[SOLVED] Sony Bravia - Aspect Ratio fixing

[Xmantium]

Thanks for this, will try it tonight.

Is there a Linux method?

[Illico]

Is there a Linux method?

Yes probably, you have to install a "perl" package, then change the path of "c:\perl\bin". Perl script should be the same. I think.

[Xmantium]

This fix should be built in Serviio!
Like a custom bravia profile

I don't think Sony Bravia will fix it themselves on their tvs.

[Illico]

I don't think Sony Bravia will fix it themselves on their tvs.

Don't think so too.

This fix should be built in Serviio!
Like a custom bravia profile

Thanks,
This tips is interesting to customize ffmpeg options for testing purpose without need of serviio recompile (I do not know how to do this )
But its not perfect, you will probably have some issues (process not killed, online feeds, etc ).

But you are welcome to test on your side with different file resolutions (DAR, PAR,etc)

And hopefully in future version, Zip could include these ffmpeg options for Bravia TVs.

My Sony KDL55NX720 has this issue too. Same video plays fine on my Samsung LN55C630.

Is there any word on serviio fixing this? (bug submitted, etc?)

Has anyone else tried the perl method mentioned here with success? I'll try the perl hack this weekend if I get some time.

I'm also keen to know if there's any update to this. I tried the Perl method and got a 'Cannot access server at this time' message.

This is a great media server! Loving it apart from the stupid Bravia AR issue. I wish they'd just fix it in a firmware update.

[Illico]

I'm also keen to know if there's any update to this. I tried the Perl method and got a 'Cannot access server at this time' message.

This is a great media server! Loving it apart from the stupid Bravia AR issue. I wish they'd just fix it in a firmware update.

Could you check the detailed logging file ?
Could you check that the ffmpeg path on the Perl script is good?

To address this issue on the transcoded AVI's on my server, I adapted the Perl script Illico so kindly provided for my Ubuntu 12.04 box:

  Code:

#!/usr/bin/perl
use strict;

my $args = '';

foreach my $arg (@ARGV) {
  $args = $args . "\"$arg\" ";
}

if ($args =~ /^(.*)\s\"mpeg2video\"\s(.*)$/) {
  $args = $1 . ' "mpeg2video" "-vf" "pad=max(iw\,ih*16/9):max(ih\,iw/16*9):(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2:blue,setdar=4:3" ' . $2;
}

my $cmd = "/usr/bin/ffmpeg-serviio $args";

open(LOGFILE, ">>/var/log/ffmpeg-wrapper.log");

if (system($cmd) != 0) {
  print LOGFILE scalar localtime . " Failed: " . $cmd . " with $?\n";
  close (LOGFILE);
  die "Failed\n";
  } else {
  print LOGFILE scalar localtime . " Success: " . $cmd . "\n";
  close (LOGFILE);
}


I renamed my compiled ffmpeg to ffmpeg-serviio and named the Perl script /usr/bin/ffmpeg. Perhaps I misunderstood how this would work, but it didn't seem to have any effect on the files I have when played on my Sony KDL-46NX720, such as this one:

  Code:

ffmpeg version N-42368-gbf53863 Copyright (c) 2000-2012 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Jul 26 2012 19:36:00 with gcc 4.6.3
  configuration: --enable-static --disable-shared --bindir=/tmp/ffmpeg --disable-ffplay --disable-ffserver --enable-pthreads --disable-mmx --enable-gpl --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-nonfree --enable-version3 --enable-librtmp --pkg-config=pkg-config
  libavutil      51. 64.100 / 51. 64.100
  libavcodec     54. 33.100 / 54. 33.100
  libavformat    54. 15.102 / 54. 15.102
  libavdevice    54.  1.100 / 54.  1.100
  libavfilter     3.  1.100 /  3.  1.100
  libswscale      2.  1.100 /  2.  1.100
  libswresample   0. 15.100 /  0. 15.100
  libpostproc    52.  0.100 / 52.  0.100
Input #0, avi, from 'Penn & Teller; Bullshit! - (1-01) - Talking to the Dead.avi':
  Metadata:
    encoder         : Nandub v1.0rc2
  Duration: 00:26:05.79, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 1246 kb/s
    Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (Simple Profile) (XVID / 0x44495658), yuv420p, 576x432 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], 29.97 tbr, 29.97 tbn, 29.98 tbc
    Stream #0:1: Audio: mp3 (U[0][0][0] / 0x0055), 44100 Hz, stereo, s16, 112 kb/s


I also tested this same video on my Sony BDP-S580, and that worked exactly correctly, which I expected as the format is natively supported there.

