Again changed logic: -screenw, -screenh - force user video mode -x, -y - force userdefined prescaling -zoom - activates prescaling -fs - scales prescaling to fullscreen (meaningless with -zoom) So full command line should be: mplayer -vo vesa -screenw WWW -screenh HHH -bpp BPP -x XXX -y YYY -zoom -fs filename And you will be able to watch movies in 16:9 format with bold black border at top and bottom of screen.