ok andy,
lets do our Workout in right resizing for dvdencoding.
I do prefer the following as it gives to me perfect outputs:
1. Do open DVD2AVI and load your VOBs
2. Choose under Video the resize/crop options
3. Now, just crop at top and bottom that much until all black borders are deleted but be shure to be in mod16 or mod 32 at height and width, this is signed in the upper bar of the preview like [x32][x16] or something like this.
4. Be shure you activated the checkbox in that resizing/cropping dialogue.
5. create your d2v project as known like doing the KVCD way (includes demuxing the AC3 tracks directly, that means NO audio decoding etc.!!
6. open that d2v in Moviestacker
7. choose under cropping "accurate" and "round to" 8!
8. choose under resize "round to" 16!
9. choose under destination "XVCD" as this gives you a 704x576 output = perfect DVD conform and provides a bit more compression
10. Choose in case of 2.35:1 Movies "overlap" Overscan = 2 and in case of 1.85:1 movies "resized" Overscan = 2
11. Switch to the "Avisynth" Tab above of Moviestacker and choose at Alignment "Macroblock aligned"!
12. Get back to Moviestackers resizing options and now you decide if your output still should be anamorph (= better quality at 16:9 TV sets but less compressionability) or not anamorph (= still good quality but even more compression), IF you decide to encode still anamorph: Do choose Overscan NOT 2 but 1
13. Now safe the Avisynth script in moviestacker.
14. Open your just safed xxxx.avs in VdubMod or Zoomplayer (I prefer Vdubmod)
15. Watch under "File Information" the size, is it 704x576?
16. Check the Preview in VdubMod is it ok? Black borders added? If you did choose in MovieSt. anamorph dstination everything should look squeezed the right way and if you did not check the anamorph button in MovieSt. everything should appear well proportional etc.
17. You can do a very accurate final test in VdubMod now by entering the Video FIlter Section and do apply the "resize" filter ... and type in 768x576, In case of anamorph destination in Moviest. unchecked, now everything should look perfect. If you did check anamorph destinantion do enter 1024x576 and NOT 768x576 cause thats the size the anamorph image will be risized on 16:9 TV sets.
This all lets you be shure that everything was done right in Moviest.
Now you can delete the Video-filter settings in VdubMod and enter right above the script editor where you easily can enter the avs code to apply your filters, routines etc. .... after applying you can just hit "F5" and you'll directly see what happens when doing in the AVS script editor. And it also gots a spell/syntax checking, so thats the way I do work, but you also can do the FFdShow way as done by Dialhot to see what happens when modifying the script.
Edit: you don`t need to resize in the Videofilter section of VdubMod, you can just enter the script editor and here also doing that "real world-resizing preview" by applying at the very end of the script a
simpleresize(768,576) # in case of NON-Anamorph output in Moviest. set
or
simplereize (1024,576) # in case of Anamorph output in Moviest. checked
but do not forget to delete that line afterwards!
Cause finally we want to keep encoding at 704x576!
768x576 is just the 1:1 preview which simulates the square pixel size of your PAL TV set (as you come from Liverpool you use PAL, right?)
704x576 or 720x576 are the right full size DVD encoding resolutions at quadra pixels which will be stretched to that mentioned square pixels on TV afterwards.
Q: "Hey Inc., why not doing that just via the simple GripFit way???"
A: "Cause I don't trust Gripfits autom. Border detection especially in case when adding asharp in the cript afterwards .... once shown in a sample by Audioslave and also many times happend to me personally
"