Aspect ratio question

[duprejohn]

I've set up an old laptop chassis as a media center (with Gutsy) and I've run into a slight problem - maybe VLC can be the solution, since it will be used for playback anyway.

Problem is, the video card (S3 Savage) does NOT want to display a proper widescreen resolution (my TV). The result is 1024x768 being stretched on a 1366x768 monitor.

Is there any way I could set VLC to 16:9, but force it to use the entire screen real estate? Basically, I'm thinking 16:9 while pulling the image to the top and bottom of the screen. It seems like this would compensate for the resolution problem and correct the aspect ratio.

Am I crazy?

[Arite]

No, you aren't crazy .

Your Laptop monitor is 4:3, which could also be written as 12:9. You TV monitor is 16:9. Therefore when you view a video with an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1.33 times the width), it appears to be actually 21.33:9. You want to stretch that vertically by 1/3.

So, if you calculate the aspect ratio for you video, and multiple the height by 4/3 then you should get a correct aspect ratio.

So - if, for the purposes of this, you are watching an anamorphic DVD (which has an aspect ratio of 16:9), then you would need to multiple "9" by 4/3, which equals 12. So your aspect ratio would be "16:12", which is 4:3.

I might have just gone around in a circle there, but try setting the aspect ratio to 4:3.

Cheers, Arite.

[s.frings]

But this solution is not very convenient.

I also have to use the same 1024x768 resolution for my 4:3 display and also for my 16:9 TV because my graphic chip does not support the 1366x768 resolution.

In the past I used

gmplayer --monitoraspect 16:9

to solve this. Mplayer calculates the correct stretching factor automatically.

So my start menu conatins two icons, one for playback on 4:3 display and another for playback on 16:9 TV.

Does VLC also have such an option?

[Arite]

Yes, actually I think there is an option in VLC like that. What I was saying about the calculations is actually all to do with the pixel aspect ratio (1.33:1, AKA: 4:3), so no matter what the size/shape of the video so long as the pixel aspect ratio is correct it should plaback fine.

To do this, go to (in VLC):
Settings >> Preferences... >> Video

Then tick the "Advanced options" tickbox (bottom-right of window). Scroll down to "Monitor pixel aspect ratio" and enter "4:3". Then press "Save". You may need to resart VLC (probably not, but may as well), then try playing a video. The video should look stretched vertically on you laptop screen, but playback correctly on your TV screen.

Cheers, Arite.

[s.frings]

Yes I think that's what I was searching for. I think I can store two vlcrc files and switch between both settings by command line option. This allows me to have two icons in my start menu:

VLC for Monitor
VLC for TV