[Illico]

With the latest Serviio 1.0 this issue was solved.

It may be that I'm misunderstanding the issue (i.e. there's some other issue causing this for my videos), but I'm currently using Serviio 1.0 and encountering the issue above. I noticed that in the changelog, "added possibility to force display aspect ratio during transcoding; ticket #179" is mentioned. Has this ability to force the aspect ratio been implemented in the Sony 2010 profile? Is there any other reason this issue might arise? As always, I'm happy to provide any needed output.

[Illico]

Has this ability to force the aspect ratio been implemented in the Sony 2010 profile? Is there any other reason this issue might arise? As always, I'm happy to provide any needed output.

Yes, it's provided for all Sony Bravia devices since Serviio 1.0 version.
Could you provide information about you file with this issue ? see signature link.
ffmpeg -i "filepath" result

I mentioned one file I had this problem with here (viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2956&start=40#p49251) and provided the relevant output, but I can provide output from many other kinds of AVI files that are having this problem as well if you need them. Now, I'm assuming that it's the same aspect ratio issue that was raised in this thread because the "fix" of zooming does work to an extent (though with a loss of visible pixels) - but perhaps its cause is different.

[Illico]

Could you provid serviio detailed logging (see signature links) and check the ffmpeg command line used with this file ?

What is your son display settings ?

This is mine (EX501, 2010 model):

I make some changes on Sony Bravia Screen settings, in fact there were two settings one for AVC, and another for mpeg2video codec:

Start an AVC video (Star Wars Trailer)
On remote control : Options -> Picture Options -> Screen :Network(Video)
Target Input: Common
Screen Format : Wide
Auto Format : Off
Display Area : Full Pixel

Now 1920x1080 display OK (Yahoo logo full displayed), 1280x720 nice too, 852x480 nice too !!!

Start an MPEG2 video, there is a different settings:
On remote control : Options -> Picture Options -> Screen :Network(Video)
Target Input: Common
Screen Format : Wide
Auto Format : Off
Display Area : +1

When I push the "Wide" button on the remote for my KDL-46NX720 (US), I have a few options:
Wide Zoom
Normal
Full Zoom
Captions

Full Zoom improves the size of the video a bit, but a good portion of the screen is still unoccupied - as in, the video could be scaled much larger.

Below is a chunk of DEBUG output from my Serviio 1.0 logfile:

  Code:

