DVD Player aspect ratio

[NickRich]

Does anyone know a way of changing the aspect ratio in the Mac DVD player please?

I am recording TV on a Panasonic HD recorder and then copying to DVD for playback on an iMac. The DVD plays fine in its correct widescreen 16:9 format on my TV, but the Mac DVD Player defaults to 4:3 and I cannot see a way of changing it. There is a zoom option, but this just seems to chop off part of the picture.

Thanks

Nick Rich

[SeedyR]

Not sure how you change it, but you could download VLC and play it in that. A great app.

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

[NickRich]

Yes, thanks - I have VLC and you can indeed change the aspect ratio easily in this app, but it is playing discs with an occasional judder / break which is really annoying. You would think Apple would have included the same functionality in their player, but I can't find it if they have.

Nick.

[jont]

Try Window>Video Zoom and from the drop down menu there are presets for widescreen/full screen display settings ...

Jon

[Pbryanw]

Supposedly, I read somewhere, that the new Leopard DVD Player will have auto-aspect ratio adjustment built in (at the expense of the sides of the DVD picture).

[dejongj]

Mine already does auto aspect ratio under 10.4.9.....

It all depends on what the flag is set to on the MPEG material provided...Are you sure the original programme was in widescreen? Or did your TV stretched it? Or check the setting on how you recorded the DVD in the first place? Or the connection from the TV to the dvd recorded as not all have widescreen signalling etc...

Works flawlessly for my Sony DVD Recorder and Sony DVD Camcorder....

[NickRich]

Many thanks for the replies and sorry I've taken a while to respond.

The video zoom options do nothing - my picture stays resolutely on 4:3.

I suspect dejongj is onto something with this widescreen flag thing, which I must admit I don't really understand. The original broadcast was definitely in widescreen, because it looks squashed in 4:3 and playing back on my widescreen TV is no problem. I'm using a Panasonic DMR-EX75 which has a fast copy mode and I seem to remember reading (on this forum) that this does NOT allow the widescreen flag. I've switched this off, but the results are the same. Does anyone know how I ensure that the widescreen flag is "switched on" on this machine? I'll see if I can find anything in the manual.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Nick

[dejongj]

Unfortunately it is quite common for a lot of these devices to do that. My Sony camera does that as well, but since I then just use the MPEG file and not the disc the header is easily corrected...

But are you sure the DVD player zoom does not work? I just looked and Video Zoom even has presets for the various widescreen modes like a telly....you are using Tiger or not?

[NickRich]

Thanks Jean-Paul. Yes, I'm using Tiger 10.4.10 and DVD Player version 4.6.5. The video zoom is cropping the picture, but the video window itself will not change shape. I've tried both widescreen modes with the "lock aspect ration" box ticked and unticked. If I select manual and use the sliders, I can adjust the shape of the picture, but the edges just disappear. I need to be able to change the shape of the actual display window. Whatever video size I choose, it stays the same. Am I missing something?

I can't find anything about the widescreen flag in the manual. Is there a way of ensuring it is present on my DVD copy?

Nick

[dejongj]

Unfortunately you would have to extract the files from your DVD and manually edit it...So it is not very user friendly...

Some searches that I have done suggest your DVD Recorder should not do this when you DO NOT use high speed dubbing...I can't help you with that...

Alternatively I think you will have no choice but to use VLC (which causes problems for you) or have you tried mplayer?

[NickRich]

Thanks again for the quick reply - much appreciated that you are taking so much trouble.

Yes, that's what I understood, that if I switch off high speed copying (which I have), the widescreen flag is used. Why DVD Player is apparently not recognizing it is the puzzle.

It's very frustrating that VLC is misbehaving, because otherwise it would be ideal - I can change to 16:9 with a couple of clicks. So if anyone has any idea what the problem might be there (see my second post) I'd be grateful.

No, I've not used mplayer. I've just had a look at their site and there are (to me) scary things about compiling from source or using unofficial builds. Any advice on the best way to go about installation please?

Nick

[dejongj]

Hmm forget mplayer for DVD's...I should check it first before I say so...I've only used it for DIVX files which is great...But just tried it on a DVD and my ears are still recovering....

[NickRich]

Well I thought I'd give mplayer a try anyway and downloaded the OSX "unofficial package"....and...it works! Well, sort of. There doesn't seem to be any way of getting the DVD menu, but you can play from the start or select individual VOB files (chapters) and change the aspect ratio to 16:9. It plays fine and I could hear nothing wrong with the sound. What happened to your ears?!

So, many thanks Jean-Paul; I have a solution, maybe not an ideal one, but I can live with it. Maybe Leopard will have a DVD player where you can change the aspect ratio.

Nick

[dejongj]

Mine was just giving me loud static noise and no sounds at all...The rumour is that Leopard will have it improved indeed...One of the google searches did come up with that...

[jont]

NickRich ... send me one of the dvd's in question and I'll take a look ... ;-)

Jon