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When I import VTS_01_1.VOB into VirtualDub or Avidemux or try to play it with Media Player Classic, it plays in dimensions 352x576 (squeezed) which should clearly be 576x352. But when I play the file in VLC, it plays in the correct dimensions and it looks like it should, so I know the frames are in 576x352, it's just that they're being misinterpreted by VirtualDub and Avidemux. Furthermore when I try to convert it with VLC, the result is 352x576 even though VLC plays it correctly in 576x352.

How do I fix this? I just want to import the file into VirtualDub or Avidemux so I can edit it.

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  • 576x352 is not the correct size for AR: 1.33 PAR: 24/11, which you reported in a comment below. The correct display size would be the same height, and width = 576 * 4/3 = 768. I hope THAT's what VLC is actually showing you? Otherwise there's more weirdness. IDK if VOB stores a display aspect ratio, or an actual WxH to scale the output to.
    – Peter Cordes
    Jan 24, 2015 at 0:27

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Sounds like thoses apps aren't respecting the Pixel Aspect Ratio (PAR) flag. Widescreen DVD movies aren't usually made of more pixels, they have a setting in the metadata telling the player to stretch the pixels from squares into rectangles to make the picture look right.

VLC is reading the PAR flag and playing the pixels back in their correct aspect ratio.

A possible solution that has worked for me in some situations is to use HandBrake to convert from stretched pixels with a PAR flag to more pixels that are square. You can do this in Handbrake by previewing the movie in Anamorphic PAR mode, noting the image dimensions listed, then turning off Anamorphic and the PAR, and typing the dimensions in by hand. The resulting render will have square pixels (PAR 1.0) but the image will be properly stretched.

Hope that helps.

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  • HandBrake reads the source as 352x576 (AR: 1.33 PAR: 24/11), but previews it through VLC as 576x352 (even though Codec Information in VLC says 352x576). I cannot manually enter a larger width than 352 in HandBrake. Since VLC displays the video correctly, is there a way to capture what VLC is showing, just record the output on the screen?
    – TimSim
    Jan 20, 2015 at 9:53
  • Those are some SERIOUSLY non-square pixels. Most DVD VOBs are 720x576, with Display aspect ratio 4:3 or 16:9. Non-square pixels are normal, and I'm surprised it's causing problems.
    – Peter Cordes
    Jan 24, 2015 at 0:24

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