[vibecatalin]

Hi there,
I'm new to KODI,I have it installed on my Sony Android TV, I think it is a great application but I think I'm missing something. I've been watching ripped blu ray movies for quite some time on my TV, the source being an laptop. I've used Media Player Classic which has  a feature called Pan & Scan - Zoom to Widescreen, or manually increase size of the image video cropping the margins. Anyway I did NOT find a solution on KODI, only stretching the video resulting in not preserving the aspect ratio.
So it's there a way to preserve the aspect ratio of the video and get rid of the black bars?
Here is an example on Media Player Classic on Windows :


And without black bars, but keeping the aspect ratio: 



Is there a way to do that in KODI?
I don't have a problem if the left and right margins of the video file are cropped.
Thank you!

[Karellen]

I have never understood why people prefer to discard part of the image so they don't have black bars. Anyway each to their own.

The "cog" icon in the bottom right corner of the OSD while the movie is playing. Click it, then select Video Settings, then adjust the "View Mode" to your preference

https://kodi.wiki/view/Home_screen_and_b...g_Controls

[vibecatalin]

That option does NOT preserve the aspect ratio of the movie. It only stretches the movie ( not cropping left and right margins )
I mean this is the result :


It is not the same aspect ratio as the movie, it is stretched.

[Karellen]

It doesn't for me.

[Martijn]

there are multiple options

[vibecatalin]

I've edited the post and uploaded a photo to show that the option doesn't do that.

[Karellen]

You have tried all these options, and none work?

Then just use the Zoom option just below that option

[Martijn]

works fine for me

[vibecatalin]

Ok so I've installed the KODI application on my tablet and the zoom option does that, it crops the left and right margins. But on my Sony Android TV it doesn't. That sucks!
I've also tried with VLC Player , and the same thing. It does not crop the margins.

So it is a Sony Android TV problem.

Maybe this thread should be deleted, because the problem it's not in KODI.

Thanks for your help!

Have a nice day!

[Karellen]

That is interesting. It is certainly not a limitation I was aware of.

It is a good reference in case others have the same issue.

I will modify your thread title to include Sony issue.

[vibecatalin]

Okei. It is better for people to know this.
Thank you!

[0v3rrid3]

This is known issue on sony atv, and it can be fixed by turning mediacodec surface OFF but then you will have other issue because playback with surface off is very choppy.

[Koroush]

I can confirm this issue, I'm having this same problem when setting up Kodi 17.6 on my parent's Sony A1. They prefer 4:3 content to be zoomed in, but without aspect ratio distortion. However, aside from Normal, every other View Mode used in Kodi results in the video being stretched to 16:9 (distorted), never zoomed in and cropped as intended. The same content on my identically configured Windows 10 install of Kodi 17.6 is correctly zoomed in and cropped when using View Mode>Zoom, so it's not a content or configuration problem, it seems to be Sony-specific.

I'll try disabling mediacodec (surface) acceleration when I'm next at my parent's place - the Kodi Android FAQ says that disabling it doesn't disable hardware acceleration, but does disable 4K output support.

Is there any indication as to whether Kodi 18 and/or Sony will resolve this issue?


Update: There were two hardware acceleration options, one to disable Mediacodec (surface), and one for Mediacodec. Simply disabling Mediacodec (surface) fixed the zoom issue completely. After some testing, there are no ill effects - no stuttering/choppiness, no reduction in image quality.