Plugin: ActiveAspectRatios

[tmiranda]

ActiveAspectRatios is a plugin that automatically switches the Aspect Ratio Mode based on aspect ratio information generated by comskip and your personal preferences.

My main reason for creating this plugin was to automatically switch the AR mode to ZoomC when I watch SD content that has been letterboxed. By doing this the video fills the entire 16x9 display without stretching or distorting the video.

See the wiki for detailed information on how to install and configure the plugin: http://code.google.com/p/tmiranda/wi...veAspectRatios

If you are impatient here are the quick and dirty instructions:

# Install the ActiveAspectRatios plugin from the UI section of the plugin manager.
# Edit comskip.ini to include the lines "verbose=10" and "output_aspect=1".
# Run comskip on the videos you are interested in. This allows comskip.exe to generate the .aspects file needed by the plugin.
# Bring up the options menu for any video that has a corresponding .aspects file. (These videos have an icon that looks like a blue box with a diagonal arrow on it.)
# Bring up the ActiveAspectRatios dialog and select the second item "Aspect Ratio Mappings for This Show".
# For each aspect ratio listed select which Sage AR Mode you want to use. Generally 4x3 video has an aspect ratio close to 1.50 and 16x9 video has an aspect ratio close to 1.98.

Note that this plugin will produce .aspects files for every recording you have. When you delete the recording you must delete its corresponding .aspects file either manually (not a good idea) or through some automated process. If you are using CommercialDetector you can simply add "aspects" to the setting "Cleanup Files With These Extensions".

Post support requests here.

[mkanet]

Congrats Tom!! Just a few questions

1. I used to use the original aspect ratio plugin for sageTV 7; but quickly found out that it was making tuning into non-AR modded channels more clunky. Does this plugin interfere in any way in respect to lag in rendering/tuning into a channel that doesn't need AR correction.. after hitting Enter/Select to tune into a channel/show?

2. I have "Zoom C" available on my extender. But it's missing on my PC clients; which I could really use. Does this plugin offer a universal "Zoom C" setting for all clients?

3. Is this plugin compatible with Playon videos? I'm not sure why, by my primary PC client needs a "Fill" or "16x9" AR mode only for Playon... but not for any other Online Videos.

Thanks for all your hard work,
MKANET

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Congrats Tom!! Just a few questions

1. I used to use the original aspect ratio plugin for sageTV 7; but quickly found out that it was making tuning into non-AR modded channels more clunky. Does this plugin interfere in any way in respect to lag in rendering/tuning into a channel that doesn't need AR correction.. after hitting Enter/Select to tune into a channel/show?

2. I have "Zoom C" available on my extender. But it's missing on my PC clients; which I could really use. Does this plugin offer a universal "Zoom C" setting for all clients?

3. Is this plugin compatible with Playon videos? I'm not sure why, by my primary PC client needs a "Fill" or "16x9" AR mode only for Playon... but not for any other Online Videos.

Thanks for all your hard work,
MKANET

1. I've never seen any of that. The plugin does it's work in a separate thread and it's not very CPU hungry.

2. No, but you can create custom AR modes in Sage. On my SageClient I usually use "Fill".

3. Yes and no. If comskip can process the file then it will work, if comskip can't process the file then it will not. Let me know how you make out because maybe this is something I can improve on.

Tom

[mkanet]

1. Can your AR correction plugin make it so recordings/movies/shows that do NOT need AR correction feel as if this plugin was never installed? The last AR plugin seemed to affect ALL shows when tuning in; whether they needed AR changing or not. This was also the deal breaker for me for the previous plugin since over 99% of my shows do not need any AR manipulation.

2. As far as I know, there's no way to "add" a custom aspect ratio setting to PC clients. If I change the existing "Fill" settings to a proprietary setting, it will unfortunately affect videos that I want to use the stock "fill" AR. I basically want existing sageTV AR settings to be left untouched; supplementing new AR options like "Zoom C" on a PC .

Ultimately, being able to add a custom AR (a home made Zoom C) for PC clients; dedicated for a particular shows is what I'm looking for; otherwise it would be no different than the old AR plugin.

3. Maybe I'm not understanding you right, but I dont use comskip. I just would like to correct Playon AR invisibly to standard "fill" or "16x9"; as if it was displaying correct AR without noticing that it's been manipulated by this AR plugin without any fuss.

I appreciate your answers. If your AR plugin can't do any of these... no worries, but if it could.. that would be fantastic!