2012-07-30 14:43:12,343 DEBUG [DiscoveryAdvertisementNotifier] Will advertise again in 00:00:44
2012-07-30 14:43:21,406 DEBUG [WebServer] Incoming connection from /10.93.1.102:45410
2012-07-30 14:43:21,408 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.102
2012-07-30 14:43:21,408 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] HEAD /resource/1010/MEDIA_ITEM/MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO-0/ORIGINAL HTTP/1.1, headers = [getcontentFeatures.dlna.org: 1,Pragma: getIfoFileURI.dlna.org,transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming,X-AV-Physical-Unit-Info: pa="BRAVIA KDL-46NX720";,X-AV-Client-Info: av=5.0; cn="Sony Corporation"; mn="BRAVIA KDL-46NX720"; mv="1.7";,Host: 10.93.2.1:8895]]
2012-07-30 14:43:21,408 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.102
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Resource request accepted. Using client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Request for resource 1010 and type 'MEDIA_ITEM' received
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [MediaResourceRetrievalStrategy] Getting information about media item 1010 (local)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [MediaItemDAOImpl] Reading a MediaItem (id = 1010)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [VideoDAOImpl] Reading a Video (id = 1010)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Retrieving resource information for item 1010, format MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO and profile Sony Bravia TV (2010)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [AbstractTranscodingDeliveryEngine] Getting media info for transcoded version of file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi
2012-07-30 14:43:21,409 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:21,410 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_NA_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:21,410 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_KO_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:21,410 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Sending HEAD response back
2012-07-30 14:43:21,410 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] HTTP/1.1 200 OK, headers = [[Content-Type: video/mpeg,Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:43:21 GMT,Server: Linux, UPnP/1.0 DLNADOC/1.50, Serviio/1.0,Cache-control: no-cache,contentFeatures.dlna.org: DLNA.ORG_PN=MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO;DLNA.ORG_OP=10;DLNA.ORG_CI=1;DLNA.ORG_FLAGS=01500000000000000000000000000000,transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming]]
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [WebServer] Incoming connection from /10.93.1.102:45411
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.102
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] GET /resource/1010/MEDIA_ITEM/MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO-0/ORIGINAL HTTP/1.1, headers = [TimeSeekRange.dlna.org: npt=0.000-,getcontentFeatures.dlna.org: 1,Pragma: getIfoFileURI.dlna.org,transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming,X-AV-Physical-Unit-Info: pa="BRAVIA KDL-46NX720";,X-AV-Client-Info: av=5.0; cn="Sony Corporation"; mn="BRAVIA KDL-46NX720"; mv="1.7";,Host: 10.93.2.1:8895]]
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.102
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Resource request accepted. Using client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Request for resource 1010 and type 'MEDIA_ITEM' received
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [MediaResourceRetrievalStrategy] Getting information about media item 1010 (local)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [MediaItemDAOImpl] Reading a MediaItem (id = 1010)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [VideoDAOImpl] Reading a Video (id = 1010)
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Delivering item '1010' for client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Delivering file 'Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi' using transcoding
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [AbstractTranscodingDeliveryEngine] No other client uses transcoding job of file 'transcoding-temp-976-sony2010-ORIGINAL.stf', will stop the job
2012-07-30 14:43:21,415 DEBUG [AbstractTranscodingDeliveryEngine] Stopping previous transcoding job of file 'transcoding-temp-976-sony2010-ORIGINAL.stf'
2012-07-30 14:43:21,416 DEBUG [ProcessExecutor] Stopping external process: Thread[Thread-90445,5,main]
2012-07-30 14:43:21,416 DEBUG [ProcessUtils] Sending kill -9 to the Unix process: 7534
2012-07-30 14:43:21,416 DEBUG [ProcessExecutor] Starting kill -9 7534
2012-07-30 14:43:21,581 DEBUG [TranscodingJobListener] Transcoding finished; successful: true
2012-07-30 14:43:21,582 DEBUG [TranscodingJobListener] Deleted temp file '/tmp/Serviio/transcoding-temp-976-sony2010-ORIGINAL.stf': true
2012-07-30 14:43:21,582 DEBUG [AbstractTranscodingDeliveryEngine] No suitable transcoding job exists yet, start one for client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:21,582 DEBUG [MediaItemDAOImpl] Getting file of media item 1010
2012-07-30 14:43:21,583 DEBUG [FFMPEGWrapper] Invoking FFmpeg to transcode video file: /shares/tv/Penn & Teller Bullshit!/Season 6/Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi
2012-07-30 14:43:21,583 DEBUG [ProcessExecutor] Starting ffmpeg -i /shares/tv/Penn & Teller Bullshit!/Season 6/Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi -y -threads 1 -copyts -c:v mpeg2video -b:v 17000k -vf pad=683:384:85:0:black,setdar=4:3 -r 30000/1001 -g 15 -c:a ac3 -b:a 384k -ac 2 -map 0:0 -map 0:1 -sn -f mpegts /tmp/Serviio/transcoding-temp-1010-sony2010-ORIGINAL.stf
