Aspect ratio is wrong

[beeline]

One thing that bothers me is when a screen is set to display video in the wrong aspect ratio, usually stretched horizontally to fit the screen.

Late last night I finally got my FPV kit installed and low and behold, the image is stretched in 16:9 mode. Image looks fine in 4:3 but of course cropped on each side, which is also annoying. So I'm wondering which device is introducing the issue. Is it the iOSD, since mine displays data both above and below the camera image (squeezing the image vertically), thus making it impossible to properly fill the screen? Or is it my Lumenier monitor (I think not)? On YouTube I see examples of iOSD data being displayed as I am seeing, as well as the data being superimposed completely within the camera image, no stretching required to fill the screen.

I will update the iOSD firmware and hope that corrects the issue, otherwise I'll be viewing a 4:3 image and wasting valuable screen real estate, unless I can figure a way to keep the iOSD data within the confines of the video.

Later that day...

Ran the iOSD assistant and am up to date. Sadly, I see no way to alter the overlay to be contained entirely within the video frame. Any ideas?

 

[OI Photography]

Using a gopro? If so, I believe the "wide" mode (which may be the default) is 16:9.

 

[beeline]

Oh yes, a GoPro set to 1080 medium view at the moment. I will shoot 2.7k. Should not make a difference on the monitor but I will check. Image out of the GoPro is 16:9 but the iOSD is messing with it. Legacy NTSC issue?

 

[OI Photography]

Oh yes, a GoPro set to 1080 medium view at the moment. I will shoot 2.7k. Should not make a difference on the monitor but I will check. Image out of the GoPro is 16:9 but the iOSD is messing with it. Legacy NTSC issue?

Could be, I'm afraid I'm not somewhere I can do some quick comparative testing right now or I'd see if I could narrow it down. Have you bypassed the iOSD mini in the video chain to see if that changes it?

I shoot in Med most of the time, and I don't *think* I get bars at the top and bottom of my screen, but to be honest my brain may have just tuned them out in the time I've been things that way. I have the iOSD mini as well.

Which Lumenier monitor do you have?

 

[beeline]

Suppose a couple of pics might help! 8" Lumenier LCD FPV Monitor with 5.8GHz 32CH Diversity Receiver.

Monitor set to 16:9 (top) and 4:3 (bottom).

 

[OI Photography]

A picture is worth a thousand words, or at least however many we've already typed in this thread.

Turn off the gopro's internal OSD, I think will get rid of the black bars that are bugging you.

 

[beeline]

No joy. 4:3 monitor setting but 16:9 is stretched just like the above example. I'll try 2.7k GoPro setting next and see if there's any improvement in how iOSD handles it.

Is anyone getting iOSD data within the video frame with no distortion?

 

[Mike]

It's definitely the GoPro. It will only output a 4:3 image and when you're shooting 16:9 it adds letterboxing. Hence the black bars on top and bottom, even on a widescreen monitor. I contacted GoPro support about disabling that "feature" and they told me it couldn't be done. I put that in as a feature request for future firmware upgrades. Maybe they will listen to us.

 

[beeline]

Thanks Mike. Hard to believe an HD camera only outputs 4:3 video. What a waste of a 16:9 monitor! I still think the iOSD is introducing pillarbox. End result of both devices is windowboxing. Is this 2004? Very annoying.

 

[Damon]

Kind makes sense, since the go pro backpack screen is only 4:3.... I believe.

 

[Mike]

Hard to believe an HD camera only outputs 4:3 video.

Well, to be fair, we're taking the composite signal which is always going to be 4:3, no matter the source. The GoPro just needs the option to output the signal as anamorphic instead of letterbox. That would solve the problem. Also, AFAIK, the iosd isn't changing the video signal. It's just overlaying it's data onto whatever it gets and spitting it right back out.

 

[beeline]

Correct, but anamorphic SD video has been around long enough for GoPro to have boarded that bus already. Maybe the next version.

Either the camera is not delivering full vertical resolution or the iOSD is squeezing it. The data should be displayed entirely over video, not in black bars.

 

[MenaceCat]

Correct, but anamorphic SD video has been around long enough for GoPro to have boarded that bus already. Maybe the next version.

Either the camera is not delivering full vertical resolution or the iOSD is squeezing it. The data should be displayed entirely over video, not in black bars.

Analogue FPV transmission is based on PAL or NTSC standards - thus the aspect ration is 4:3 by default. Some monitors e.g. Gaui GV100 have an option to display video in 4:3. One doesn't use whole screen real estate when this happens but at least the picture isn't distorted.

 

[Mike]

Either the camera is not delivering full vertical resolution or the iOSD is squeezing it. The data should be displayed entirely over video, not in black bars.

The camera is delivering the full sd resolution, but adding a letterbox. Hence the black bars at top and bottom. It does this because it is expecting (incorrectly) a 4:3 display. The iosd is just adding the data where it normally would. There just happen to be black bars there now. You can see the difference if you put your GoPro into a 4:3 resolution (1920x1440). The letterbox will be gone.
There is no reason the GoPro shouldn't be able to output anamorphic SD video. Everyone should contact them and request this for a future update.

 

[damoncooper]

Either the camera is not delivering full vertical resolution or the iOSD is squeezing it. The data should be displayed entirely over video, not in black bars.

The camera is delivering the full sd resolution, but adding a letterbox. Hence the black bars at top and bottom. It does this because it is expecting (incorrectly) a 4:3 display. The iosd is just adding the data where it normally would. There just happen to be black bars there now. You can see the difference if you put your GoPro into a 4:3 resolution (1920x1440). The letterbox will be gone.
There is no reason the GoPro shouldn't be able to output anamorphic SD video. Everyone should contact them and request this for a future update.

This seems like a perfectly legit GoPro feature request. I submitted it but the more they hear about it the better the chances of getting it added. The feature request submit URL is here:

http://gopro.com/contact-us

My submission is pasted below. Feel free to copy/paste for quick submission:

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SUBJECT:
Feature Request: anamorphic 16:9 SD output option

TEXT:
Hi, many of us are increasingly using GoPro cameras in aerial photography on remote controlled UAV's such as the DJI Phantom 2.

The LCD monitors and goggles used for First Person View (FPV) flying and video shot setup are almost all 16:9 aspect ratio.

However the GoPro SD output is what is being transmitted from the air to the ground and unfortunately the GoPro camera formats the SD output in 4:3 aspect ratio, expecting a 4:3 ratio monitor display. This leaves black bars and/or stretched video for flying and makes it more difficult to judge distances to objects in flight and looks generally poor.

It would be ideal if there were an option in settings to enable "anamorphic 16:9 SD output" which would solve the problem and fill 16:9 screens (monitor or goggles).

Thanks for any consideration you can give to this. The large and growing "drone" community worldwide would thank you!

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