I'm confused on this aspect ratio stuff....

[Iguana Man]

Ok, I got a new PJ that's 16:9 native. I got a new screen that's 92" and is....widescreen.

I watch a WIDESCREEN dvd and I get small black bars on the top and the bottom.

What the hell is the point of spending all my money on this setup when I STILL GET BLACK BARS?

Obviously I'm a n00b when it comes to aspect ratios. Is there a simple (and we are dealing with me, so please make it SIMPLE) explanation for this?

Thanks!

[jdurg]

It's pretty simple. Take 16 and divide it by 9. What do you get? You get 1.78. Now look at the ratio of most films. 2.35:1, 1.85:1, etc. etc. VERY few actually are filmed at 1.78 to 1. All the hype about no black bars existing on a widescreen television are simply that; hype. It's an attempt to get "full-screen Joe" to pick up a widescreen TV thinking that no more black bars will exist. They will exist on all but a small percentage of movies.

[biglyle]

Your screen and player are both 16:9 or 1.85 - 1 aspect ratio. Many movies and HD material are filmed using this aspect ratio, and when you view them you wont see black bars as they will fill the entire screen.
However a large number of movies are shot in higher aspect ratios, the most common being 2.40 - 1. These are the movies that will create the black bars, as the intended field of view is larger than your screen.

Hope this helps.

[Iguana Man]

Thanks.....

So I guess the latest Harry Potter is filmed in a larger ratio than 1.78.

My point is, I feel kinda ripped off after dumping more $$$ into the 16:9 'world' and I still get the 'bars'.

Is this something non-n00b's (like you guys) have simply dealt with, or do you also feel like you've been robbed?

[Brikar99]

Yes, but the bars are smaller and your display has higher resolution. So yes, on some movies you'll have bars, but you're getting a better picture. THAT should be your concern, rather than whether or not you have bars. Buying the TV just to "get rid of the bars" sounds silly, if you ask me.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Brikar99

Buying the TV just to "get rid of the bars" sounds silly, if you ask me.

Well I didn't buy the PJ for that reason, but I guess I may have sounded that way given my posts/responses.

I guess I made the "assumption" all bars would vanish.....


In a nutshell: Any aspect ratio above 1:78 or 1:85 will produce bars given my setup?

[SandraBee]

Originally Posted by Brikar99

Yes, but the bars are smaller and your display has higher resolution. So yes, on some movies you'll have bars, but you're getting a better picture. THAT should be your concern, rather than whether or not you have bars. Buying the TV just to "get rid of the bars" sounds silly, if you ask me.

My husband and I were looking into doing this same sort of thing. Our children don't say anything about the black bars but they've taken a lot of getting used to me on my part, especially as we have a rather small screen TV for four people to watch (only 19 inches ). My husband has a big problem watching some of the action movies we have when the black bars are so thick, so I can understand why the previous fellow was making the same complaint.

I do see that you hated Kill Bill, and that's a very bold stance, as everybody in my neighborhood seemed to go bannans over it. I thought it might be too violent for me, and only caught a few minutes on DVD before turning it off, so you're more familiar with it than I am. Did you watch it on a small TV as well?

[Sword of Whedon]

In a nutshell: Any aspect ratio above 1:78 or 1:85 will produce bars given my setup?

Correct

[MooglePorn]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

Is this something non-n00b's (like you guys) have simply dealt with, or do you also feel like you've been robbed?

No, because I knew it was that way ahead of time, and I know there's no other way to do it.

[Sword of Whedon]

Here, this might help

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...c/welcome.html

[plissken99]

You shouldn't feel robbed. Especially since anamorphic DVDs on an anamorphic set up will look better than they will on a 4:3 set up, as you get artifacts from squishing the image in that ratio. Plus on a projection sized screen, who cares if there are blacks bars?

I will say, there is a solution to get rid of them, but it's expensive. Some people have motorized screens. I don't know much, but basically, they can make the screen 2.35:1 or 16:9 depending on the material. Some used motorized pulldown screens, others use a matte system(objects that come up and block the bars). Maybe go AVSforum.com and ask around, lots of people there do this.

[cherno]

Just wait until all those fools who buy full screen to avoid the bars, start watching them on the widescreen tv's they are eventually going to have to buy. "Oh yeah, I hate bars on the top and bottom so much...Hey WTF are these bars on the side!?!?!"

[theta]

Originally Posted by cherno

Just wait until all those fools who buy full screen to avoid the bars, start watching them on the widescreen tv's they are eventually going to have to buy. "Oh yeah, I hate bars on the top and bottom so much...Hey WTF are these bars on the side!?!?!"

Thinking about that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

[Millhouse]

i remember when star wars, empire, and jedi his widescreen vhs in 1995. i'd never seen widescreen before and loved it, even watching it on a 32cm tv. i would have been... 11 years old, so I guess I've now been watching varying aspect ratios for ten years now and never really had a problem with it.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Sword of Whedon

Here, this might help

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...c/welcome.html

Thanks Sword.

Originally Posted by plissken99

I will say, there is a solution to get rid of them, but it's expensive. Some people have motorized screens. I don't know much, but basically, they can make the screen 2.35:1 or 16:9 depending on the material. Some used motorized pulldown screens, others use a matte system(objects that come up and block the bars). Maybe go AVSforum.com and ask around, lots of people there do this.

