VLC Problem

[Shadowfire]

When I'm using VLC on a Win XP SP2, there's this bug-like thing, where the video screen stretches to the edges of my monitor, even though the program itself's actual boundaries are not that wide. Here's a screenshot of it to better show you what I'm talking about:

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4120/untitled3av6.th.jpg (http://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=untitled3av6.jpg)

However, when I run it on a Win XP SP1 boot on the same computer (different partition of a different drive), that doesn't happen. Can anyone tell me what's the problem and how to fix it?

[david02]

Maybe it is an setting in vlc. It is possible to chance a lot of things in there like changing aspect ratio and be able to crop the video when it's format is unknown. I will dive in it soon but I have no time now.

some simple tips:

deinstall vlc and install the latest version in another directory (maybe some settings files stay on your drive when uninstalling, I do not know this but installing in another folder should bypass this I think so you start fresh)
install latest videodrivers if the problem is in every player

some questions:

do other movies play fine in vlc?
does the movie play ok in mediaplayer of divx player?

[Shadowfire]

Thanks for replying. =)

No, no other video plays fine there. Granted, I've only tried playing xvid in .avi containers so far. I'm starting to think it's something wrong with the codec, but I don't know how to fix it.

Yeah, it plays fine in windows media player, but I don't like that software. >.<

I did try your suggestion about reinstalling it, but that didn't work.

[Alien5]

i get that weird stretched screen when i have two VLC's open and playing at the same time.

[Shadowfire]

One doesn't even work for me. >.< A temporary solution is to just full screen the thing, but I don't always want to do that.

Does anyone know what the problem is and what the solution would be?

[Shadowfire]

Bump. The problem isn't going away. Google's not helping either. Anyone?

[ram82082]

mmmmm werks fine 4 me (winxp/sp2). did you try the aspect ratio? did you check all your preferences? did you try another file?

[Shadowfire]

yep, I did. Aspect ratio doesn't do anything to fix it.

What about the preferences should I check?

[ram82082]

not sure.. anything that looks strange. fullscreen output should not b checked. video width/height x/y should b at the default -1. check your video alignment, should be center. did u change any preferences?

and, did u try another file

[Shadowfire]

I have everything that you said to check for. This thing is happening to all my files.

Thanks for trying to help, by the way! ^.^

[kazaa2002]

One doesn't even work for me. >.< A temporary solution is to just full screen the thing, but I don't always want to do that.

Does anyone know what the problem is and what the solution would be?

hi shadowfire,
sorry for not answering sooner,

david02,asked you to do a few things....
the reason he wanted you to re-install vlc
is that when it is deleted off your system and reinstalled
it will reset settings from sp1 to newer sp2
if it did run ok on sp1,then vlc was installed when sp1 was os and vlc got settings from sp1...vlc will not usually
(without help) change settings on its own.

current version 0.8.5-win32...should correct your Aspect Ratio..
if that is not the case, then we go back to square one.
and then depending on your response

run gspot(to find a missing codec)
what version vlc are you using?
when did this start?
it just this movie?

will it reset if you go from full screen and then back
to letterbox?
we can go on....
note....the more info we have, the better chance of
going in the right direction to resolve your problem.

let us know how you make out.

[Shadowfire]

You have nothing to be sorry for. Thanks for replying. =)

My machine is dual booted, so the problem does not lie in update errors. The sp1 is the other boot.

I already tried reinstalling it, but the problem persists. I think I'll try it again, but I'm not sure it will help.

I'm using the latest version (0.8.5 win32).

What do you mean by it resetting?

Ok, I just ran gspot (what an interesting name ...) on one of the files, and it says that the codec is not installed. There our problem is. Thank you so much! I was never aware that the codec wasn't installed, because when I run it on windows media player, the divx codec thing pops up and I falsely think that everything's ok.

Can you help me with setting the codec up? I installed it from this site (don't remember its name), but I was confused as to where to go from there, because the nature of installing it made me think that it worked like a separate program. Back then, it didn't fix the problem, so I just don't know how to specifically how to make it tie in with VLC.

/Edit: Alright, I installed Nik's version xvid codec, uninstalled VLC, rebooted by computer, then reinstalled VLC with the delete preferences option checked. The screen is still stretched in VLC. >.<

[kazaa2002]

You have nothing to be sorry for. Thanks for replying. =)

My machine is dual booted, so the problem does not lie in update errors. The sp1 is the other boot.

I already tried reinstalling it, but the problem persists. I think I'll try it again, but I'm not sure it will help.

I'm using the latest version (0.8.5 win32).

What do you mean by it resetting?

Ok, I just ran gspot (what an interesting name ...) on one of the files, and it says that the codec is not installed. There our problem is. Thank you so much! I was never aware that the codec wasn't installed, because when I run it on windows media player, the divx codec thing pops up and I falsely think that everything's ok.

Can you help me with setting the codec up? I installed it from this site (don't remember its name), but I was confused as to where to go from there, because the nature of installing it made me think that it worked like a separate program. Back then, it didn't fix the problem, so I just don't know how to specifically how to make it tie in with VLC.

/Edit: Alright, I installed Nik's version xvid codec, uninstalled VLC, rebooted by computer, then reinstalled VLC with the delete preferences option checked. The screen is still stretched in VLC. >.<

ok, my reference to resetting is that videolan uses
your windows os and service pack settings rather than
bring its own so as not to override your existing ones.

current version may have a problem.#791 (Change in aspect ratio is ignored) – VLC – Trac (https://trac.videolan.org/vlc/ticket/791)

nic's xvid codec may not be the answer, xvid is a related extension to the mp4 group but your avi may need more
MP4 FAQ - Doom9's Forum (http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62723)

suggest you try using older version like 084
Old Version of VLC Player Download (http://www.oldapps.com/VLC_Player.php)
suggest you visit this site and download k-lite mega codec packFree-Codecs.com (http://www.free-codecs.com/download/WinDVD_Platinum.htm)
and use install(all codecs) that comes with it.

and also, you might want to go to the videolan forum
site....they may have a better suggestion for playing
that avi than what I have thought of so far.
here are 2 more links that will give you some
help in seeing what you have on your system.
EVEREST home edition Audit and Management Solutions (http://www.lavalys.com.hk/products/everesthome.asp)

Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit (http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html)

stay with it
eventually it can be resolved

[lysine]

I would advise against installing a codec pack to fix the problem. installing that many codecs can lead to conflicts. vlc doesn't require codecs to be installed to play the video anyway. it has native support for divx/xvid/etc...

you can always try the beta version and see if it resolves the problem:
http://downloads.videolan.org/pub/videolan/testing/vlc-0.8.6-test2/

or better yet, get the answers from someone who would know:
http://forum.videolan.org/

[Gripper]

I've got the klite codec pack installed an I've never had any conflicts with it.
VLC works fine for me,it's one of them wierd things that happen sometimes.
Try installing the klite codec pack and use windows classic player to run your files.

[Shadowfire]

I'll try these suggestions out and see which one works. Thanks for helping!

//Edit: I'm just going to switch over to MPC until VL clears up the problem.

[lynx]

I noticed you asked "What do you mean by it resetting?".

If you didn't notice, then when you go in to Settings/Preferences, at the bottom of the window there's a button which says "Reset All".

That's a good place to start if you haven't already tried it.