Made a custom Aspect Ratio to "add overscan" on the HD100

[Slipshod]

When viewing SD content from an R5000 over the HD extender on my 1080p LCD (which has no overscan), there are flickering lines at the top of some channels, and some pretty rough artifacting on the side edges. Here's a little tweak to your client's .properties file to add a little overscan so the picture looks cleaner:

advanced_aspect_ratio_extra_modes=Default|source\=2048,2048,3996,3996,FrontEdgeToCenter,FrontEdgeToCenter,Relative,Relative,Relative,Relative

And to make it the default for all video on that extender:
default_advanced_aspect_ratio=Default

Note: "Default" can be whatever label you like, just make sure it matches in both lines. This is basically the "Source" aspect ratio, but it zooms the picture a little bit and keeps the viewport the same size. If you increase the 3996 numbers above, it reduces the "overscan" until you get to 4096, which is the default value and gives 1:1 sizing.

Thanks to Opus for the HD extender FAQ, and whomever started playing with the custom aspect ratio commands in the first place. I love how flexible this stuff is.


Cheers,
Slipshod

[pjpjpjpj]

Slipshod -

I'm a complete noob when it comes to programming and all, so I was wondering if you can explain a few things about this to me. I have a server with SageTV and an HD Extender on a Sony 1080P TV. Some - not all, just some - of my SD programming comes through with the flickering lines (I previously referred to it as a "ragged edge") at the top. In a previous thread, I was told this was actually closed-captioning data showing, I don't know if that is true (though it might explain why some SD stations have it and some don't). I have not noticed any problems on the sides, but I would like to adjust it so that I get rid of those lines at the top. Note that I do not have any issues with any 16:9 programming.

1) Where do I add that line of code (what file)? Do I just paste it in (along with changing that other line you mention) and save the file?

2) Once I have done this, what (if any) changes do I need to make in my setup options to make this change take effect, or will it automatically?

3) If I wanted to just adjust the top "upward" and leave the other sides as is, could I make a tweak to your code (I have no idea what each of those numbers "is")? Would I change one of the "3996" numbers to be larger and not the other (I'm guessing this would skew the picture vertically though)? Or do I just have to zoom the whole thing equally?

4) Does this adjustment apply to everything (16:9 programs, Sage menus, etc.) or just 4:3 SD programming?

Sorry I'm so clueless, but that's why I'm here.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

In a previous thread, I was told this was actually closed-captioning data showing, I don't know if that is true (though it might explain why some SD stations have it and some don't).

I'm pretty sure it's closed captioning. It's not supposed to be visible on a normal TV due to overscan.

1) Where do I add that line of code (what file)? Do I just paste it in (along with changing that other line you mention) and save the file?

In your sageTV install directory, there should be a subdirectory labeled something like "clients". In this directory will be one or more files named ########.properties and the ######### will be a hex number (0-9 and a-f as digits) that matches the "MAC address" of the extender. If you only have one extender and have never used place-shifter there will be only one file. If you have more than one, check the label on the bottom of the extender to find the MAC, and then edit the corresponding file. NOTE: Stop the SageTV service before editing the file.

The file is just a text-file, so search for the phrase "advanced_aspect_ratio_extra_modes" in the file and then make that line match mine exactly.

Then, to make this the default for all video on that TV search for "default_advanced_aspect_ratio" and make it math the line from my post. If you don't want this to be the default, then you'll have to use the "Aspect" button on the sage remote to switch between this one and the others. This one will be labeled "Default" in that menu.

2) Once I have done this, what (if any) changes do I need to make in my setup options to make this change take effect, or will it automatically?

Your choice. I have it set as described above so it's automatic for higher WAF.

3) If I wanted to just adjust the top "upward" and leave the other sides as is, could I make a tweak to your code (I have no idea what each of those numbers "is")? Would I change one of the "3996" numbers to be larger and not the other (I'm guessing this would skew the picture vertically though)? Or do I just have to zoom the whole thing equally?

One controls the horizontal zoom and the other controls vertical. I think the first 3996 is width and the second is height. Yes, that would skew the picture (though honestly I'm not even sure if what I did is skewing it, haven't looked at it close enough to tell). It's a very very small ammount of zoom, well below what you would normally lose on a regular HDTV.

4) Does this adjustment apply to everything (16:9 programs, Sage menus, etc.) or just 4:3 SD programming?

This applies to all full-screen video playback. Doesn't affect menus. Affects both 16x9 and 4x3 material, though as I said before it's a very small zoom and I consider it worthwhile to stop the complaints from the wife.

I'll probably look at the auto-aspect plugin a bit later to see if i can tweak it so that it only uses this as the default for 4x3 and leaves 16x9 unmolested. Right now I'm just happy I killed the flickers.

Sorry I'm so clueless, but that's why I'm here.

No need to apologize. I'm just happy somebody else found this useful. i was banging my head on the wall for a while and figured I'd post the solution on the off chance that somebody else was running into the same issue so I could save them a headache.

Cheers,
Slipshod

[pjpjpjpj]

Makes sense. Thanks for the "Sage for dummies" explanation - I needed it.
I'll be trying it tonight.

Ironically, the lines at the top bother me, and my wife doesn't seem to care!

[pjpjpjpj]

Does the slight zoom cause any noticeable picture quality loss in 16x9 HD (720p or 1080i OTA)? Sounds like the zoom is likely too small to notice, but thought I would ask.

Originally Posted by Slipshod

I'll probably look at the auto-aspect plugin a bit later to see if i can tweak it so that it only uses this as the default for 4x3 and leaves 16x9 unmolested.

If (when?) you do that, please post (especially if your answer to my above question is "well, yeah, a little....").

[pjpjpjpj]

Slipshod - I tried your tweak and I still have a tiny bit of lines showing at the top. Can I just make the 3996's into 3997's or 3998's? Or is there something magical about the numbers used there?

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by pjpjpjpj

Slipshod - I tried your tweak and I still have a tiny bit of lines showing at the top. Can I just make the 3996's into 3997's or 3998's? Or is there something magical about the numbers used there?

Lowering it 1 or two isn't going to make much of a difference. The default is 4096 and it's a relative scaling. Try doing it by 10 or 20. If you care a whole lot you can modify it in successively smaller ammounts back and forth until you hit the exact ammount. I didn't care, I just played with a few numbers to until I got something that worked well enough.

I don't see any real difference in picture quality. Technically it should be lower quality because you're no long 1:1 on the pixel mapping for HD, but I think it's such a minor difference you won't be able to see it, especially not from the couch.

[Yooper]

I got rid of my sync lines by adjusting the vertical on the TV set. I have a Sharp Aquous and it allows me to move the image both vertically and horizontally.

[Slipshod]

Originally Posted by Yooper

I got rid of my sync lines by adjusting the vertical on the TV set. I have a Sharp Aquous and it allows me to move the image both vertically and horizontally.

Unfortunately, my cheap Westy doesn't seem to have any way to adjust it like that. Something about getting what you pay for...