2012-07-30 14:43:22,083 DEBUG [FileBasedTranscodingDeliveryStrategy] Sending transcoding stream
2012-07-30 14:43:22,084 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:22,084 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_NA_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:22,084 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_KO_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:22,084 DEBUG [MediaItemDAOImpl] Marking MediaItem (id = 1010) as read
2012-07-30 14:43:22,114 DEBUG [LocalContentCacheDecorator] Cleared cache (local_resetafterplay)
2012-07-30 14:43:22,114 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Stream entity has length: 50000000000
2012-07-30 14:43:22,115 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Sending file back
2012-07-30 14:43:22,115 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] Creating entity with chunked transfer
2012-07-30 14:43:22,115 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] HTTP/1.1 200 OK, headers = [[Content-Type: video/mpeg,TimeSeekRange.dlna.org: npt=0.0-1639.0/1639,Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:43:22 GMT,Server: Linux, UPnP/1.0 DLNADOC/1.50, Serviio/1.0,Cache-control: no-cache,contentFeatures.dlna.org: DLNA.ORG_PN=MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO;DLNA.ORG_OP=10;DLNA.ORG_CI=1;DLNA.ORG_FLAGS=01500000000000000000000000000000,transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming]]
2012-07-30 14:43:23,692 DEBUG [WebServer] I/O error: Broken pipe
2012-07-30 14:43:23,696 DEBUG [WebServer] Incoming connection from /10.93.1.102:45412
2012-07-30 14:43:23,696 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.102
2012-07-30 14:43:23,697 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] GET /resource/1010/MEDIA_ITEM/MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO-0/ORIGINAL HTTP/1.1, headers = [TimeSeekRange.dlna.org: npt=0.000-,getcontentFeatures.dlna.org: 1,Pragma: getIfoFileURI.dlna.org,transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming,X-AV-Physical-Unit-Info: pa="BRAVIA KDL-46NX720";,X-AV-Client-Info: av=5.0; cn="Sony Corporation"; mn="BRAVIA KDL-46NX720"; mv="1.7";,Host: 10.93.2.1:8895]]
2012-07-30 14:43:23,697 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.102
2012-07-30 14:43:23,697 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Resource request accepted. Using client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:23,697 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Request for resource 1010 and type 'MEDIA_ITEM' received
2012-07-30 14:43:23,697 DEBUG [MediaResourceRetrievalStrategy] Getting information about media item 1010 (local)
2012-07-30 14:43:23,697 DEBUG [MediaItemDAOImpl] Reading a MediaItem (id = 1010)
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [VideoDAOImpl] Reading a Video (id = 1010)
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Delivering item '1010' for client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Delivering file 'Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi' using transcoding
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [AbstractTranscodingDeliveryEngine] A suitable transcoding job already exists, re-use it for client 'IPAddress=/10.93.1.102, Profile=Sony Bravia TV (2010)'
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [FileBasedTranscodingDeliveryStrategy] Sending transcoding stream
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_NA_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [VideoDeliveryEngine] Found Format profile for transcoded file Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi: MPEG_TS_SD_KO_ISO
2012-07-30 14:43:23,698 DEBUG [MediaItemDAOImpl] Marking MediaItem (id = 1010) as read
2012-07-30 14:43:23,718 DEBUG [LocalContentCacheDecorator] Cleared cache (local_resetafterplay)
2012-07-30 14:43:23,718 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Stream entity has length: 50000000000
2012-07-30 14:43:23,719 DEBUG [ResourceDeliveryProcessor] Sending file back
2012-07-30 14:43:23,719 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] Creating entity with chunked transfer
2012-07-30 14:43:23,719 DEBUG [ResourceTransportRequestHandler] HTTP/1.1 200 OK, headers = [[Content-Type: video/mpeg,TimeSeekRange.dlna.org: npt=0.0-1639.0/1639,Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2012 18:43:23 GMT,Server: Linux, UPnP/1.0 DLNADOC/1.50, Serviio/1.0,Cache-control: no-cache,contentFeatures.dlna.org: DLNA.ORG_PN=MPEG_TS_SD_EU_ISO;DLNA.ORG_OP=10;DLNA.ORG_CI=1;DLNA.ORG_FLAGS=01500000000000000000000000000000,transferMode.dlna.org: Streaming]]
2012-07-30 14:43:28,828 DEBUG [WebServer] Incoming connection from /10.93.1.147:1147
2012-07-30 14:43:28,828 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.147
2012-07-30 14:43:28,829 DEBUG [ServiceEventSubscriptionRequestHandler] ServiceEvent renewal request received for service ContentDirectory and subscription uuid:1562b69c-7c5e-46b6-8ade-6d031cd3c648
2012-07-30 14:43:28,829 DEBUG [ServiceEventSubscriptionRequestHandler] Event subscription renewed for service urn:upnp-org:serviceId:ContentDirectory and subscription 1562b69c-7c5e-46b6-8ade-6d031cd3c648
2012-07-30 14:43:30,093 DEBUG [WebServer] Incoming connection from /10.93.1.147:1148
2012-07-30 14:43:30,093 DEBUG [RendererDAOImpl] Reading a Renderer with ip address 10.93.1.147
2012-07-30 14:43:30,093 DEBUG [ServiceEventSubscriptionRequestHandler] ServiceEvent renewal request received for service X_MS_MediaReceiverRegistrar and subscription uuid:a0fb082f-05ae-402e-abf6-efd28cf2c728
2012-07-30 14:43:30,093 DEBUG [ServiceEventSubscriptionRequestHandler] Event subscription renewed for service urn:microsoft.com:serviceId:X_MS_MediaReceiverRegistrar and subscription a0fb082f-05ae-402e-abf6-efd28cf2c728

