Aspect ratio problems using methods 5, 6 and higher?

I use Videodrive to convert xvid (.avi) files to the iTunes friendly h264 format with import options 5 or 6.
Recently I processed a video file with hardcoded subtitles this way. Now I noticed that these conversions methods change the aspect ratio slightly, hence losing the lower part of the subtitles. This makes the videofile worthless to me.

Why does this happen and what can I do to avoide Videodrive (actually: handbrake) to change the aspect ratio of my files? Does this also explain why my videofiles seem to get wider than 21:9?

before conversion using Videodrive method 5 (with handbrake)


after conversion

I notice the original image has black borders while the subtitles are partially in the black zone. While converting, the black borders were deleted from the video track, causing the issue.

The only way to deal with this is adding custom HandBrake parameters (on the Import tab of Preferences)

I have not been able to try it myself as I don’t have such a video file, but try the following: --keep-display-aspect --srt-lang dut

(the last part is unrelated and will set the subtitle language to dutch)

Thanks again, Aroona (...).
as soon as I have some results I will report back.