Posted: 9/15/2006 9:06:10 PM EDT
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Why is it that on "some" of them I can change my display settings and convert them to "full screen" or close to it (4:3 I think...skinny black bars) but other DVDs are full wide screen (thick black bars) on every display setting? I own hundreds of DVDs and should know this, but I don't. |
Sometimes the maker of the DVD would rather give you two screen options instead of a bunch of extras. |
I just got the original release of Star Wars 1977 and it basically has no extras and it is widescreen only in every display setting. However the 2004 DVD release of Star Wars 1977 can be viewed from widescreen to full screen. |
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Let me explain how DVDs are authored as far as screen aspect ratio is concerned. DVDs store movies in two actual formats: Anamorphic enhanced, and NOT anamorphic enhanced. In anamorphic mode, the actual resolution that's output from the DVD player is 720x480 pixels. The pixels aren't actually quite square, and in this mode, the aspect ratio will display correctly on a display that has an aspect ratio of 16:9. ONLY a movie that was filmed in a true 16:9 aspect ratio and recorded to the DVD in anamorphic mode will FULLY fill a 16:9 screen. IF the movie is wider (or not as tall) as a 16:9 aspect ratio movie, then letterbox bars are added on top and bottom during the mastering process to fill in the gaps and preserve the correct viewing aspect ratio. Anamorphic mode is intended for use with 16:9 sets. Using it with a regular 4:3 TV set will result in everything on the screen being taller and skinnier than it should appear. NON-anamorphic, standard mode is the other way that movies are stored on a DVD. In this mode, only a program that is natively in 4:3 aspect ratio will fully fill the screen. Any other program aspect ratio will be handled by the addition of letterbox bars on the top and bottom of the screen to fill in the gaps. The resolution of non-anamorphic DVDs is 640x480. Which of these options are available to you is the choice of the mastering studio. CJ |
So you want to watch the full screen instead of widescreen. Wow, I just lost a little respect for you man, now you have to post pics of your collection to gain it back Seriously the only people I know that don't like widescreen are women. The only time I can see choosing full screen over widescreen is if you have a small TV |
Actually no. I prefer the middle ground picture (skinny black bars). When I move I plan on getting a widescreen TV. |
Ok, you didn't really lose any respect, I just wanted to drool over your toys. I love movies and try to watch them as they were intended, a lot of the time they just zoom in on the person talking when they convert to full screen. Also in Braveheart you miss a decapitation in the full screen version. |
correct... I do AV Post.... in english... Some DVD's have one or the other file. Some have both and you can choose from the menus or DVD player settings. Sometimes accross the top of the dvd packaging it will say WIDESCREEN EDITION (VERSION) which is a 4:3 picture with the black bars so the entire 16:9 fits... cool if you have a regular tv and want to see the entire picture, but not good if you have an actual 16:9 tv. Some HDTV's will zoom into the picture and get rid of the black bars but at a lower resolution. For HDTV or 16:9 monitors you want ANAMORPHIC version which when played back will stretch out to fill the screen, but will look skinny on a regular tv. capiche?? edit: there is no standard as far as what files they put in what version... so yes, the products will vary from movie to movie |
to make it more confusing the pixels on the computer monitor are different than the "pixels" on a tv screen... at a ratio .9:1 square pixels vs. rectagular pixels for the entire screen size |
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Some DVDs contain the movie in widescreen format and the DVD player draws the black bars depending on your TV. Or others have the movie in "letterbox" format, which means the video file is in 4:3 format with the black bars being part of the actual video stream (sucks for us with widescreen TVs) And others just have the film edited into pan-and-scan 4:3 "fullscreen" format. P.S. "Full-Screen" DVDs are the equivalent of "Post-Ban" neutered ARs. |
| All our TV's are the older style so I prefer full screen. I use zoom to fill the screen when there is no other option and I've noticed that seldom is there anything of interest lost (yes I know sometimes there is). I guess if I owned a wide screen TV, I would prefer that format. |
 I prefer widescreen because that's how I'm set up. My screen is a 2:1 aspect ratio screen, so there are some movies that I actually end up cropping off on top and bottom just a little. But most of the time, you wouldn't even notice if I didn't tell you about it. Sometimes I do settle for sidebars on the screen so I can see the full 4:3 frame. But then, the picture looks too small for me, though it's still about 70" diagonal. That's my setup pictured. The screen is 8 feet by 4 feet. CJ |
What are those two things at the bottom. They look like BIG amps. |
You like full-screen? You're missing half of the movie! Quite often a DVD will say, on the case, "widescreen" or "fullscreen," and it's permanent that way. |
They ARE BIG amps. Krell KMA-160 monoblock power amps. Introduced in 1988, sold for about $8K/pair. 240 watts RMS continuous into 8 ohms, 480 watts RMS continuous into 4 ohms, 960 into 2 ohms, 1920 watts into 1 ohm. Each is a single channel amplifier. They are solid state and run in pure class A, fully balanced mode. They generate a respectable amount of heat and draw 7 amps each from the wall sockets at all times they are powered up. They are my electronic pride and joy. They were in a house fire and got hosed down with the fire, and were then left to rot in a basement for about two years. I bought them "as is" for 500 bucks plus shipping about 8 years ago. I did a TOTAL restoration and refurbishment on them, which took about 40 labor hours EACH, including cleaning, fluxing, and resoldering every solder joint in them, doing bench tests, and replacing defective components, of which there were VERY few. One amp actually had NO problems, other than the need for cleaning, and the other had lost just one output transistor out of its 24. And the emitter resistor had opened up, taking it out of the circuit. You'd never have missed it. A very thorough cleaning is all they really needed. They've been totally reliable, non-stop, for over eight years now. Quality tells. CJ |
That's full screen. DVD's aren't high resolution. Since it's interlaced, it's really half of that resolution. Since color information is only stored for every other line it's really only half again. There's a reason a lot of people have kept their LaserDiscs around.z |
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It always depends on the aspect ratio that the dvd was cut in. In the best case for us typical widescreen t.v. owners, the dvd was formatted in 16x9 (or an aspect ratio of 1.78:1). However, movies are typically filmed in a wider aspect ratio of 2:35:1, which means you are stuck with those thick black bars on the top and bottom. Anything in between will give you skinnier black bars. Usually, the aspect ratio is listed on the back of the dvd, so you know what you got ahead of time. Some dvds are shipped in dual format (widescreen and full screen), and you can usually zoom a widescreen to get the full screen appearance. Please know that doing this cuts off a bit of the picture on either side. |
Actually, the mastering itself is done progressively. It's the player that outputs either 480i or 480p, depending on its capabilities. I have a substantial LD collection, myself. There are a few movies that I have on LD that are also on DVD, and the DVD is USUALLY better. Those that aren't, are early DVDs that were made before mastering them was a well-developed art. DVD has substantially greater dynamic range than LD, and doesn't have LD's chroma noise issue. (Noise in colored sections of the screen) But LD's uncompressed analog audio tracks sound FANTASTIC. CJ |
Wow that is a very impressive set up you got there 
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Actually in anamorphic mode the DVD player is responsible for adding the black bars to the top and bottom to fill a 16:9 set. In non-anamorphic mode, the black bars are already added to the film in the mastering and it is presented in 4:3 mode (generally). |