Extra aspect ratio flag

[dom_b]

I have just used MakeMKV to create MKVs of most of my DVD collection. However when playing back in MediaPortal the image is stretched beyond the edge of the screen on some files. I have looked into it and discovered the problem. If you open the files in MediaInfo you can see that MakeMKV has created an extra flag called 'Orignal Aspect Ratio' on some files of 1.85:1. MediaPortal seems to take notice of this and stretches the video to fit that aspect as it uses MediaInfo to scan the files on playback. Some other DVDs created with MakeMKV do not have this 'Original Aspect Ratio' flag and so play back fine.

I don't know where its getting the info for a 1.85:1 aspect as the DVDs affected were never filmed at 1.85:1. They are TV series such as the Mighty Boosh and the Office which have always been 16:9FHA.

I opened the files up with MKVToolNix with the header editor but this flag does not show up!

Please help. I need to know how to get rid of this extra flag. I'll post my MediaInfo results when I get a chance.

EDIT1:

This is all I can find on the "Original Display Aspect Ratio' flag

Version 0.7.19, 2009-07-17
--------------
Important note for Win9X users: the GUI is no more compatible with this version and later
+ ALS raw files support, thanks to Lionel Duchateau
+ LA (Lossless Audio, old) support, thanks to Lionel Duchateau
+ SLS detection, thanks to Lionel Duchateau
+ AAC: forcing SBR/PS when it is implicit (if <=24KHz, if 1 channel)
+ AVC: Closed captions detection
+ #2813919, APE: CompressionLevel
+ XML output: track names are changed, for a better usability by XML parsers
x MKV: Original display aspect ratio was not displayed
x #2817479, Blu-ray/M2Ts: crash with some specific file names
x MXF: the whole file was parsed, parsing now only the useful part

[Taddeusz]

Yea, I noticed that on a movie of mine. It had a flag of 2.35:1. Quite annoying. The flag is set in the video stream itself. I know this because when I play the original DVD it displays the same way. I have no idea how to remove that flag. I ended up converting the movie with Handbrake so it would display properly.

[dom_b]

I'm fairly sure its not on the orignal DVDs. I have about 3 different series with the same problem. Its not really even an acceptable flag when encoding for DVD. You wouldn't be able to play back a 720x576 MPEG and display it properly with a ratio of 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 for that matter on any standard device.

Although saying that where else would MakeMKV be getting it from? I'm not re-encoding it because there should be no need. 4Mbps MPEG2 is poor enough quality as it is so I'm not taking it down any further.

[Taddeusz]

And I know for a fact that it is encoded into the video. If I run MediaInfo on one of the VOB's of the Region 1 "The Glenn Miller Story" it shows that the display aspect ratio is 2.35:1. The video, depending on the playback equipment will either display 16:9 like it's supposed to or will crunch it to 2.35:1.

Granted, I'm not a video professional but MPEG2 apparently has 3 different settings for aspect ratio: DAR, SAR, and PAR. They've apparently specified a separate DAR. As a result some players will use that instead.

I still have no idea how to remove the DAR or to change it to 16:9

[dom_b]

what i don't get is that you don't get video encoded at anything other than 720x576 on 99% of pal dvds. if you falg this as 2.35:1 it will just be the wrong aspect as it will have been letterboxed already for 16:9 anamorphic.

anyways, looks like mediaportal should just ignore this flag. Heres the example i have:

Video
ID : 1
Format : MPEG Video
Format version : Version 2
Format profile : Main@Main
Format settings, BVOP : No
Format settings, Matrix : Default
Codec ID : V_MPEG2
Codec ID/Info : MPEG 1 or 2 Video
Duration : 27mn 25s
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : 4 858 Kbps
Nominal bit rate : 9 400 Kbps
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 576 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Original display aspect ratio : 2.35:1
Frame rate : 25.000 fps
Standard : PAL
Resolution : 8 bits
Colorimetry : 4:2:0
Scan type : Interlaced
Scan order : Top Field First
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.469
Stream size : 953 MiB (94%)

[Taddeusz]

what i don't get is that you don't get video encoded at anything other than 720x576 on 99% of pal dvds. if you falg this as 2.35:1 it will just be the wrong aspect as it will have been letterboxed already for 16:9 anamorphic.

I don't understand it either. And I don't know why some players chose to honor the flag. It's just weird.

[Helbore]

I've been having this exact same problem. Didn't know what was causing it until I found this thread and looked at the info for the files. Got this "Original Display Aspect Ratio" at 2.35:1 on all my problem files. So I just wondered if you ever found a solution to this?

[dom_b]

I've been having this exact same problem. Didn't know what was causing it until I found this thread and looked at the info for the files. Got this "Original Display Aspect Ratio" at 2.35:1 on all my problem files. So I just wondered if you ever found a solution to this?

I found that its only really the PowerDVD decoder that does this. If you are using MediaPortal you can choose your decoder. Don't use the one named 'PowerDVD 9 Video Decoder'. The other one labelled Power DVD 9 SP decoder or something similar works fine and doesn't seem to use the flag.

[AdrianW]

I just downloaded 1.5.8 hoping that this issue was resolved - but it is still setting this phantom "Original Display Aspect Ratio" attribute to 2.35:1.

And for some reason there's no way to get rid of it once it's in the file - I've tried remuxing and setting the aspect to 16:9 or the display resolution to 1024x576 - but the 2.35 still persists. I've never seen the attribute in any other mkv except those produced by MakeMKV.

IMO this is a major issue with MakeMKV - it makes it totally unusable with anamorphic PAL DVDs (which are 720x576 with the anamorphic flag set). Seems like I have to resort to DVDDecrypter & MKVMerge an do the whole thing manually.

The weird thing is that it only happens with certain DVDs - so there's possibly something in the original DVD file causing the issue, any chance of altering the app to never set that attribute? All it seems to do is cause problems.

[dom_b]

Its a flag that left over in the MPEG2 stream which was flagged wrongly to begin with. Also only some dedcoders take note of it. If you're using PowerDVD to decode MPEG2 then selecting 'CyberLink VIdeo/SP Decoder' deisplays correcly, but using 'PowerDVD Video Decoder' will display using that wrong flag!

[MikeMcr]

I have had this issue a number of times and it always seems to be badly authored PAL DVDs.

It is possible to fix this yourself but not exactly easy.

1. Rip your DVD to the hard disk so you have write access to the VOB files.

2. Download DVD Patcher: http://www.videohelp.com/tools/DVDPatcher

3. Open up each VOB file and make sure the existing settings for bitrate, size etc are correct (match them with the display on the right).

4. Change the aspect ratio to the one the VOB SHOULD be.

5. Select "Patch entire file" and hit "Patch now".

This will change all the headers to the correct aspect - just be careful to match the other settings with the original file. Repeat for all VOB files.

Now point MakeMKV at the ripped folder and you should find both the "display" and "original" aspect tags in the resulting file are correct.