-Michael

Originally Posted by tmiranda

1. I've never seen any of that. The plugin does it's work in a separate thread and it's not very CPU hungry.

2. No, but you can create custom AR modes in Sage. On my SageClient I usually use "Fill".

3. Yes and no. If comskip can process the file then it will work, if comskip can't process the file then it will not. Let me know how you make out because maybe this is something I can improve on.

Tom

[tmiranda]

Michael,

1 - This is the default behavior. If the video has no aspect ratio information then nothing is done. The way a video "has aspect information" is if you run comskip on it with the correct settings in the comskip.ini. Maybe this answers question 3 as well?

2 - I thought it was possible to add custom ratios to a SageClient but I'm not really sure. Sorry if I gave you bad advice.

3 - If you want to use the most powerful feature of the plugin, the ability to automatically adjust the AR Mode on a video by video basis, you must use comskip. You may not want comskip to produce the .edl files but it is needed to produce the .aspects files. If you only intend to change AR Mode based on channel or show name then you don't need comskip. The ability to change the AR Mode based on the contents of the .aspects file is really the difference between JREkiwi's Aspect plugin and this one.

[mkanet]

Oh okay, thanks for the honest answers Tom. I'm sure there a lot of people that can take advantage of this. I'm a bit of an extreme minimalist; so, installing comskip is definitely not something I want to do just for AR adjustments for a couple of TV channels and Playon. Good luck with this plugin. I'm sure it will be GREAT for some people.

Originally Posted by tmiranda

Michael,

1 - This is the default behavior. If the video has no aspect ratio information then nothing is done. The way a video "has aspect information" is if you run comskip on it with the correct settings in the comskip.ini. Maybe this answers question 3 as well?

2 - I thought it was possible to add custom ratios to a SageClient but I'm not really sure. Sorry if I gave you bad advice.

3 - If you want to use the most powerful feature of the plugin, the ability to automatically adjust the AR Mode on a video by video basis, you must use comskip. You may not want comskip to produce the .edl files but it is needed to produce the .aspects files. If you only intend to change AR Mode based on channel or show name then you don't need comskip. The ability to change the AR Mode based on the contents of the .aspects file is really the difference between JREkiwi's Aspect plugin and this one.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Oh okay, thanks for the honest answers Tom. I'm sure there a lot of people that can take advantage of this. I'm a bit of an extreme minimalist; so, installing comskip is definitely not something I want to do just for AR adjustments for a couple of TV channels and Playon. Good luck with this plugin. I'm sure it will be GREAT for some people.

No problem. I created it because it's something I need and now use daily. I hope others find it useful, and I'm willing to improve upon it if users have suggestions.

You can create a custom .aspects file (i.e. Use a text editor to create it, not run comskip) for videos if you like.

Tom

[nyplayer]

Great plugin... I just had a show that had 2 diff ASPECT ratios was driving me crazy.... I like to fill my screen and this did it automatically once again thanks.

[mkanet]

Ohhh... in the case you're willing to improve upon it if users have suggestions.... I have a couple to consider:


1. Client-specific settings stored in respective properties file:
SageTV Extender has "Zoom C"; so how is that setting going to work for the same TV channel on a different PC based client that doesnt have Zoom C? It doesnt make sense to save "Zoom C" for clients that dont support it.

2. User-friendly menu to create a custom .aspects file that can easily be changed in the menus, no need for manually creating/editing config files.

I have a question. What are the exact steps necessary to get only Playon playback to playback at "16x9"; not affecting any other Online Services or anything else.

If suggestions #1 and #2 above are added in a new release of this addon, in just a couple of minutes, anyone could define Playon playback to have 16x9 AR on the PC they want. I could also just as quickly and conveniently set "Zoom C" on the living room extender for a couple of channels.

I dont know if this is possible, but as a third suggestion... consider not depending on Comskip at all just to control AR. Just save whatever gets saved in the .aspects file in the respective client properties file(s). That way your plugin is fully dependable without external help.

This may be asking way too much; but just thought I'd at least run them by you. That's basically what I would need for it to be practical for me and my wife to depend on daily.

Thanks for your consideration,
Michael

Originally Posted by tmiranda

No problem. I created it because it's something I need and now use daily. I hope others find it useful, and I'm willing to improve upon it if users have suggestions.

You can create a custom .aspects file (i.e. Use a text editor to create it, not run comskip) for videos if you like.

Tom

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Great plugin... I just had a show that had 2 diff ASPECT ratios was driving me crazy.... I like to fill my screen and this did it automatically once again thanks.

