logo Sign In

wmgan

User Group
Members
Join date
9-May-2006
Last activity
7-May-2011
Posts
282

Post History

Post
#242578
Topic
Letterboxed to anamorphic video conversion
Time
Originally posted by: Darth Editous
# the right dimensions will probably be something like 600x480


The image should keep its width (720) - you only want to resize in one dimension. The height should be increased by a factor of 1.333 (recurring), which, for NTSC, will probably mean a resize (after cropping) to approximately 720x360.

DE


You're right -- I was really tired when I wrote that. =)

No, I wouldn't crop out the "Greedo text" because the subtitles aren't burned into the video -- they're in a separate track, so they can be added again when authoring the DVD (though I realize now they may look stretched since they were designed for non-anamorphic video). And the process would be similar for PAL, just with different dimensions.
Post
#242380
Topic
Info Wanted: Anyone Planning on making Anamorphic versions using 2006 OUT DVDs?
Time
Originally posted by: ESHBG
Just did a search and found that DVD Decrypter is no longer free. I am trying to find decent alternatives...


DVD Decrypter is still free. It just isn't developed or officially distributed any more... but a Google search should give you several sites to download the last version (3.5.4.0) from.

Two of the programs I mentioned, TMPGEnc Plus and DVD-lab Pro, aren't free (the free version of TMPGEnc has a 30-day time limit for MPEG2 encoding). There are freeware alternatives, of course -- check out Doom9.org's software page for a list of freeware MPEG2 encoders, and you can use DVD Author with a graphical frontend to author basic DVDs (though you'll want more sophisticated software for more sophisticated menus).
Post
#242314
Topic
Letterboxed to anamorphic video conversion
Time
At Moth3r's request, here's a repost of my tutorial (well, more of an outline, really, as I didn't go into a lot of detail, but I'll answer questions if anyone has them) for converting non-anamorphic letterboxed video to anamorphic, as posted originally in the thread titled "Anyone Planning on Making Anamorphic Versions Using the 09/12 OUT DVDs?".

>>

If you just plan to watch the output on your computer, then (almost) anything goes -- though keep in mind that whatever format you use, there's always a tradeoff between quality and file size. If you plan to make it into a DVD, however, you would have to encode it into MPEG2.

Here's a quick rundown on the steps you would have to take to make anamorphic versions of the DVDs:

(1) Rip the DVD video to your hard drive using DVD Decrypter. For this purpose, I recommend using the "IFO" mode -- and be sure to select "Demux" for the video, audio and subtitle tracks you want.

(2) Open the demuxed video (.M2V) file in DGIndex (from the DGMPGDec suite) and use it to create an index (.D2V) file.

(3) Write an AviSynth (.AVS) script that looks something like this:

MPEG2Source("path\file.d2v")
# this would be to load the index file created in step (2)
# be sure to have "DGDecode.dll" in your AviSynth "plugins" folder, otherwise you'll have to call LoadPlugin

Crop(0, top, 0, -bottom)
# remove the black bars from the video
# it's a good idea to use the script editor in VirtualDubMod to find the right dimensions

Lanczos4Resize(width, height)
# the right dimensions will probably be something like 600x480

AddBorders(0, top, 0, bottom)
# add black bars to the top and bottom of the video to make it 720x480 (NTSC)
# of course, you could eliminate this step by including some of the black bars while cropping
# but I like doing it in two steps because it makes the math easier (what a thing for a math major to say)
# and, more importantly, to ensure the consistency of the black

(4) Open the .AVS file in TMPGEnc Plus (or whatever your favorite MPEG2 encoder is) and encode it using your desired settings. There's an excellent bitrate calculator at http://dvd-hq.info/Calculator.html -- though I've found that 2-pass VBR output by TMPGEnc tends to be smaller than expected, so you can be a little more generous when specifying your target average bitrate.

(5) If you're not making any changes to the audio and subtitle tracks, you can just use the demuxed files you obtained in step (1).

(6) Author the DVD in DVD-lab Pro (or whatever your favorite DVD authoring software is). It's possible to recreate the original menus with just a bit of work (like what I did for my edit of The Producers, for example).

(7) Burn the DVD with your favorite burning program! I personally like building .ISO files with PgcEdit and burning them with ImgBurn (though I really gotta try the new "build" feature of ImgBurn).
Post
#242254
Topic
Info Wanted: Anyone Planning on making Anamorphic versions using 2006 OUT DVDs?
Time
If you just plan to watch the output on your computer, then (almost) anything goes -- though keep in mind that whatever format you use, there's always a tradeoff between quality and file size. If you plan to make it into a DVD, however, you would have to encode it into MPEG2.

Here's a quick rundown on the steps you would have to take to make anamorphic versions of the DVDs:

(1) Rip the DVD video to your hard drive using DVD Decrypter. For this purpose, I recommend using the "IFO" mode -- and be sure to select "Demux" for the video, audio and subtitle tracks you want.

(2) Open the demuxed video (.M2V) file in DGIndex (from the DGMPGDec suite) and use it to create an index (.D2V) file.