[Illico]

"-vf pad=683:384:85:0:black,setdar=4:3" option seems good...what is the original format ? (post command result
ffmpeg -i "/shares/tv/Penn & Teller Bullshit!/Season 6/Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi"

Do you try "Option" button and check screen display setting?
Could you select a sample file here with the aspect ratio issue ?
http://samples.mplayerhq.hu/avi/

I will try the same with my 2010 model.

Here is the output for this particular video:

  Code:

ffmpeg -i "/shares/tv/Penn & Teller Bullshit\!/Season 6/Penn and Teller Bullshit - S06E04 - Dolphins.avi"
ffmpeg version N-42368-gbf53863 Copyright (c) 2000-2012 the FFmpeg developers
  built on Jul 26 2012 19:36:00 with gcc 4.6.3
  configuration: --enable-static --disable-shared --bindir=/tmp/ffmpeg --disable-ffplay --disable-ffserver --enable-pthreads --disable-mmx --enable-gpl --enable-libfaac --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libtheora --enable-libvorbis --enable-libvpx --enable-libx264 --enable-nonfree --enable-version3 --enable-librtmp --pkg-config=pkg-config
  libavutil      51. 64.100 / 51. 64.100
  libavcodec     54. 33.100 / 54. 33.100
  libavformat    54. 15.102 / 54. 15.102
  libavdevice    54.  1.100 / 54.  1.100
  libavfilter     3.  1.100 /  3.  1.100
  libswscale      2.  1.100 /  2.  1.100
  libswresample   0. 15.100 /  0. 15.100
  libpostproc    52.  0.100 / 52.  0.100


As mentioned above, I've tried the different "Wide" settings = Normal, Full Stretch, etc - and only Full Zoom seems to give some minor improvement.

Also, do you have any recommendations on which of the files on the Mplayer website I should try? Many of them seem deliberately broken (mp-avi-demuxer-fail-184453.avi) and only one or two seem to play even in VLC player. I'm not even sure which if any of them would be a representative test for this AVI issue. If not, I'll probably just try them all and see what happens.

[Illico]

Could you try with this following file (this is a short version of the one I used on the beginning of this thread)?

Test1_640x336_short.zip

AVI test sample

(913.23 KiB) Downloaded 809 times

As I mentioned before, the collection of videos at http://samples.mplayerhq.hu/avi/ seems to be a collection of videos that are broken in all kinds of ways. Nonetheless, I began to document the failure of them on my KDL-46NX720. If the descriptions are a bit vague, it's because I know nothing of video production, encoding, or anything of the sort. I assume that most non-HD video will only occupy the center 1/3 or so of the screen and can only be "zoomed" for the most part, at the loss of pixels. mewmew-ssa.avi was somewhat reminiscent of the issue I experienced with videos earlier. I'll continue to go through the other 40-odd videos at some point, but the issue always seems to be the same - poor aspect ratio at the loss of pixels.

If it's any help, I can attach photos of all of the different AVI display problems I've noticed.

Here are the first few I tried:

2-audio-streams.avi
Only occupied center 1/3 of screen, looks better with "Zoom Option"

ffmp3_bad_rate_detection.avi
Occupies only the center 1/3 of the screen, and doesn't even fill the screen horizontally - pauses after 2 seconds of audio/video and won't restart

filedoesitbetter.avi
No sound, static video display (won't move past first frame), blurry, gray stripes on either side of the video; "Zoom" helped slightly

GoneNutty.avi
Occupies only the center 1/3 of the screen, but a bit better with Zoom (and without loss of pixels)

imaadpcm.avi
Occupies about half of the screen vertically and about 2/3 horizontally; was made better with "Zoom", but the video paused and wouldn't start again after 2 seconds.

mewmew-ssa.avi
Occupies only the center 1/3 of the screen and about half of the screen horizontally; Zoom helped without loss of pixels

mp-avi-demuxer-fail-184453.avi
Occupies only the center 1/3 of the screen, but a bit better with Zoom (and without loss of pixels). Sound was awful.

mp_seek_failed.avi
Audio was out of sync and distorted. Wide Zoom seemed to correct the picture a bit.

Now I recognize that, even in the best case, ffmpeg/Serviio will only work with a tiny fraction of the bizarrely encoded AVI's out there - but we should at least document which ones those will be so that people will be aware of it and can convert or re-encode their content accordingly.

I just tried Test1_640x336_short.avi. It occupies the center 1/3 of the screen at "Full" (much less with the "Normal" setting). Applying "Zoom" gives the most picture on the screen and doesn't appear to lose any pixels. At "Zoom," only about the top and bottom 1/4 of the screen are black. I'm assuming this is about normal.

[Illico]

2-audio-streams.avi
ffmp3_bad_rate_detection.avi
filedoesitbetter.avi
GoneNutty.avi
imaadpcm.avi
mewmew-ssa.avi
mp-avi-demuxer-fail-184453.avi
mp_seek_failed.avi

All files display fine with a good DAR on my 2010 model.
Did you read the first post of this topic and the Sony setting I used?
What is the profile used (official,modified)?
Could you try with the short sample file I post ?