Movie that should show as 1080p showing as 720p

Plex Media Server Desktops & Laptops
1

Lately I’ve been re-ripping any movies I find in my library that are 720p to 1080p and recently came across one that is causing me an issue. In Plex it showed 720p so I ripped it again and transcoded it in Handbrake with one of my HiQ presets. Copied it to the server and refreshed and… it’s still showing as 720p. I did it again thinking I screwed something up and same thing.

Here’s a screen grab of the file info.

image
image847×591 93.1 KB

Can anyone explain why this is happening and more to the point, how to fix the data? If I can rely on what I see in Plex it’s going be a bit more of a chore to find files I need to update.

Thanks.

Server Version#: 3.83.1

2

1080p is 1920 x 1080 so if it’s anything less I think is gonna register as the next level down. For example I use handbrake to rip DVDs which are all 480p. Some show as 480p and some as SD depending on the resolution.

3

Yeah, I get that, but the sleeve says 1080p, I’m ripping full out of MakeMKV, then I let handbrake auto trim as always but at full size how the hell is it ending up like this? I’ve tried 3 times and they all have end up this size. Anybody else out there with Tomb Raider 2018 Blu Ray, non 4K, and can have a look?

If this is indeed the file and not Plex, I humbly apologize. I just don’t understand what’s happening when I do the same procedure with every rip.

4

What’s the MKV actual resolution?

5

Normally Handbrake wouldn’t trim the sides of a modern movie. Is the movie being shown from edge-to-edge, horizontally, when you watch the original? If so, Handbrake is making an error on auto-cropping. Because it’s cropping the width from 1920 to 1856. Which is really weird on any modern mainstream movie.

1 Like
6

Sounds like a Ultrawide format

7

make sure it is not trimming the sides. you should be able to see how mush it is if any in the settings before starting the job.

8

I’ve the same movie and it shows the same as what you have.

Look at the Width & Height, 1856 x 804, not what Plex shows for the resolution. Something with that width & height is obviously not 720p.

I have other Blu-ray 1080p movies that show as 720p and DVD movies that show as SD, not 480p. It does not affect playback, so I tend to consider it a non-issue.

I’m guessing what Plex shows for Resolution is based on some type of “if-then” rules, along the lines of “if width between x & y, then display Resolution = 1080p, if between y & z, then display Resolution = 720p,” etc.

Note: The above is my own conjecture and a complete SWAG. I obviously defer to any Ninja or Employee, as they will have much better insight to the inner workings of Plex (as I have none).

WRT Handbrake, you can change the cropping from Auto to Custom and all zeros. This will give you a 1920x1080 picture with the correct aspect ratio. However, it will include the black bars on top & bottom in addition to what Handbrake chooses to crop from the sides.

Here’s another alternative, which gives you 1920 width w/o encoding the full top & bottom black bars and keeps the correct aspect ratio (I’m using the Super HQ 1080p30 Surround preset and Tomb Raider (2018) movie):

  1. Load the MakeMKV Blu-ray rip into Handbrake.
  2. On Dimensions Tab, note Display Size 1856 x 804, PAR 1x1, Top & Bottom cropping = 138. Left=14, Right=50.
  3. On Dimensions Tab, change Anamorphic from Automatic to None.
  4. Note Display Size is now 1920 x 832, PAR 1x1
  5. Change Cropping to Custom, and Left & Right to Zero.
  6. Decrease Top & Bottom by equal amounts until Display Size = 1920x832, PAR=1x1. For this example Top & Bottom are both 124.
  7. Set other tabs as desired & encode the movie.

To double check the math: (832-804) = 28 = [(138-124) + (138-124)]. Also, (1920-1856) = 64 = (14+50).

There’s probably another way, with less steps, to force the width to 1920, but the above works for me.

MediaInfo using above method. Ignore duration & bitrate. I encoded 1 minute with preset = UltraFast as test.
Screenshot%20(272)

2 Likes
9

Wow. Thanks for this. I guess I have to pay a bit more attention to my rips going forward or I may be redoing ones I’ve already done! And now that I’ve gone though this mess I think it was my original rip showing 720p and I never noticed it. So yay for doing it now 4 times! :expressionless:

It’s too bad Plex isn’t flexible enough to pick up on situations like this, but I’m guessing it doesn’t happen all that often. I know you say you’ve seen a few others like this and maybe I have too and just didn’t catch it.

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It is not a plex issue, its a combination of the resolution of the source and your encoder settings issue as illustrated above.

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Well I guess my point is that with the given dimensions (1856 x 804) the movie isn’t 720p (1280 x 720) either. So yes, Plex is still labeling it incorrectly.

Anyway, at least I know how to correct it and something else I have to look out for when I run the rips through handbrake.

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I just ripped it again and opened it in VLC. It shows resolution at 1920x1080. So that’s correct. Need to be more careful when I use my presets I guess.

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And Handbrake instantly changes to the size I showed. I’m going to step through how @FordGuy61 suggested. And never take Handbrake for granted apparently!

14

Thanks for this. I have it transcoding properly now.

Now my question is, should I not have anamorphic on Auto for any of my presets or is this just a one off?

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BTW in Handbrake’s own documentation, they note auto-crop is not 100% reliable, and to check their work! The software chooses a few spots in the video and does a best-guess. Honestly, 99% of the time, it’s reliable. But you found one of the rarities.

They talk about it here:

https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/advanced/resizing-video.html

16

Yeah. Lucky me! I’ll definitely be checking that from now on. I’m usually just on cruise control when ripping and converting. :slight_smile:

17

all this comes down to your dedication to disk space

someday you may change your mind and realize you want the original rip before you ran handbrake on them, and then you will have to re-rip them all again straight to mkv without handbrake.

hard drives are cheaper than re ripping and recompressing with handbrake.

1 Like
18

Yep. I hear you. I’ve considered that option as well. With 800+ DVD’s/Blu-Rays I’d certainly have a helluva task ahead of me. But at least it would be a lot quicker with just MakeMKV!

19

You should never have ‘anamorphic’ activated, unless the source is anamorphic.
(which is rarely the case with BluRay sources)

download mediainfo here
(pay attention during installation, it comes with a ‘piggybacked’ installer which asks to install additional crapware. Make sure to set/clear the right checkboxes!)

This is an essential tool for everyone who is working with video files.

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yeah anamorphic encoding is a generally relic left over from dvd and analog tv times before widescreen digital flat panels

more fyi
https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/technical/anamorphic-guide.html