black bars on L/R for 720x480 H264/MPEG4

[tomk]

Input is a single VOB with 720x480, AC3, 16:9 taken from a dvd - problem is the video has a black border - noteably black bars on the left and right side. Is it possible to get rid of the bars by altering the ATV encoder settings? What am I missing?
I've tried the H264 and MPEG4 profiles, but that didn't work...
I've tried cropping both H264 and MPEG4, (24 from each side) - that didn't work...
tried defining 720x480 H264, without auto resize - that didn't work...
tried defining 720x432 MPEG4 @30fps, without auto resize, but that didn't work...

I've tried several VOB files ripped from my dvd collection, and they all have this problem. It's as though I need to "zoom-in" slightly - sorry for the poor technical description.

What am I missing? :confused:

[msopnet]

You have to edit whatever profile you want to use.

In Settings -> Converter, select the profile you want to use and click Edit Profile.

In the Video -> General tab, set Width and Height to be a multiple of 16:9 (like 688x388). Disable AutoResize.

In the Video -> General 2 tab, set how many pixels you need cropped from the top, bottom, left and right.

Click OK and convert with that profile. I've done this a hundred times, so I know it works. Unfortunately I can't see exactly what you're doing, so I can only tell you my process...

[tomk]

Hey thanks! It worked.
This is not the most intuitive thing to do - I was really pulling my hair out. I wish there was a more straight forward option to automate this..but now that I know how to crop and set the proper resolution, its a piece of cake.
Thanks again, Tom :)

[msopnet]

Yeah, it's unfortunate. I made the AVS Maker program below to help make this a lot easier. Unfortunately, it's intended for iPod use, so it won't work the best for Apple TV.