer will play the output fine even if you don't crop. But files will be larger for the same quality or lower quality for the same size.

[philipjharrison]

Rodeo

Thanks for your reply. OK so my TV is stupid but I still have to resolve the issue. On further experimentation, I told Handbrake not to crop and the file now plays fine on the TV. As you said, it also plays correctly on a computer (correct aspect ratio) but shows the black bars top and bottom (which of course you do not notice if you play full screen). That and the larger file sizes I can live with as the number one objective is for them to play correctly on the TV and storage is cheap.

Thanks again
Phil

[thompson]

What sad excuse for a TV is so broken? I'm seriously asking, so that I can avoid ever buying that brand.

[Deleted User 11865]

What sad excuse for a TV is so broken? I'm seriously asking, so that I can avoid ever buying that brand.

Based on the reports I've seen here, it's apparently not that uncommon; apparently some BD players are similarly broken, too.

[philipjharrison]

What sad excuse for a TV is so broken? I'm seriously asking, so that I can avoid ever buying that brand.

Well you will have no chance - The Pioneer Kuro range, universally recognised as the best Plasma's ever made, certainly as far as picture quality is concerned, are no longer available. Pioneer no longer makes TVs.

[TedJ]

A little late joining this thread, but I presume you've investigated your TV's zoom options before doing anything else?

[philipjharrison]

A little late joining this thread, but I presume you've investigated your TV's zoom options before doing anything else?

Ted, Yes I did - even the "dot by dot" mode did not do it for me!