Watching WideScreen Dvds

[Z3r0]

Hey, i have a widescreen tv and on some dvds(terminator 3///matrix///animatrix) i still get the black bars ontop and below the image, the only widescreen dvd that ive tried that doesnt do this is Finding Nemo. I use x-box as my dvd player. Should those bars be there? I thought getting a widescreen tv ment no black bars on 16:9 movies.

[Woochifer]

Nope, a 16:9 TV simply means that the screen is in a 16:9 aspect ratio, but that does not mean that everything filmed in a wide aspect ratio follows that exact frame. In fact, most movies use other aspect ratios.

The 16:9 aspect ratio that's the standard with widescreen TVs is NOT the same aspect ratio that filmmakers typically use when making movies. The standard aspect ratios for movies are typically either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. The 16:9 aspect ratio used with TVs is about 1.78:1. With a movie filmed at 1.85:1, the black bars will be minimal, and with a 2.35:1 movie, the black bars will be wider.

In actuality, the main reason for going with a 16:9 widescreen TV does not have to do with eliminating the black bars, but more with maximizing the resolution since widescreen DVDs are now mostly anamorphically enhanced. Those extra lines of resolution get discarded when viewing a widescreen movie on a 4:3 TV.

[Z3r0]

thx for the info

[hershon]

One thing I still do not understand, and maybe you can clarify this for me, is, if you are watching an HD channel, say HDNBC as opposed to NBC, and the broadcast on the HD channel still has bars, like the president debate for example, does that mean the broadcast itself is not in HD but as my cable man says, high resolution.

Also, if I get a DVD recorder, how will the HD broadcast look like?

Finally, on DVD's that are not widescreen format, what picture option do you use? I've been using stretch plus.

Thanks for input.



Nope, a 16:9 TV simply means that the screen is in a 16:9 aspect ratio, but that does not mean that everything filmed in a wide aspect ratio follows that exact frame. In fact, most movies use other aspect ratios.

The 16:9 aspect ratio that's the standard with widescreen TVs is NOT the same aspect ratio that filmmakers typically use when making movies. The standard aspect ratios for movies are typically either 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. The 16:9 aspect ratio used with TVs is about 1.78:1. With a movie filmed at 1.85:1, the black bars will be minimal, and with a 2.35:1 movie, the black bars will be wider.

In actuality, the main reason for going with a 16:9 widescreen TV does not have to do with eliminating the black bars, but more with maximizing the resolution since widescreen DVDs are now mostly anamorphically enhanced. Those extra lines of resolution get discarded when viewing a widescreen movie on a 4:3 TV.

[Jonny Ice]

I'm not quite "the man"...but from my past week experience with the HD channels it seems as if non-HD recorded images on HD channels are given the black bars (older sitcoms, newscasts and commercials)...whats really aggrivating is when one night ESPNHD has college football in amazing HD and the next night, the very same show has the ESPN bars...grrr..thats life.