Cameltosis Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 OK, I have a Sony 46" HD rear projection and a new DVD player, both support 1080i. When I put in a DVD last night I could not get the movie to take up the full screen, it has the slim picture with the black bar on the top and bottom. I am assuming it is formatted to look good somehow, but maybe this is as simple as the movie I rented is the wide screen version so it will not fill up the entire screen or am I missing a setting? I was able to adjust it to cover 80% of the screen or so, but I would like the full screen. I mean thats why I bought it right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 OK, I have a Sony 46" HD rear projection and a new DVD player, both support 1080i. When I put in a DVD last night I could not get the movie to take up the full screen, it has the slim picture with the black bar on the top and bottom. I am assuming it is formatted to look good somehow, but maybe this is as simple as the movie I rented is the wide screen version so it will not fill up the entire screen or am I missing a setting? I was able to adjust it to cover 80% of the screen or so, but I would like the full screen. I mean thats why I bought it right? the movie was shot in a wider aspect ratio than the 16:9 of your HDTV. so in order to fit the whole film it has to put the bars on the top/bottom. you can fiddle with the stretch/skew/zoom settings on your TV, but you will either be stretching the picture vertically, which can look kinda crappy, or cropping off the sides of the film. also, most TVs don't have display settings for vertically stretching a widescreen film like that, most of them are tailored around making a SD TV signal (4:3) look good on the wider HDTV aspect ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleseeya Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 OK, I have a Sony 46" HD rear projection and a new DVD player, both support 1080i. When I put in a DVD last night I could not get the movie to take up the full screen, it has the slim picture with the black bar on the top and bottom. I am assuming it is formatted to look good somehow, but maybe this is as simple as the movie I rented is the wide screen version so it will not fill up the entire screen or am I missing a setting? I was able to adjust it to cover 80% of the screen or so, but I would like the full screen. I mean thats why I bought it right? you needed a 50 inch TV that would have done the trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avernus Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 however the movie is naturally displayed is how the director wants it viewed.... you're not getting robbed unless we start getting TV sets that can conform to these standards... but you have the 1.85:1, 2.35:1 2.40:1/2.4:1 etc which are different aspect ratios.... this topic is sort of like film grain on certain high definition movies because people who don't know much about the topic don't like it...(IE:300 has all kinds of grain because the movie is supposed to look like it was taken right out of a novel) but just like film grain...the aspect ratio is part of the movie and is intended...it doesn't matter what set you have...the bars will be there unless the movie is intended to be viewed in fullscreen...(IE: animated movies and certain others) I hope this quick explanation helps....I'm kinda lazy.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtomicCEO Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 (edited) My buddy had this problem, and it turned out he had his TV looking at the wrong input. Only use the component or HDMI connection from the devices to your TV. If you use composite video, svideo, or the coax cable, you're never going to get the correct aspect ratio. Then, make sure that the input of the TV is set to the HDMI or component input. It's usually selectable on your remote. Edited January 8, 2008 by AtomicCEO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Irish Doggy Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Yeah, that kind of threw me through a loop the first time I realized I would still have bars on my HDTV too. Perhaps that will be the new thing in 5-10 years : ultra wide screen HDTV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTed46 Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 It has to do with aspect ratios. Honestly, you do not want to remove the blackbars. You are getting the clearest possible picture with them. Stretching the film to fit on your tv can cause distortion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameltosis Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 you needed a 50 inch TV that would have done the trick I was lucky to get the 46", Mrs Camel didnt think our living room could fit anything bigger than 36". Thanks for the info guys. It is pretty much what I thought, but some movies seem to fill the screen and others dont. Just wondered if I was doing something wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 (edited) I was lucky to get the 46", Mrs Camel didnt think our living room could fit anything bigger than 36". Thanks for the info guys. It is pretty much what I thought, but some movies seem to fill the screen and others dont. Just wondered if I was doing something wrong. Nothing to do with you. To put it simply (as if there's ever anything simple about this) It has to do with the aspect ratio of the TV vs. the aspect ratio the movie is shot in. For standard television, the aspect ratio is 4:3. This is an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 for the camera (why they do it differently on different ends of the thing, I'll never know). Widescreen aspect ratio is 16:9. So if you show something that was shot in 1.33:1 on a 16:9 screen, you will have blank space on the sides. Most televisions handle this by putting the image in the center of the screen and placing black (or sometimes gray) bars on the sides. Most movies are not shot in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Many are shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. If you do the math you will find that this is exactly 16:9 on the screen. Hence the reason that the widescreen format for televisions are 16:9 aspect ratio. However, there are a lot of other film formats out there. The second most popular is 2.35:1. This format is wider than 1.85:1. When a film that is shot with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is projected on a widescreen TV, you will find that there is blank space. Just like with stand television images, the TV handles this by placing the image in the center of the screen but this time, the blank space is at the top and bottom, not the sides. Once again, black or gray bars are used to frame the picture. I was waiting to see if anyone would acutally explain this but while some were close, they only skirted the issue. Edited January 8, 2008 by Kid Cid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Nothing to do with you. To put it simply (as if there's ever anything simple about this) It has to do with the aspect ratio of the TV vs. the aspect ratio the movie is shot in. For standard television, the aspect ratio is 4:3. This is an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 for the camera (why they do it differently on different ends of the thing, I'll never know). Widescreen aspect ratio is 16:9. So if you show something that was shot in 1.33:1 on a 16:9 screen, you will have blank space on the sides. Most televisions handle this by putting the image in the center of the screen and placing black (or sometimes gray) bars on