Aspect Ratio Changed After Remuxing

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1

Hi,

I’m having an issue with a movie that’s supposed to be 16:9.

Both DVD and MKV will play back as expected (in VLC), however, after remuxing it, the player window will resize to 4:3, squeezing the picture as a result.

Some relevant information regarding the correct aspect ratio seems to get lost in the process. I believe that I came across a case like this before but I just can’t recall how I fixed it.

Maybe someone else can help.

Many thanks.

2

Is there anything I can do to clarify the matter?

Unfortunately, I just came across another movie with the same issue. I can’t figure out what needs to be done in order to keep the correct aspect ratio intact.

Thanks much for pointing me in the right direction!

3

The obvious way to “fix” it is to specify the right aspect ratio under video properties.

4

Use Handbrake instead. You could restore the correct video aspect ratio by following these steps. It worked for me.

Here’s how to stretch a video any way you like:

  1. Make sure you are using a recent version of HandBrake
  2. With the video loaded, select your desired preset.
  3. Switch to the Dimensions tab.
  4. Set Resolution Limit = None
  5. Set Anamorphic = Automatic
  6. Check Allow Upscaling
  7. Change Scaled Size to the desired dimensions width x height. Don’t worry that the Pixel Aspect changes.
  8. If you are trying to change the storage dimensions (Storage Aspect Ratio=SAR) but keep the display aspect (DAR) as it was, then keep Final Dimensions: … Automatic checked.
  9. If you really do want it squished, then uncheck Automatic and change the display size (width) to be the same as your scaled size width.
  10. Click the Preview button and then Live Preview for 30 seconds to see if this is what you want. If not, readjust your specs and preview again.
5

It’s actually much simpler.

The problem is caused by bad DVD authoring. In my experience, this is the case with one in a hundred DVDs.

How to fix this: Under “Video properties,” make sure “Display width/height” is set to 853 x 480 (NTSC) or 1024 x 576 (PAL) for widescreen videos.

6

Yes, I’ve figured that out since then. What’s not quite so obvious is why this only happens after remuxing the video with MKVToolNix. I can tell from the way VLC handles the original MKV that the authoring is already flawed. Still, some information seems to be lost in the process.