[HELP] Encoding newbie, some questions on converting to square PAR

[spicy_noodles]

Hi guys,

I'm currently in the process of ripping a library of DVDs and encoding them via Hybrid. Because I'd like the videos to be played in a browser over web, the videos need to be deinterlaced. From what I understand, it's also considered good practice to convert the PAR of the video to square for web video. My confusion stems from whether I should be squeezing or stretching the source when doing so - i.e for a 720x480 source with a PAR of 32x27 / aspect ratio of 16:9, should the picture be resized to 720x406 or 854x480? Or for my use case, should I omit converting to square PAR entirely?

[Selur]

My two cents about this,...

Assuming you 'just' want to deinterlace, here's what you should consider:
1. Does your web play / streaming solution even support non-square transmissions?
2. Does the browser or the web player you use support anamorphic playback?
If your set-up support anamorphic transmission and playback, and you only want to deinterlace, stick with the original resolution. If done properly, this will represent the source as it is.

If, you go for square pixels, consider:
1. is bandwidth a problem ? (if it is, go for the lower resolution)
2. does your transmission and playback setup require / support only specific resolutions? (In case it does, you might have to apply letterboxing. Or you might be forced to use a specific resolution.)
3. what will your playback resolution be? If your playback resolution will be above 720x480 you might want to go for ..x480 to have more control over the quality of the playback. If your playback resolution will be below 720x480 go for 720x... .

Cu Selur

ps.: moved the thread since it's not really about Hybrid.

[spicy_noodles]

Many thanks Selur. After a bit of testing, it seems non-square video plays fine, so in the end I went with your first option