the sides. Most movies are not shot in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Many are shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. If you do the math you will find that this is exactly 16:9 on the screen. Hence the reason that the widescreen format for televisions are 16:9 aspect ratio. However, there are a lot of other film formats out there. The second most popular is 2.35:1. This format is wider than 1.85:1. When a film that is shot with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is projected on a widescreen TV, you will find that there is blank space. Just like with stand television images, the TV handles this by placing the image in the center of the screen but this time, the blank space is at the top and bottom, not the sides. Once again, black or gray bars are used to frame the picture. I was waiting to see if anyone would acutally explain this but while some were close, they only skirted the issue. it is called being concise. first post in the thread: the movie was shot in a wider aspect ratio than the 16:9 of your HDTV. so in order to fit the whole film it has to put the bars on the top/bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameltosis Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 Nothing to do with you. To put it simply (as if there's ever anything simple about this) It has to do with the aspect ratio of the TV vs. the aspect ratio the movie is shot in. For standard television, the aspect ratio is 4:3. This is an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 for the camera (why they do it differently on different ends of the thing, I'll never know). Widescreen aspect ratio is 16:9. So if you show something that was shot in 1.33:1 on a 16:9 screen, you will have blank space on the sides. Most televisions handle this by putting the image in the center of the screen and placing black (or sometimes gray) bars on the sides. Most movies are not shot in 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Many are shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. If you do the math you will find that this is exactly 16:9 on the screen. Hence the reason that the widescreen format for televisions are 16:9 aspect ratio. However, there are a lot of other film formats out there. The second most popular is 2.35:1. This format is wider than 1.85:1. When a film that is shot with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is projected on a widescreen TV, you will find that there is blank space. Just like with stand television images, the TV handles this by placing the image in the center of the screen but this time, the blank space is at the top and bottom, not the sides. Once again, black or gray bars are used to frame the picture. I was waiting to see if anyone would acutally explain this but while some were close, they only skirted the issue. OK that makes sense. One more question, when a DVD box says "widescreen version" does that mean it is shot in 2.35:1and will have the bars? And if that is true, will the movies shot in 1.85:1 fill the screen? And finally, why are some movies shot in both, or at least offered in both? When I go to Blockbuster sometimes they have the widescreen and the non. Oops, I guess that was more than one question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 it is called being concise. first post in the thread: My, my we're being pissy this afternoon. My assumption is that he (as well as many others) did not know what the aspect ratio is. When attempting to pass on knowledge, I'd rather err on the side of too much rather than too little. As you can see, your being concise led to further questions and an unclear understanding of the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montster Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 OK that makes sense. One more question, when a DVD box says "widescreen version" does that mean it is shot in 2.35:1and will have the bars? And if that is true, will the movies shot in 1.85:1 fill the screen? And finally, why are some movies shot in both, or at least offered in both? When I go to Blockbuster sometimes they have the widescreen and the non. Oops, I guess that was more than one question. typically the back of the dvd case will tell you what aspect ratio the film was shot in. whatever the case, always get the widescreen version. the fullscreen version is for people with standard 4:3 tvs who don't want letterboxing. the film wasn't shot that way -- instead the picture was cropped to fit the screen. if you want to see the film as it was intended, always get the widescreen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Cid Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 OK that makes sense. One more question, when a DVD box says "widescreen version" does that mean it is shot in 2.35:1and will have the bars? And if that is true, will the movies shot in 1.85:1 fill the screen? And finally, why are some movies shot in both, or at least offered in both? When I go to Blockbuster sometimes they have the widescreen and the non. Oops, I guess that was more than one question. Unfortunately, as with most product labeling, there is always a fair bit of ambiguity. Widescreen format means that it can be shot in anything greater than 1.33:1. Full Screen Format is ALWAYS 1.33:1. If you look closely at the back of the DVD, it will say the aspect ratio. If it says 1.85:1 then it will fill the screen. If it says 2.35:1 then it will have the bars on the top and bottom. Both 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 are considered widescreen formats. They put both the widescreen and fullscreen on some DVDs mostly because there are people that enjoy both versions. Some folks hate the bars, some folks hate losing half the picture. The way that they get the Fullscreen format is through a technique ccalled Pan and Scan. Here's an excellent description of the technique from Wikipedia. Pan and Scan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figme Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 on the setup menu of your dvd player, make the aspect ratio is set to 16x9 some dont auto detected. get a good s video or component cable if your player will alllow it,l Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameltosis Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 typically the back of the dvd case will tell you what aspect ratio the film was shot in. whatever the case, always get the widescreen version. the fullscreen version is for people with standard 4:3 tvs who don't want letterboxing. the film wasn't shot that way -- instead the picture was cropped to fit the screen. if you want to see the film as it was intended, always get the widescreen. i dont care what some hippy director had in mind when he shot the film. All I care about is my beautiful HD television using all of its glorious viewing area! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cameltosis Posted January 8, 2008 Author Share Posted January 8, 2008 on the setup menu of your dvd player, make the aspect ratio is set to 16x9 some dont auto detected. get a good s video or component cable if your player will alllow it,l I have an HDMI cable. And I believe I did that in the settings, I got to about 80% of the screen. It was good enough and I didnt loose much of the shot at all. I was just curious how all this works and what the differences are. I have been more than adequately informed. Although I do like watching Kid Cid and Az flex their A/V muscles. Take it outside boys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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