It's not a question of masking my current screen, it's more of me wanting to see all 92" of it filled all the time with widescreen movies (what I incorrectly assumed). And yes, as someone noted earlier, the black bars are much smaller than they were on my older 4:3 screen.

It isn't a big deal now that I understand the different ratios better.

Thanks again...

[Vonner]

Originally Posted by biglyle

Your screen and player are both 16:9 or 1.85 - 1 aspect ratio.

Not true.

As pointed out earlier your screen is 16x9 or 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Now, with that said, many people with 16x9 displays will not see any black bars when watching a movie that is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but that's because of the TV's (or projector) over scan ratio. Most RPTV's have an over scan of about 5% which will "hide" the bars at the top and bottom of the screen on a 1.85:1 aspect ratio movie. They are still there.

Nothing against Iguana Man here...

On a side not, I wonder if the people that find the black bars annoying on 16x9 displays also find it annoying when they go to a theater and the screen squishes to show a movie that has been filmed with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Maybe they don't see it in their theater, but in the one I go to most all the screens are set up for a 1.85:1 ratio movie. When at movie filmed in a 2.35:1 ratio is shown on those screens, remote control walls will drop from the top and raise from the bottom to cut off the portion of the screen where the black bars would be. Thus, the viewer doesn't see them. They are there. Conversely when a movie filmed in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio is shown on one of the 2.35:1 theater screens the curtains on the left and right are pulled in a bit more to hide the black bars that would be on the sides.

It's just a little fact that most people don't realize. They figure that when they get a 16x9 TV they are going to see the movie "like it was in the theater", all movie on the entire screen. Well, they are seeing it like it was in the theater (with the black bars) they just don't see the black bars in the theater because it's dark, and the theaters intentionally hide them. Maybe they ought to make TV's that do that too.

[Crow331]

Most good dvd players have a "zoom" feature ... if you are really annoyed with the black bars you could zoom in slightly.

Not something I would do, but it is a thought.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Crow331

Most good dvd players have a "zoom" feature ... if you are really annoyed with the black bars you could zoom in slightly.

Not something I would do, but it is a thought.

Thanks...I have zoom, but I can live with a 3" black bar on top and bottom during the few films I've seen that do have them.

[Sword of Whedon]

It's just a little fact that most people don't realize. They figure that when they get a 16x9 TV they are going to see the movie "like it was in the theater", all movie on the entire screen. Well, they are seeing it like it was in the theater (with the black bars) they just don't see the black bars in the theater because it's dark, and the theaters intentionally hide them

Actually in the theater they don't exist, period. Anamorphic uses the entire 35mm frame and uses an lens to unsquish it

[Vonner]

Originally Posted by Sword of Whedon

Actually in the theater they don't exist, period. Anamorphic uses the entire 35mm frame and uses an lens to unsquish it

Right, but the screen is not fully used to show the movie. The portions of the movie screen that correspond to the portions that would show the black bars on a TV screen are blocked at the theater. My point is that there are portions of the movie screen in theaters that are not used, just the same as a 16x9 TV display.

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by Vonner

My point is that there are portions of the movie screen in theaters that are not used, just the same as a 16x9 TV display.

That's what I'm getting....unless I'm wrong again. Either way...I'm loving the new setup even knowing I'll see black bars on occasion.

That, and a Steelers victory makes Iguana Man very happy.

(My neigbors kids were over last night...they looked at me like I was a complete asshole when I mentioned the 3" bars up top and bottom...The one kid said "Scott, relax...it looks good" . Outta the mouth of babes! There is hope for our children after all! )

[plissken99]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

(My neigbors kids were over last night...they looked at me like I was a complete asshole when I mentioned the 3" bars up top and bottom...

They saw the real you eh?

[Iguana Man]

Originally Posted by plissken99

They saw the real you eh?

Yep! And what's strange is......they keep coming back! Little rug rats!

[Dilmo]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

That, and a Steelers victory makes Iguana Man very happy.

That's all that matters. Congrats!

[chipmac]

Here's something that hasn't been said here yet that I thought I'd post for future readers of the thread. The asapect ratio of 16:9 was chosen for HDTV because it was determined to be a good compromise between 4:3 and the various theatrical widscreen aspect ratios. The AR of 16:9 is only a standard for broadcast TV in HD. There is no AR standard for theatrical film so the director is free to choose whatever he feels will provide a better canvas for his vision.

So when you buy a 16:9 HDTV to remove the black bars you'll only be doing it for broadcast TV shows that were shot in 16:9 and have black bars top and bottom for their analog broadcast counterparts. Films shown in the theater and broadcast on TV in HD can be either in their original aspect ratio (OAR) which might need bars to fill in the screen or they'll be cropped for broadcast at 16:9 if they have a wider AR than 1.78:1.

[tomdkat]

Originally Posted by Iguana Man

What the hell is the point of spending all my money on this setup when I STILL GET BLACK BARS?

The point is so you can enjoy the video presentation as the director intended and you're supposed to not let the bars "bother" you.

Thanks for starting this thread...

Peace...

[Hollow Man]

Maybe they should make TVs in all the popular ratios, and then we can all go buy multiple sets for our house! Make a trap door in the floor and a console on the wall to pick the TV you need! Then the right one will get loaded via conveyor belt and pop up out of the floor!

Whee!

-HM