TMPGEnc aspect ratio

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

I need to get things straight on something that seems a little vague to me.
I want to create a low-resolution NTSC DVD (352x240), and my source is a
320x240 avi file (My DVD will be in MPEG-2 format, since it will be in VBR).
In TMPGEnc's project wizard, I selected "Low Resolution DVD" as the DVD I
wanted to create, but when I had to select the aspect ratio in the advanced
settings, there were 3 settings that made sense to me: 4:3 525 line (NTSC),
4:3 525 line (NTSC, 704x480), and 4:3 Display. Now, as this is a low
resolution DVD, the 704x480 setting is eliminated from that list. That
leaves me with 4:3 525 line (NTSC), or 4:3 Display. In TMPGEnc's help file,
it says that the aspect ratios with a number of lines (525, 625...) were for
MPEG-1 videos, and the "Display" ratios (4:3 Display, 16:9 Display...) were
for MPEG-2 videos. I have also read somewhere that the "Display" ratios
were for non-standard resolutions and that this had to do with the source
video rather than the destination video. This seems strange to me...why
would you select the aspect ratio of your source vid? Shouldn't this be
automatically detected? I believe you should select the aspect ratio to
determine how the destination video will display on your screen, right? As
I will convert a 320x240 avi into a 352x240 mpeg-2 file, I'm not sure which
ratio I should select. I'd love it if anyone could enlighten me on this
topic...I'm somewhat confused :-)

Archived from groups: rec.video.desktop (More info?)

On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 19:08:33 -0500, "Ampersand"
<ampersand@yourbestfriend.com> wrote:

>Just another question: the aspect ratio I have to choose seems to be for the
>source. I'm sorry for that, I thought it was for the output...so if my
>source is a 320x240 vid, I should select 1:1 (VGA), right? What will be the
>difference in the output video if I select another aspect ratio? Thanks!
>
As I saud earlier, just try it and see what one looks right.
Encode a small selection and look at the image while
the encoding is taking place.

You'll see the difference changing the source AR makes.
DAve