Crop or 'zoom' [losslessly] MPEG2 stream in MKV

[Sakura90]

Hi guys :3

I have some DVDs I want to remux into MKV. But the video has black bars all around as supposedly the video is 2.35:1.



Changing AR doesn't work because of the black bars, I have to 'zoom' manually from inside the player. Mkvmerge has a "cropping" function but it seems players wipe their asses with it. Mkvinfo correctly shows the cropping, so I assume Mkvmerge correctly wrote the cropping to the MKV.

Mkvinfo:

(click to show/hide)

(MKVInfo) + EBML head
(MKVInfo) |+ EBML version: 1
(MKVInfo) |+ EBML read version: 1
(MKVInfo) |+ EBML maximum ID length: 4
(MKVInfo) |+ EBML maximum size length: 8
(MKVInfo) |+ Doc type: matroska
(MKVInfo) |+ Doc type version: 2
(MKVInfo) |+ Doc type read version: 2
(MKVInfo) + Segment, size 2675343039
(MKVInfo) |+ Seek head
(MKVInfo) | + Seek entry
(MKVInfo) |  + Seek ID: 0x15 0x49 0xa9 0x66 (KaxInfo)
(MKVInfo) |  + Seek position: 4099
(MKVInfo) | + Seek entry
(MKVInfo) |  + Seek ID: 0x16 0x54 0xae 0x6b (KaxTracks)
(MKVInfo) |  + Seek position: 4262
(MKVInfo) | + Seek entry
(MKVInfo) |  + Seek ID: 0x1c 0x53 0xbb 0x6b (KaxCues)
(MKVInfo) |  + Seek position: 2675218279
(MKVInfo) |+ EbmlVoid (size: 4044)
(MKVInfo) |+ Segment information
(MKVInfo) | + Timecode scale: 1000000
(MKVInfo) | + Muxing application: libebml v1.2.0 + libmatroska v1.1.0
(MKVInfo) | + Writing application: mkvmerge v4.7.0 ('Just Like You Imagined') built on Apr 21 2011 01:13:14
(MKVInfo) | + Duration: 3242.339s (00:54:02.339)
(MKVInfo) | + Date: Mon Jul 18 16:57:43 2011 UTC
(MKVInfo) | + Segment UID: 0xa7 0xfd 0x92 0x31 0xa9 0xc4 0x25 0xc9 0x90 0xc9 0x65 0x2c 0x61 0x8a 0xeb 0x38
(MKVInfo) |+ Segment tracks
(MKVInfo) | + A track
(MKVInfo) |  + Track number: 1
(MKVInfo) |  + Track UID: 3879589784
(MKVInfo) |  + Track type: video
(MKVInfo) |  + Lacing flag: 0
(MKVInfo) |  + MinCache: 2
(MKVInfo) |  + Codec ID: V_MPEG2
(MKVInfo) |  + Default duration: 16.683ms (59.940 fps for a video track)
(MKVInfo) |  + Language: und
(MKVInfo) |  + Video track
(MKVInfo) |   + Interlaced: 1
(MKVInfo) |   + Pixel width: 720
(MKVInfo) |   + Pixel height: 480
(MKVInfo) |   + Display width: 853
(MKVInfo) |   + Display height: 480
(MKVInfo) |   + Pixel crop left: 28
(MKVInfo) |   + Pixel crop top: 70
(MKVInfo) |   + Pixel crop right: 28
(MKVInfo) |   + Pixel crop bottom: 80
(MKVInfo) |  + CodecPrivate, length 164
(MKVInfo) |+ EbmlVoid (size: 879)
(MKVInfo) |+ Cluster

So, I don't want to reencode, first because of quality, second because my PC is crap. Is there any way to set a crop, zoom or whatever so I don't have to manually zoom in the player?

I guess not, as with many other functions, it seems all players have a poor implementation of MKV features

[KuraiAkumu]

. . . does this count as tech support?

anyways. . .

I don't get it why not just crop and encode to something else... if you really care about quality and little about space you could always use a lossless codec.  You could always use x264 and tweak it so you get at least ..visually identical video...

[Sakura90]

. . . does this count as tech support?

anyways. . .

I don't get it why not just crop and encode to something else... if you really care about quality and little about space you could always use a lossless codec.  You could always use x264 and tweak it so you get at least ..visually identical video...

Well, this looks enough "tech" to me

Encode? Encoding at 2-3 fps is a nice pain in the ass. And that's not counting the "testing" bits of encodes to try settings, as I have very little experience encoding. I managed to get decent quality, compared to the original, with CRF 14 and the "grain" preset in x264, at around 5000 kbps. I know bitrate could be lower maybe, I still have to try CRF 16 with that preset to see if I can get away maintaining [some] grain. But I don't have free time to spend the day trying (advanced options at x264 are rather complicated and I don't get most, so it's trial and error here). But even if I had the perfect setting, I can't leave this encoding 24/7 as I need the PC for other uses and I don't have a 2nd one. I used to have a nice Phenom II that was a breeze to encode on, but given money issues, robberies, shit currency exchange, etc, I'm lucky to have something barely enough to play 1080p

Lossless codec? Hehe, ppl take the "I don't care for space" too literally, maybe it's my fault xD. MPEG2 is on the "limits" of size/quality, I can live with it for part of the material I have. But it's not that I care THAT little to use lossless video codecs (I don't even know any of them aside that h264 used to have a "lossless" option somewhere)

I just remembered Doom9 forums, I'll try asking there. But as far as I looked up, there's no option other than the mkvmerge 'cropping' that players give a shit about