I'm thinking of purchasing a new widescreen tv for my lounge to replace the older non-widescreen tv which currently resides there. One thing that really annoys me about the tv is that some dvds are shown with the picture in the centre of the screen, ie black above and below, one of my friends told me though that her parents bought a widescreen tv a few years ago and it exhibits the same behaviour despite trying to change the settings. Any thoughts? Would I be likely to have the same problem? Also if anyone has any knowledge of one brand v another that would be helpful.
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Widescreen Tvs?
- Thread starter m@thew
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It is most likely the DVD they rented or purchased is the "widescreen" or "letterbox" version, hence the black bars on the top and bottom. This version lets you see what you are missing in a full screen version. There is nothing you can do about it unless the DVD has both versions (wide & full screen) on the same disc.
stjames
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Most widescreen tv's are in 16:9 ratio, standard tv's are 4:3. Many films will have an even wider ratio (2:1 is common), thus the black bars. IIRC Cinemascope from the 1950's was 3:1, basically three square frames from three different projectors side by side.
Mathew,
If you get a "real" widescreen TV. Everything you watch on it will either appear distorted or be in the special letterbox edition. I have a simple 36" that works well. Though, I really want one of these 52" plasma TVs.
But, I don't think Santa will be bringing me one, as I have been pretty naughty this year.
If you get a "real" widescreen TV. Everything you watch on it will either appear distorted or be in the special letterbox edition. I have a simple 36" that works well. Though, I really want one of these 52" plasma TVs.
But, I don't think Santa will be bringing me one, as I have been pretty naughty this year.
Gollnick
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Since it was standardized many decades ago, standard tv has had a width/height ratio of 4/3 which is written as 4:3. This is called the "aspect ratio." Human vision has a natural in-focus area with an aspect ratio of about 4:5. There is peripheral vision outside of that, but it's not in focus. Imax movies are peojected with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Standard Hollywood movies are projected at about 16:9. For every 9 feet they are tall, they are 16 feet wide. They are almost twice as wide as tall.
Why the difference between Imax ans standard theater? 4:3 is a lot closer to the natural aspect ratio of the human eye. 16:9 allows the theater to be built wider allowing more people per row, more people per show.
What this means is that when a theater movie with its 16:9 ratio is shown on a tv with a 4:3 ratio, you have to letterbox it, add those black bars above and below or you have to "pan and scan" it which means only showing part of the whole scene.
A lot of people would like you to think that "wide screen", the 16:9 aspect ratio, is better. Those people work for the marketing department at Hollywood studios.
If you are looking for a large-screen TV, look closely at projection technology. You can get projectors today that deliver excellent images and are no bigger that a shoe box for under $2000. Add a roll-up screen for a few hundred and you're there. The beauty is that when you're not using it, the screen rolls up and the projector is smaller than a shoe box, so it doesn't dominate your living room.
Why the difference between Imax ans standard theater? 4:3 is a lot closer to the natural aspect ratio of the human eye. 16:9 allows the theater to be built wider allowing more people per row, more people per show.
What this means is that when a theater movie with its 16:9 ratio is shown on a tv with a 4:3 ratio, you have to letterbox it, add those black bars above and below or you have to "pan and scan" it which means only showing part of the whole scene.
A lot of people would like you to think that "wide screen", the 16:9 aspect ratio, is better. Those people work for the marketing department at Hollywood studios.
If you are looking for a large-screen TV, look closely at projection technology. You can get projectors today that deliver excellent images and are no bigger that a shoe box for under $2000. Add a roll-up screen for a few hundred and you're there. The beauty is that when you're not using it, the screen rolls up and the projector is smaller than a shoe box, so it doesn't dominate your living room.