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Hi,
Features like the current instant zoom feature not being implemented are usually due to copyright and BDA restrictions on Blu-rays, not a CyberLink choice.
There is a rumour out there that version 18 will have a crop feature for Blu-rays on 21:9 monitors. Will have to wait until the release to see.
Dave
Dave, thanks for the feedback. I got a nice response from Tech Support that sheds some lumens on the subject:
“To encode a 2.35:1 produced video (that manufactured by movie studio) in a standard 16:9 container without video distortion, the movie disc's video will be planted with black bars at top and bottom side. They are part of the video content natively.
To play the aforementioned video type in full screen and eliminate the black bars on the top and bottom side, it requires further video cropping features.
Currently, PowerDVD does NOT support the video cropping (crop and zoom) feature for Blu-ray movie playback.
We have escalated the support suggestion to product team as feature development reference. Thanks you for the feedback.”
This seems to imply that it’s not a BDA/copyright restriction and also affirms QC2.0’s thesis that the feature has never existed. It also gives optimism that a future release will support it. I’m currently testing six players and all, with the exception of PowerDVD, will zoom/crop a BD. I will revisit Cyberlink’s effort when the next release appears. Hopefully the product team will work on an implementation of Instant Zoom for Blu-Ray and make the rumor about its support in a future release come true.
John
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No. I'm talking about shrinking the black letterbox bars on a 16:9 display. When I zoom with TMT I lose a little of the image on each side but the picture fills more of the space vertically. Since most Scope movies are composed with a "safe" 16:9 outline on the camera lens it is more immersive to have a wide-screen movie playback somewhere between 2.35:1 and 1.78:1 (the standard AR of a 4k TV.)
I can adjust the AR by zooming on a DVD but not a Blu-ray. I'm trying to find out why the function is crippled on a BD. It doesn't make sense since other players can do it.
If I understand your description correctly, shrinking the letterbox bars on top and bottom side = video cropping.
To place a 2.35:1 video in 16:9 aspect ratio BD, movie disc will plant the letter box in the video as part of video content to avoid stretching distortion on 1.78:1 display.
2.35:1 is very close to 21:9 AR. I think your scenario still matches my description.
powerdvd does not support cropping the video (so called pan and scan or something like that) on BD, regardless of the display AR.
It does not matter "it makes sense or not", just simply powerdvd does not do it on protected BD video.
The feature availability on DVD is greater than a non-decrypted BD in powerdvd, that's what I understood so far.
Video file > DVD >> BD >>>UHDBD.
You understand my description correctly. PowerDVD calls shrinking the letterbox bars on the top and bottom side – Instant Zoom. You call it cropping. The result is the same. As the picture grows vertically the sides are “cropped” and no longer display.
You state that PowerDVD does not support cropping (zooming) on BD video. Well, yes. I know. That why I asked the question.
You also imply that a DVD can be zoomed but not a Blu-ray because DVDs have more “feature” availability whereas Blu-ray has stronger encryption or something that prevents zooming. This is not true. Total Media Theater can play a 2.35:1 movie on a physical DVD from my PC BD drive and I can zoom it to any aspect ratio I like until it fills the entire 16:9 screen. I can also do this with a Blu-ray disc that has not been decrypted. Both physical media react exactly the same.
So the question remains, why can I zoom a DVD and not a Blu-ray. There is no technical reason preventing it since TMT does it with ease.
I have sent the question to tech support. We shall see what they have to say.
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Are you talking about zooming 2.35:1 movie (encoded in 16:9 BD) on a 21:9 display, and cropping all borders for playback?
It's old story.
powerdvd does not support to fully cropping the borders on top and bottom parts on a 21:9 display currently.
No. I'm talking about shrinking the black letterbox bars on a 16:9 display. When I zoom with TMT I lose a little of the image on each side but the picture fills more of the space vertically. Since most Scope movies are composed with a "safe" 16:9 outline on the camera lens it is more immersive to have a wide-screen movie playback somewhere between 2.35:1 and 1.78:1 (the standard AR of a 4k TV.)
I can adjust the AR by zooming on a DVD but not a Blu-ray. I'm trying to find out why the function is crippled on a BD. It doesn't make sense since other players can do it.
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I’m still using Total Media Theater for Blu-ray playback but since it hasn’t been supported for over two years I need to find a replacement. I have a 75” 4K TV and routinely use the TMT zoom function to modify a 2.35:1 picture into maybe a 2.15:1 aspect ratio. As long as there isn’t a lot of stuff going on at the edges it’s a very nice compromise between letterbox and full screen.
The Zoom function works for both Blu-ray and DVDs. Many other software player programs also have similar functions for Blu-ray video playback. I’d always heard that PowerDVD was the ultimate software player so I recently bought it. It does seem to do a good job and does everything that TMT does EXCEPT zoom a Blu-ray. Why is that?
It can’t be a “black bar” is part of a Scope picture. Probably not a licensing issue since other vendors are doing it. May some fundamental design of the player that won’t change aspect ratios on Blu-ray? Don’t know but if I can’t get a reason for it not working and will never work then I’ll get my money back and continue looking for a solution.
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