This post is meant for users that find it difficult entering the "video formats" segment in DVD Profiler. This is how the segment looks for a new, empty profile:



First of all, you need to determine whether the video is in NTSC or in PAL format. Generally, DVD's from regions 1 and 3 will be NTSC, while DVD's from regions 2, 4 and 5 will be PAL - however, there will be exceptions (1). Usually the format is clearly indicated on the cover, but you can also use software like PowerDVD or tools like Nero InfoTool and VSO Inspector to check. Note that this is about the ONLY video-related thing in which the cover can be helpful - for the rest, I'd like to emphasize that you should always look at the actual DVD, and never trust what's on the cover.

Before we go any further, it's important that you realise that there are basically four different video formats:



- Pan & Scan. It may not always be very easy to determine whether and 1.33:1 image on a DVD is "full frame" or "pan & scan". As always, the cover mostly doesn't help: most DVD distributors will happily refer to "pan & scan" transfers as "full frame". You'll have to do some research to establish what the original aspect ratio of the material was. Sometimes it's easy, for instance when there's an "this film has been formatted to fit your screen" message displayed at the start of the movie. Also a good clue is if you notice that the opening credits show black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, but the rest of the movie doesn't. That's usually caused by the fact the the opening credits couldn't be cropped without hacking the cast and crew credits in half - so that tells you the rest of the movie is "pan & scan". There may be difficult cases, though - you can always ask for help in the forum. But if it is, tick the "pan & scan" checkbox, and fill in 1.33:1 in the aspect ratio box.

- Full Frame. Again, it may not always be obvious whether the transfer you're looking at is ACTUALLY "full frame", or really "pan & scan". Note that DVD distributors will often refer to "Pan & Scan" transfers as "Full Frame" - but don't be fooled! But if it is, tick the "full frame" checkbox and fill in 1.33:1 in the aspect ratio box.

- Widescreen. Tick the "widescreen" checkbox for ALL movies that are presented in a ratio wider than 1.33:1 - so basically anything that doesn't qualify for "full frame" or "pan & scan". Enter the aspect ratio - you'll find more on how to determine that below - in the aspect ratio box.

- 16 x 9 enhanced. Again, you check the "widescreen" checkbox and enter the aspect ratio for anything that's presented in a ratio wider than 1.33:1. Most, but certainly not all, widescreen DVD transfers are "16 x 9" enhanced", also called "anamorphic widescreen" or "Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions". There are many great tutorials online about what "16 x 9 enhanced"/ "anamorphic" means. If you're not sure you understand, check the links below:

- http://gregl.net/videophile/anamorphic.htm
- http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-anamorphic-widescreen.htm
- http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/

Anyway, if a widescreen transfer is indeed "16 x 9" enhanced; tick the "16 x 9 enhanced" checkbox.

That leaves us with determining the aspect ratio of any "widescreen" DVD transfer (either "16 x 9 enhanced" or not). If you have some experience, you will be able to tell the difference between the most common aspect ratio's by simply looking at the picture in a software DVD player like PowerDVD or WinDVD. But if you're not that experienced, or you want to be accurate, you'll have to make use of the ability of software like PowerDVD or WinDVD to make a screenshot of any point in the movie. Make sure the software player is configured to use the "current video window size" and "keep the aspect ratio". Then open the screenshot you made in Irfanview or any other software that allows selection window measuring and aspect ratio calculating. Drag the cursor from top left movie corner to bottom left movie corner, and in the title bar it will display the pixel size and the aspect ratio:



That'll tell you the correct aspect ratio of that particular DVD transfer. Note that you should generally use of of the built-in selections as present in the drop-down box in DVD Profiler: 1.66:1, 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.20:1 and 2.35:1. If your measured ratio only shows only a minor devation from one of these standards, then just use the closest standard value. The system does allow you to enter any value into the box, but only do this for substantial deviations. Note that there are more "standard" aspect ratio's than there are listed in DVD Profiler's drop-down box - check here: Aspect Ratios for a complete list.

Additional information and sources:
- IrfanView (freeware)
- Widescreen vs. Fullscreen (Pan & Scan <> Widescreen)
- What is widescreen?
- (1) DVD region code: NTSC, PAL/SECAM

For the advice and the time spend at this project my special thanks go to: (in alphabetical order)
- skipnet50
- T!M

reserved for future purposes

Thanks for the compliment, it was done with  cooperation of Skipnet50 and T!M.

this will not work with protected DVD's

Quoting stevegblair:

Quote:
Would it work it conjunction with AnyDVD I wonder?

It should, as AnyDVD effectively removes the protection. So does DVD43