Original Aspect Ratio versus Widescreen // Mod: preference when multiple versions are available

Feature Suggestions
1

This feature request is primarily being driven by one show, but I can see where this could be useful in other ways for other sort functions.

Effectively looking for something maybe similiar to what was done in Disney+ and the Simpsons TV show. The ability to at the server to set a setting that favors use of the original aspect ratio over widescreen aspect ratio if have multiple versions. I know it is possible per player to switch, but especillay with auto-pla on TV shows it can be annoying to switch per episode.

Living in a mutlilanguage household, we tend to have movies and tv shows in multiple versions with multiple languages. So something like the Simspons that I have originally 4:3 aspet ratio, in english, which I would prefer when watching, but then if Ihave an alternate version in widescreen, so I can have it in Spanish, French, German, Chinese, but leave English language in the file, now the widescreen, pan and scan version gets favored in English, over the original 4:3 in english.

So this feature is almost effectively a way to, at the server, per show, have the "original intent’ of the director/creater/broadcast be favored when possible.

2

Have you considered simply muxing the non-Englisch audio tracks into the file with the 4:3 video (assuming they’re not otherwise different cuts)?

Otherwise your selection based on aspect ratio will produce some weird results (e.g. if your language and aspect-ratio preferences collide)…

3

Yes, I have done that. However that only works if the sources are similiar or have the ability to be “fixed” with their FPS. The issue is though, between DVD, Bluray and Web sources there is different lengths for “commercial” breaks.

The differences in “black” scene breaks is not consistent. The WEB source that has German and Chinese has a different length on the scene breaks, so if you sync based on trying to align with the difference on the first commercial break, then the 3rd commercial “break” has a different length so the back half of the video is out of sync with audio. The differences are more than difference in FPS and more that the scene “breaks” are not consistent between source materials.

Understood it could cause issues. I’ve worked around it by keeping 2 TV Shows listed one as a 4:3 aspect ratio, and the other as a widescreen. The problem then becomes new shows that I add after remxuing, I have to keep re-splitting the shows apart.