Why doesn't handbrake output 1080p files?

[jrm27]

Hi all,

When using Handbrake, I've noticed that it doesn't put out 1080 files... instead, I'm seeing 1920x800. Is that normal? It looks like it is cropping out the black bars, but then when I go to play the movie back, isn't it going to fill the screen with 800 vertical pixels, instead of 1080? Wouldnt this adversely affect picture quality?

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Thanks for any input you can give!

-jon

[zedsdead]

Originally Posted by jrm27

Hi all,

When using Handbrake, I've noticed that it doesn't put out 1080 files... instead, I'm seeing 1920x800. Is that normal? It looks like it is cropping out the black bars, but then when I go to play the movie back, isn't it going to fill the screen with 800 vertical pixels, instead of 1080? Wouldnt this adversely affect picture quality?

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Thanks for any input you can give!

-jon

Many movies are not 16x9, which is 1920x1080. Many are 2.39:1, which is called cinescope. This will cause the vertical resolution (1080) to decrease in proportion with the correct ratio. Picture quality is the same, there are just black bars on the top and bottom.

Note: just because handbrake got rid of the black bars out of the encoded file doesn't mean it will be stretched. The Apple TV or Mac will keep the ratio in tack and just add bars when viewed.

[mic j]

Originally Posted by jrm27

Hi all,

When using Handbrake, I've noticed that it doesn't put out 1080 files... instead, I'm seeing 1920x800. Is that normal? It looks like it is cropping out the black bars, but then when I go to play the movie back, isn't it going to fill the screen with 800 vertical pixels, instead of 1080? Wouldnt this adversely affect picture quality?

Perhaps I'm missing something here. Thanks for any input you can give!

-jon

Totally normal, no quality missing. Movies vary in height (letterbox, 4:3, etc) and what you see is HB cropping out the black spaces to reduce file size. It will fill the screen the same as your source would have.

[ScootPatoot]

And, correct me if I'm wrong, since handbrake cuts the unnecessary black bars out of the file, it produces a much smaller file size than if it left the black bars in the file. Win-win.

[Pyromonkey83]

Originally Posted by ScootPatoot

And, correct me if I'm wrong, since handbrake cuts the unnecessary black bars out of the file, it produces a much smaller file size than if it left the black bars in the file. Win-win.

I dont know about "much" smaller. The black bars are just, well, black bars, so it takes up probably an extra 100 bps for a 1080p encode. This would end up being less than 1 MB in the final encode for a 3 hour movie.