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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Applications > Any way to permanently edit the aspect ratio in an AVI file?

Any way to permanently edit the aspect ratio in an AVI file?
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Lateralus
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Aug 27, 2011, 04:15 AM
 
Couldn't think of a specific forum for this question, but I figure I might get some luck here...

I procured some AVI files which look great... aside from the fact that the source was 16:9 but they were encoded at 4:3, giving me a nice squish. I can override this manually in VLC, obviously. But I'm actually trying to watch them through a media device connected to my TV, which won't allow anything as intricate as on-the-fly AR adjustments. And my TV isn't smart enough to do it without cutting off stuff.

So I guess my question is... is it possible to, in some way, permanently edit the files themselves so that they will natively open to the correct aspect ratio in the future?

Thanks.
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P
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Aug 27, 2011, 06:49 AM
 
I think that FFmpegX can do that.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
Waragainstsleep
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Aug 27, 2011, 07:04 AM
 
Handbrake should allow you to do it in batches.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
TETENAL
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Aug 27, 2011, 07:37 AM
 
QuickTime 7 Pro can do this without reencoding.
     
mduell
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Aug 27, 2011, 12:40 PM
 
You do not want to use FFmpegX/HandBrake for this, as they would reencode the video, bloat the video (increase the res with no increase in quality) and take a long time.

Just use mp4box to repackage the streams from the AVI in an mp4 container and set the PAR to 4:3. Here's a thread on it at doom9 using the same tool, although the thread/forum is Windows centric.
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Aug 27, 2011, 02:56 PM
 
Originally Posted by TETENAL View Post
QuickTime 7 Pro can do this without reencoding.
Ooh. How?

Originally Posted by mduell View Post
You do not want to use FFmpegX/HandBrake for this, as they would reencode the video, bloat the video (increase the res with no increase in quality) and take a long time.

Just use mp4box to repackage the streams from the AVI in an mp4 container and set the PAR to 4:3. Here's a thread on it at doom9 using the same tool, although the thread/forum is Windows centric.
Thanks, I'll investigate it. (I run Windows on a separate partition anyways)
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TETENAL
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Aug 27, 2011, 03:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by Lateralus View Post
Ooh. How?
Window->Film Properties (⌘J), then select the video track and enter the size in the Visual Settings tab. Uncheck "preserve aspect ratio" of course). Saving will make a .mov, but without reencoding the tracks.

Actual names might be different, I don't want to switch to English right now.
     
P
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Aug 27, 2011, 03:45 PM
 
Originally Posted by mduell View Post
You do not want to use FFmpegX/HandBrake for this, as they would reencode the video, bloat the video (increase the res with no increase in quality) and take a long time.
Handbrake will reencode, but last time I did it in FFmpegX, it was done in a second. This was several years ago, however.

QT does sound like an easier way to do it, though.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
mduell
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Aug 27, 2011, 05:18 PM
 
Originally Posted by P View Post
last time I did it in FFmpegX, it was done in a second.
I suppose it could, since ffmpeg has a vcodec copy option. Just have to be careful to choose it in the interface.
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Aug 29, 2011, 02:26 AM
 
I can't get QuickTime to do it. It'll spit out files that report a resolution of 1024x576 (PAL), but in whatever player I open them in... they resize instantly to 4:3 again.

How can I accomplish this in ffmpegx?
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mduell
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Aug 29, 2011, 12:23 PM
 
I should have been more clear in my first post; mp4box is available for OS X, the thread in the forum just happened to be using the Windows version.

I don't think this is quite right, but the basic template for doing this in ffmpeg is:
ffmpeg -i garbageIn.avi -vcodec copy -acodec copy -aspect 16:9 outfile.mp4
If you can find similar options in the ffmpegX gui you should be set; I'm not familiar with ffmpegX since it was abandoned for so long.
     
P
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Aug 29, 2011, 02:15 PM
 
What I think you should do in FFmpegX is:

1) Drop your file on the window in the first tab.
2) On the video tab, select "passthrough" and set the size you want
3) On the audio tab, select "passthrough"

And let it go. If that doesn't work, you can try reencoding by selecting your favourite video codec instead of "passthrough". You can also play with the letterbox settings.
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
mduell
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Aug 29, 2011, 05:30 PM
 
Reencoding is not necessary, will bloat the file (if you increase the resolution) or decrease the quality (if you try to hold file size constant), and will take a lot longer than just twiddling the PAR in the container.
     
Lateralus  (op)
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Aug 29, 2011, 06:32 PM
 
Doing Passthrough in FF with 16:9 selected or a 16:9 resolution inputted, all I ever get is the exact same 4:3/res file.

*sigh*

http://cl.ly/1R262f0Y2O0X0i0Y2m29
( Last edited by Lateralus; Aug 29, 2011 at 06:44 PM. )
I like chicken
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mduell
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Aug 30, 2011, 05:07 PM
 
Can you post the MediaInfo output for the before and after files?

Or just use mp4box.
     
Uncle Skeleton
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Aug 31, 2011, 02:16 PM
 
ffmpeg isn't working for me doing passthrough. Also I don't think that non-square pixels is part of the AVI spec, so it's unlikely to work on a hardware player. What other file formats are supported, OP?
     
P
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Sep 1, 2011, 09:17 AM
 
I'm traveling - let me give it a spin when I get back this weekend.

BTW, can't you have the TV stretch it?
The new Mac Pro has up to 30 MB of cache inside the processor itself. That's more than the HD in my first Mac. Somehow I'm still running out of space.
     
   
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