Aspect ratio problem, take 38

Hello all.... yes, i HAVE read the forum for answers to this, but since all of this is still new to me, i figured i'd get a more clear cut answer here. i thought i had defeated this devil, but i'm at another roadblock. problem : I just used DVD2SVCD to rip 'Things to do in Denver when youre dead'. I ripped the '16 x 9, borders added' version, and had DVD2SVCD write out a cue sheet. When i burned with CDRDAO, and opened in PowerDVD, the aspect ratio is vertically shrunk. The left and right edges are fine, but the black bars seem a bit too big. Am i suppose to choose the 'anamorphic widescreen' version to play on a standard NTSC TV? If NOT, then what is set wrong? I have already burned 'How High' (also ripped '16x9, borders added') in widescreent format also, and it came out just fine. both encoded with TMPG through the batch process in DVD2SVCD. I am only playing these files in PowerDVD, and not yet on a standalone player, because i wont have access to one for a few weeks. but i figured how it looks in PowerDVD is more than likely how it will look on a tv. What the deal? Thanks in advance.

all other relevant information : WIN98SE Athlon 1700 i tested the IFO file of my HD in PowerDVD and the aspect ratio is fine, so it must be happening during the conversion process, right?

i never had any question that the disc was widescreen, which is why i chose 16x9 when i ripped. The back of the box lists the ratio on the disc is 1.85:1 Like i said, the IFO on my hard drive plays fine, so i know i ripped the right version, but by the time the SVCD has been written, something's gone wrong.

ok, so... 

i dont think i'm any less confused now, but i'm getting somewhere. I went back and did a test chapter from the 'Things to do in Denver' DVD in DVD2SVCD, and did '4:3, no borders added', and the test chapter looks great when i play it through Daemon tools & Power DVD. So how come 'How High' AND the 'Things to do...' DVD both have an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (as both boxes say so specifically), but one had to be ripped at '4:3' to have a correct aspect ratio while letterboxed, and the other ripped at 16:9? I had always assumed that if i ripped the 4:3 version of any of these movies, it would be the pan & scan version. please clear this up for me.

I looked on amazon.com/dvd and lo-and-behold it said Letterbox...well then if you read the newbie reference you would have known to choose 4:3. DVD Features: Theatrical trailer(s) Making-Of Featurette Widescreen letterbox format

see that guide...did you read it? The 3rd paragraph has links to newbie and advanced references

Hi- When you say 1:85:1, that's the movie Aspect Ratio. That has nothing to do with the Display Aspect Ratio (DAR, 4:3 or 16:9), which tells the DVD player how to resize it (and which tells you how it should be encoded). Ordinarily the back of the DVD box will tell you (once you learn the code words). So, letterbox means 4:3. If it's 16:9, the box might say 16:9 or Anamorphic or Enchanced for Wide Screen Televisions. You can also get the information from Amazon.com or the Internet Movie Database. You also might find Doom9's useful. And the also has information about this.

I'll cut and paste it...I know you said not yours, etc. Anyway if you read down to the Recommended reading I give four links to aspect ratio explained...including doom9's. Aspect ratio It reads the vob files to determine either 4:3 fullscreen or 16:9 widescreen. Usually it's correct but best to verify with amazon.com/dvd or use Preview Video (still picture) to be safe. If it says widescreen letterbox choose 4:3. -- 4:3 (No borders, encoded as 4:3) choose this if dvd is 4:3, fullscreen, widescreen letterbox, or anamorphic letterbox. -- 16:9 (borders added, encoded as 4:3) choose this if dvd is widescreen, anamorphic, 16:9, 2:35:1, or 1:85:1. -- Anamorphic (no borders, encoded as 16:9) this is an advanced settings. Perhaps if you have a widescreen TV you could try it or just editing the .avs file.

thanks guys, that thread helped me too :)