(3) Write an AviSynth (.AVS) script that looks something like this:

MPEG2Source("path\file.d2v")
# this would be to load the index file created in step (2)
# be sure to have "DGDecode.dll" in your AviSynth "plugins" folder, otherwise you'll have to call LoadPlugin

Crop(0, top, 0, -bottom)
# remove the black bars from the video
# it's a good idea to use the script editor in VirtualDubMod to find the right dimensions

Lanczos4Resize(width, height)
# the right dimensions will probably be something like 600x480

AddBorders(0, top, 0, bottom)
# add black bars to the top and bottom of the video to make it 720x480 (NTSC)
# of course, you could eliminate this step by including some of the black bars while cropping
# but I like doing it in two steps because it makes the math easier (what a thing for a math major to say)
# and, more importantly, to ensure the consistency of the black

(4) Open the .AVS file in TMPGEnc Plus (or whatever your favorite MPEG2 encoder is) and encode it using your desired settings. There's an excellent bitrate calculator at http://dvd-hq.info/Calculator.html -- though I've found that 2-pass VBR output by TMPGEnc tends to be smaller than expected, so you can be a little more generous when specifying your target average bitrate.

(5) If you're not making any changes to the audio and subtitle tracks, you can just use the demuxed files you obtained in step (1).

(6) Author the DVD in DVD-lab Pro (or whatever your favorite DVD authoring software is). It's possible to recreate the original menus with just a bit of work (like what I did for my edit of The Producers, for example).

(7) Burn the DVD with your favorite burning program! I personally like building .ISO files with PgcEdit and burning them with ImgBurn (though I really gotta try the new "build" feature of ImgBurn).
Post
#242219
Topic
Info Wanted: Anyone Planning on making Anamorphic versions using 2006 OUT DVDs?
Time
Originally posted by: LeoneNut
I would leave the video totally alone, apart from converting to anamorphic and some sharpening.


I'm not sure that more sharpening would be a good idea, as it would make the picture even more grainy.

I, too, plan to make my own anamorphic version of these DVDs. Now, if only I can get my hands on the original mono mix...
Post
#241739
Topic
So, this is how the DVDs are going to look...
Time
I managed to buy the LOTR extended DVD box that stores the three individual extended DVD sets -- the yellowish one that came with the DVDs when they were sold as an extended edition trilogy boxset -- from a shop (since I bought the three DVD sets individually), which implies that the owner took the boxset apart and sold the individual titles separately. I guess that's different since the three titles were sold separately anyway (though I'm sure it's still illegal, and New Line wouldn't be happy if they found out), and it was a small shop that's not part of a chain, so no one probably cared.
Post
#241037
Topic
Ju-On (The Grudge) series - Chronological Cuts (* unfinished project *)
Time
I'm sorry to say that I haven't worked on this since my last post, so as it stands, the edit is finished, but I haven't made subtitles yet. (And I have to figure out the best way to do that.)

Speaking of Asian horror, I just saw Audition (Odishon), and it's one of the most disturbing films I've ever seen. I guess it's not really a horror film -- or at least, not supernatural horror, but the fact that the antagonist was human makes it all the freakier. The visceral impact of the last half hour is second perhaps only to The Passion of the Christ, and I kept wanting to turn the bloody thing off, but didn't. I almost never get frightened by horror movies, but this was something else!
Post
#241036
Topic
Beauty and the Beast - Enchanted Christmas Edition
Time
Work in progress -- an edit that incorporates a large portion of the "Enchanted Christmas" movie into the original (well, by original I mean special edition) Beauty and the Beast by Disney. The Enchanted Christmas segment will come right before the Beast decides to "do something for her" -- and I'll probably have it be so that giving her his library is his idea and not Lumiere's. I am hoping to leave out the Forte/Fife plotline entirely, but it's quite a challenge to eliminate Fife from some scenes without actually painting him out. More details to follow.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that the only source I have for the Enchanted Christmas movie is a fullscreen DVD -- does a widescreen version exist? (I suspect not, since it was made for TV.) Conversely, does a fullscreen DVD of Beauty and the Beast exist? By cropping and resizing the fullscreen source to match the anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of the main movie, I think the quality difference between the two movies will be very obvious.
Post
#239170
Topic
<strong>The &quot;ADigitalMan Special Editions&quot; DVD Info and Feedback Thread</strong> (Released)
Time
Originally posted by: sciguy
Got questions about Dual layer ripping/encoding/burning (best software?), so if anyone wants to help me out through PM for either the ADM edits or best methods on DL burning, I would much appreciate it.


I won't take up too much space in this thread for this subject, but I use (and these are the best freeware I know of):

DVD Decrypter for ripping
PGCEdit for building .ISO files --> ImgBurn to burn the .ISO files (now that the latest version of ImgBurn can build .ISO files, you probably don't need PGCEdit any more, unless you want to edit the DVD structure)

(note that if you're making a 1:1 copy, you should rip in .ISO mode)
(also note that the Nero doesn't respect the layer break position, so refrain from using it if you truly want a 1:1 copy)

I use TMPGEnc Plus for MPEG2 encoding, which is not freeware.