REQ: Save default aspect ratio by stream type

[moamoa]

This would be very handy...

When I watch TV on my SageTVClient I find it best to use "Source" as the aspect ratio for standard TV. However, if I tune to an HD channel (BBCHD), which is actually broadcast in 1440x1080i the aspect ratio is wrong and I need to manually set it to "16:9" to get it right. Then when I tune back to SD it is not 100% right for that so I need to select "Source" again.

It would be very good if it remembered last aspect ratio for stream type as the default.

Sound possible? Easy enough for 6.5 final?

[GKusnick]

Automatic Aspect Ratio Switcher

[TwistedMelon]

I'd love to have automatic aspect ratio switching built into SageTV directly instead of in the form of a plugin.

The plugin does provide some nice sounding features, however it doesn't offer the ability to define the aspect ratio based on the source dimensions/properties of the stream. It seems oriented to TV by being able to specify the source capture device or channel. It doesn't sound like it will do its automatic thing for arbitrary files or imports.

I suppose some people might be fine with keeping a constant setting for their AR, either Source which preserves the original content, or some custom setting which will either deform some content or crop.

I toggle between two ARs. My primary for 4:3 TV (watched on a 16:9 TV) is a custom copy of source but with Pan & Scan scaling mode. This stretches the video proportionally until the screen is filled, cropping the top and bottom off the 4:3 source on the 16:9 screen. For everything else I use the regular Source which has a Letterbox scale mode. It stretches or shrinks the video proportionally such that it fits within the screen without any cropping. That means you'll get black bars on top and below source content that's wider than your display (or none if the content matches your display).

I'd like to predefine a few simple rules to allow automated switching between these two which will deal with all my content in a satisfactory manner.

To get even more advanced (take it to the next level) it would be awesome to be able to define AR per program item/video. Since this is a piece of metadata it would only be possible to store this for things that are in the Sage database obviously. The benefit here is that you could apply custom crop modes if you want to fill your display without chopping excessive amounts of the original frame.

But like I said, I'm fine with being able to simply define the AR based on source resolution/properties.

[Razillian]

Originally Posted by TwistedMelon

To get even more advanced (take it to the next level) it would be awesome to be able to define AR per program item/video. Since this is a piece of metadata it would only be possible to store this for things that are in the Sage database obviously. The benefit here is that you could apply custom crop modes if you want to fill your display without chopping excessive amounts of the original frame.

This last part I could go for. My 4:3 aspect ratio shows get stretched across the screen on their own because of settings I have in nVidia, so I wouldn't want Sage to try and stretch stuff that was stretched already, but shows like BattleStar that are sent out in 16:9 ratio have th blackbars above and below (but are already stretched horizontally to fill the screen) so I have one of the AR settings defined to stretch the picture and fill in that black.

Of course shows that are 4:3 but broadcast on a 16:9 channel don't get stretched automagically by nVidia (because the black side bars are part of the image), so I have another AR setting that horizontally stretches those. And then there are the shows that are 16:9, but sent out as 4:3 on a 16:9 channel, so they have blackbars above, below and the sides. So I have yet another AR setting just for those shows.

All in all, I use all 4 AR settings on a regular basis and it would be kind of cool if I could just tell Sage to use "Source" for Show A, and use "Fill" for Show B.

Provided I could turn it off and/or override as needed.

[TwistedMelon]

I think the plugin listed can help with your requirement to match AR mode to show title.