MediaFork Anamorphic (PAR) for Apple TV

[roland.g]

The following quotes are from the Handbrake forums. According to their DOC on Anamorphic settings for MediaFork, you don't want to use the Anamorphic (PAR) checkbox for Apple TV or anything else that plays back in Quicktime, however I don't know if this is indeed true since we originally thought Apple TV would also be limited to 640x and it handles playback of 720x just fine.

Originally Posted by from Handbrake forums

I encoded a movie with file format MP4 file, AVC/H.264 Video/AAC Audio. Anamorphic (PAR) was selected. Encoding rate for the video was 3000 kbs. The output resolution of the file was 718x468.

The Apple TV will play this video file in its 718x468 aspect. I have found a work around with Quictime Player to restore the proper aspect ratio for Apple TV. First, open the mp4 file in Quicktime. Then show movie properties, select the video track from the properties window and type in the scaled size that you desire. I restored the scale to 850x468 for this movie. Then Save As a self-contained movie. This movie will play in Quicktime in its proper aspect ratio, and it will sync to the Apple TV and play it its proper aspect.

Originally Posted by also from Handbrake forums

Thankyou! That is the exact experiment I was hoping someone would perform!

Based on your post I think we could conclude that while the Apple TV doesn't handle anamorphic encodes automatically, you can use Quicktime Pro (as outlined in wyvern's post above, or my earlier post) to manually specify the scaling so that anamorphic encoded video displays correctly.

My final question for any encoding experts out there - does manually specifying the scaling using QT Pro, defeat the purpose of an anamorphic encode in the first instance? In other words, is it worth encoding future video using anamorphic? What are the benfits (quicker encodes etc)?

In trying to understand the optimal MediaFork settings, and I know everyone has their own opinion on Bitrate, Audio settings, and whether to use 720, 640, or other resolutions as well as constant quality vs. avg. bit rate, or even FPS same as source vs. specific settings, etc, I am trying to get a better handle on Anamorphic settings.

I am trying to rip for example my LOTR trilogy and being I think a 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen I wonder what I need to do to indeed get the best resolution and preserve the original undistorted aspect ratio. I have tried ripping the 1st chapter in both regular 720x and Anamorphic (PAR). The first gives me 720x304 and the latter 716x360 (for some reason it auto-crops 2 from each side). Both play through Apple TV with one obviously taking more vertical space up at the same width. I however do not have a QT PRO 7 key and so have not reset the latters resolution to the 848x that MediaFork showed as the Anamorphic resoultion in the picture settings. This is all a little confusing and would appreciate any input/insight anyone has on the matter.