Incorrect aspect ratio

[synce]

For certain games when you select 'force 4:3', it doesn't really force 4:3. In fact even if you force 16:9 they still won't fill out a 16:9 monitor. However you can manually stretch the window to sort-of get 4:3, which begs the question - why can't Dolphin automate this via some tickbox or per-game config? As it stands, certain games will always look unfaithful to the original version unless you play in windowed mode and fiddle with the window size.

I've attached some examples below from Resident Evil 3

       

Left is Dolphin's square-like result
Right is from the PC version with correct aspect ratio

[Aleron Ives]

You can force 4:3 in fullscreen by setting "stretch to window" AR and using a 4:3 resolution. Changes to the "auto adjust window size" checkbox prevent this from working in window mode anymore, unless you disable that option and manually or externally stretch the window, which is annoying. IMO if you select "stretch to window", Dolphin's AR correction should be disabled, and "auto adjust window size" should merely set the window to the resolution you specify, because "stretch to window" implies that you want to override what Dolphin thinks the AR should be and force a specific output resolution.

[MayImilae]

Make sure crop is enabled in Graphics>Advanced.

[JMC47]

The games don't output at exactly 4:3/16:9, which is why Dolphin doesn't output at exactly 4:3/16:9. We compensate for that by cropping off the edges if you enable crop. This lets it output at the resolutions that you'd see on a T.V.

[Kurausukun]

If you hate letterboxing, you can also use "stretch to window" instead, but that will modify the aspect ratio, so things might look stretched.

[likeike12]

Can you guys sticky this it was very helpful.

[Aleron Ives]

The games don't output at exactly 4:3/16:9, which is why Dolphin doesn't output at exactly 4:3/16:9.

Yes, but one would think that the point of having a "stretch to window" option is to let users force games to display at a specific resolution, and thus AR. Having a "stretch to window" option doesn't make much sense if it doesn't actually stretch the image to the window size you selected, regardless of what Dolphin would want to do if you selected one of the other AR options.

[JMC47]

I think that's a bug if anything... the fact it doesn't stretch to window all the way when that option is selected.

[Aleron Ives]

I agree, but nobody seemed to care when I brought it up before. The problem probably started with PR#4739 and got merged in 5.0-2191. The "Auto-Adjust Window Size" option no longer respects the use of the "Stretch to Window" AR setting and tries to correct the AR anyway, instead of just stretching the image to the specified resolution.

[MayImilae]

The "Auto-Adjust Window Size" option no longer respects the use of the "Stretch to Window" AR setting and tries to correct the AR anyway, instead of just stretching the image to the specified resolution.

This is a silly thing to complain about. Like, think about it. One option scales the window to match the resolution, and the other scales the resolution to match the window. If you turn both on... one of those options is going to lose no matter what!

Frankly, this is bad UX, and Dolphin shouldn't even let you combine those settings at all!

Spoiler:

Also crop should be on by default. *runs*