WinTV v7 and aspect ratio with analogue sources

[mikej]

I have WinTV v7.0.29032 running very sucessfully on a 3000 and a 1900 in digital (Dsat or DTT mode) however, when trying to watch/capture an analogue TV or Widescreen composite source, the window puts an anamorphic version of the signal "pillarboxed" in the centre of a 16:9 screen.
To just watch, one can of course use the "auto/fill command" but if recording, the whole screen is recorded complete with the black parts at the sides.
This can be (almost) put right with something like Video re-do cropping but of course it reduces picture quality and is not quite right after.
UK Tech support very correctly say that analogue signals do not contain the necessary widescreen "flag" and so this is bound to happen.
UK Tech support SAY there is an update "soon" to offer handling of all aspect ratios in analogue but who knows when?
In the interim, has anyone got a workaround?
I'm trying to record/edit etc programmes previously saved on a PVR.
I can do the capture on an old PC with a card running Win2000 which just puts the anamorphic 4:3 filling the whole window but that is going backward (and the PC keeps crashing!)
Alternatively, can anyone get a DEFINITE date for release of the version of Wtv7 that will include these new features?
If so, I will keep my recordings until it appears.

Mike

[Mr X]

It's something we are looking at, at the moment, I can't say a date though.

I can say that on both those products I've succesfully recorded in 16:9 during testing.

Old recordings will NOT be working, since their header of the recording will be still marked as 4:3 and not 16:9

[mikej]

Thanks Mr X

Yes it is probably a thing I will have to stick with for the moment.
Like you, I can record 16:9 perfectly off digital (where there is of course an embedded format "flag")
It is with analogue recordings made using the composite output of a Sky PVR or external DTT box) that the trouble occurs as there is no provision for the flag.
Even recording composite off a DTT or DSAT receiver gives the anamorphic pillarboxed version as these receivers of course don't pass on any "format" flag.
I wonder if there might be a registry patch or something to force composite to 16:9.

Thanks for your words anyway and I'll keep bodging things via Video Re-do (output to DVD and adjust format/borders, then change the .vob files produced to .mpg and re-join using some programme - just takes time and some loss of quality!)

Mike

[Mr X]

I wonder if there might be a registry patch or something to force composite to 16:9.

For the SoftPVR boards you can do this:

This forces 16:9 in header rather than 4:3. This affects all Analogue recordings.

For HardPVR, to do this requires a driver update. Something I'm testing.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MainConcept (HCW)\MainConcept (HCW) MPEG-2 Video Encoder\CAD1B6~1.exe]
"Aspect ratio"=dword:00000003

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MainConcept (HCW)\MainConcept (HCW) MPEG-2 Video Encoder\CAD66B~1.exe]
"Aspect ratio"=dword:00000003

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MainConcept (HCW)\MainConcept (HCW) MPEG-2 Video Encoder\CAPTUR~2.exe]
"Aspect ratio"=dword:00000003

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MainConcept (HCW)\MainConcept (HCW) MPEG-2 Video Encoder\CAPTUR~4.exe]
"Aspect ratio"=dword:00000003

[mikej]

Hi again Mr X

Thanks for the words about the anamorphic analogue displays.

I tried your registry "hack" and interestingly it just changes the aspect ratio of the displayed video (and of course chops the width and gives a letterbox effect on the height) but still inside a basic 4:3 frame in the centre of a 16:9 overall display.
It looks like the changes only affect the video coders (as evidenced by the path in the registry entries) and not the overall window.
I note that there is also a registry section just relating to WinTV7 itself so I may have a play and see what that does (carefully)
If I get any joy, I'll inform you.

Mike

[Mr X]

Sorry, I misunderstood your original post I think. This will allow you to capture actual 16:9 content (e.g. with your sky box set to 16:9 output) which normall gets captures squashed into the 4:3 display area.

Can you post me some screenshots from winTV so I understand it a little better?

Thanks

[mikej]

Hi again

Incidentally I see there are some other posts around about this problem!

2 screengrabs here
http://www.bmanor.co.uk/pics/Wtv_1.jpg - an analogue BBC1 "off air"
and here
http://www.bmanor.co.uk/pics/Wtv_2.jpg - which is what shows from a sky box with the output set to 16:9 (which is of course anamorphic within the normal 625line 64microsecond linetime and usually stretched in the TV anyway)
You can clearly see the "squashed" anamorphic version of a very tall/thin newsreader sitting in the default 16:9 WinTV7 display.
I haven't posted it but could another grab (on another PC) using the WinTV2000 version which just displays the anamorphic in it's native 4:3 window.
I know one can do things in processing using things like video re-do but that requires re-joining outputted vob(Mpeg) files and degrades the picture as one is "throwing away" about 1/3 of the screen width/recorded signal

It really is a case of modifying the actual WinTV7 installation so it displays a 4:3 anamorphic as full width "stretched" 16:9

Good luck!!

Mike

[Mr X]

ok I understand the question now, no there is no way (at the moment) to just show the 16:9 display area from that 4:3 broadcast from the first screenshot.

The second screenshot will be fixed with the reg keys I posted above. It will mark it was 16:9 so stretch it across the 16:9 area, rather than squash it into the 4:3 areas.

[mikej]

Me yet again

Partial success!

On the big PC using the 3000 card, if one follows the registry edit as you posted but instead goes to MainConcept(HCW) MPEG-2 Video decoder/WinTV7.exe and changes Aspect Ratio to be 3
The screen fills both with composite in and analogue off-air!
(Pity I still have the patterning!)

However I have tried this on the laptop with the HVR 1900 it doesn't.
I suspect it is because there, all the processing is done actually in the USB connected box and so a registry entry makes no difference as that only affects the screen displays.

Must think/investigate!

Well half way there perhaps

Mike