You're welcome.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by mkanet

Ohhh... in the case you're willing to improve upon it if users have suggestions.... I have a couple to consider:


1. Client-specific settings stored in respective properties file:
SageTV Extender has "Zoom C"; so how is that setting going to work for the same TV channel on a different PC based client that doesnt have Zoom C? It doesnt make sense to save "Zoom C" for clients that dont support it.

2. User-friendly menu to create a custom .aspects file that can easily be changed in the menus, no need for manually creating/editing config files.

I have a question. What are the exact steps necessary to get only Playon playback to playback at "16x9"; not affecting any other Online Services or anything else.

If suggestions #1 and #2 above are added in a new release of this addon, in just a couple of minutes, anyone could define Playon playback to have 16x9 AR on the PC they want. I could also just as quickly and conveniently set "Zoom C" on the living room extender for a couple of channels.

I dont know if this is possible, but as a third suggestion... consider not depending on Comskip at all just to control AR. Just save whatever gets saved in the .aspects file in the respective client properties file(s). That way your plugin is fully dependable without external help.

This may be asking way too much; but just thought I'd at least run them by you. That's basically what I would need for it to be practical for me and my wife to depend on daily.

Thanks for your consideration,
Michael

Michael,

I'm always looking to make my plugins better and useful to as many people as possible.

1. This is already how it's done. The mapping from comskip-generated aspect ratios to Sage AR mode is done on a per-client basis. You can only map aspect ratios to AR modes that exist on the extender/placeshifter/SageClient you are watching on. See, that was an easy suggestion to implement

2. I think that's a good idea. Of course I have no clue if it will be easy or hard to implement.

2.5. Currently you can force specific shows and specific channels to fixed AR modes. There is no way for the plugin to set the AR mode for PlayOn content.

3. This will be taken care of if I can figure out how to do suggestion #2.

[JREkiwi]

Originally Posted by mkanet

The last AR plugin seemed to affect ALL shows when tuning in; whether they needed AR changing or not. This was also the deal breaker for me for the previous plugin since over 99% of my shows do not need any AR manipulation.

FWIW, with the previous plugin you can turn off the debug window that pops up and makes it totally transparent whether it's switching or not.

John

[mkanet]

Thanks John. I didnt know that was an option. I can't remember the specifics since it's been a while since I used it. I'll give it a try.

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

FWIW, with the previous plugin you can turn off the debug window that pops up and makes it totally transparent whether it's switching or not.

John

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by JREkiwi

FWIW, with the previous plugin you can turn off the debug window that pops up and makes it totally transparent whether it's switching or not.

John

Yes. And to re-emphasize: John's plugin is probably what most people will end up using. Mine is for special cases where you want to control the AR mode based on the content of the video and not the channel or show.

Example. I like to Watch Star Trek TNG. It's broadcast on two different channels. One channel always broadcasts it in 4x3 SD. The other channel SOMETIMES broadcasts it in 4x3 SD and SOMETIMES in letterboxed SD. So I can't setup the channel or the show to always use a certain AR mode.

[nyplayer]

Tom,

On my 1360x768 Screen I cannot see your entry in the setup menu it is off the Screen... Not visible maybe too many menu Items Default SageTV 7.. I have 11 and yours would make 12. I can see it using Diamond because Diamond Scrolls down. I change it by going to the recording screen.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Tom,

On my 1360x768 Screen I cannot see your entry in the setup menu it is off the Screen... Not visible maybe too many menu Items Default SageTV 7.. I have 11 and yours would make 12. I can see it using Diamond because Diamond Scrolls down. I change it by going to the recording screen.

That's a known issue any time you have more than one plugin adding things to the setup menu. The solution is to install my "ScrollingSetup" UI Mod plugin.

[nyplayer]

Originally Posted by tmiranda

That's a known issue any time you have more than one plugin adding things to the setup menu. The solution is to install my "ScrollingSetup" UI Mod plugin.

Ok once again thx. Learn something new everyday in this forum.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

Ok once again thx. Learn something new everyday in this forum.

That makes two of us.

[nyplayer]

"ScrollingSetup" UI Mod plugin really didn't help it is still off the screen. Will not scroll down to view the text even though... I can select it while off the menu.

[tmiranda]

Originally Posted by nyplayer

"ScrollingSetup" UI Mod plugin really didn't help it is still off the screen. Will not scroll down to view the text even though... I can select it while off the menu.

Please list what plugins you are using so I can reproduce the problem. Thanks.