DVD - Wide Screen v. Full Screen

us002840 · 11-17-2005, 06:03 PM

When purchasing a DVD, what is the BEST format for watching on a 16:9 screen - wide or full screen version of the DVD?

I would like to have the entire screen filled at standard 16:9 - I really donot like 16:9 stretched or zoom. No bars, ect.

Thanks!

Eddie501 · 11-17-2005, 06:25 PM

Widescreen is the intended ratio for a 16x9 screen. Full screen is a misnomer as it fills a 4x3 screen (and crops the sides off the movie). There may still be some movies that were shot wider than a 16x9 screen however and will still give small black bars on top & bottom.

Lanny · 11-17-2005, 07:00 PM

Quote:

There may still be some movies that were shot wider than a 16x9 screen however and will still give small black bars on top & bottom.

Actually, almost all movies are wider than 16x9. They cut the left and right off a little to remove the bars from the top and bottom.

us002840 · 11-17-2005, 08:15 PM

So, I should stay away from LETTERBOX DVDs and purchase widescreen DVDs?

borromini · 11-17-2005, 11:46 PM

Careful, some studios use letterbox synonymously as widescreen. You want to make sure the DVDs are anamorpohic or state on the box that they work with enhanced 16:9 TVs. What you want to avoid are non-anamorphic letter box DVD titles. There aren't many of those and they mostly were published in the late 90's.

BrianO · 11-18-2005, 01:05 AM

IMO widescreen DVD's are better than full screen DVD's, even on a 4:3 set. Sure the picture doesn't fill the 4:3 screen but you get to see the entire picture that the director wants you to see and the picture quality is still better than a full screen VHS movie.

On a 16:9 widescreen it is really a "no brainer"...buy widescreen only.

To fill the widscreen with a fulll screen movie you need to either grossly distort the picture by stretching it horizontally, cropping the picture even more than it is already cropped (see below) by zooming, or doing both with "wide zoom" (as Sony calls it) or "Just" (as Panasonic calls it).

Almost all movies nowadays have an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. Full screen DVD's are cropped to fit a 4:3 screen. In the process 28% of the picture is discarded for 1.85:1 movies and 43% is discarded for 2.35:1 movies. With a super widescreen movie like "Ben Hur" (2.76:1) you lose 52% of the picture with the full screen version.

As Borromini suggests try to get anamorphic widescreen movies because they are designed to give a sharper picture on widescreen sets than they do on 4:3 sets. (They are playable on all sets). They are labelled as "anamorphic" or "enhanced for 16:9 widscreen TV's". (Note that the phrase "enhanced for 16:9 widscreen TV's" does not mean that their aspect ratio is 16:9; it just means they are stored on the DVD in a way that produces a sharper picture on a 16:9 set.) However, bear in mind that not all widescreen movies are available in anamorphic form.

As far as letterboxing (black bars at the top and bottom of the screen) is concerned, it is normal for all widescreen movies with an aspect ratio greater than 1.78:1 (16/9) which means almost all of them. Depending on your TV set you might not even notice the letterboxing on 1.85:1 movies but it will definitely be noticeable with 2.35:1 movies and there is no way to avoid it without cropping or distorting the picture (or both).

11-17-2005, 06:03 PM	#1
us002840 A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 12	DVD - Wide Screen v. Full Screen When purchasing a DVD, what is the BEST format for watching on a 16:9 screen - wide or full screen version of the DVD? I would like to have the entire screen filled at standard 16:9 - I really donot like 16:9 stretched or zoom. No bars, ect. Thanks!

11-17-2005, 11:46 PM	#5
borromini HT Frontiersman Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Northern California Posts: 9,822	Careful, some studios use letterbox synonymously as widescreen. You want to make sure the DVDs are anamorpohic or state on the box that they work with enhanced 16:9 TVs. What you want to avoid are non-anamorphic letter box DVD titles. There aren't many of those and they mostly were published in the late 90's. __________________ "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy"

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11-17-2005, 06:25 PM	#2
Eddie501 High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 131	Widescreen is the intended ratio for a 16x9 screen. Full screen is a misnomer as it fills a 4x3 screen (and crops the sides off the movie). There may still be some movies that were shot wider than a 16x9 screen however and will still give small black bars on top & bottom.

11-17-2005, 08:15 PM	#4
us002840 A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 12	So, I should stay away from LETTERBOX DVDs and purchase widescreen DVDs?

11-18-2005, 01:05 AM	#6
BrianO Sony KD34XS955 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Pointe-Claire QC Posts: 2,325	IMO widescreen DVD's are better than full screen DVD's, even on a 4:3 set. Sure the picture doesn't fill the 4:3 screen but you get to see the entire picture that the director wants you to see and the picture quality is still better than a full screen VHS movie. On a 16:9 widescreen it is really a "no brainer"...buy widescreen only. To fill the widscreen with a fulll screen movie you need to either grossly distort the picture by stretching it horizontally, cropping the picture even more than it is already cropped (see below) by zooming, or doing both with "wide zoom" (as Sony calls it) or "Just" (as Panasonic calls it). Almost all movies nowadays have an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 or 2.35:1. Full screen DVD's are cropped to fit a 4:3 screen. In the process 28% of the picture is discarded for 1.85:1 movies and 43% is discarded for 2.35:1 movies. With a super widescreen movie like "Ben Hur" (2.76:1) you lose 52% of the picture with the full screen version. As Borromini suggests try to get anamorphic widescreen movies because they are designed to give a sharper picture on widescreen sets than they do on 4:3 sets. (They are playable on all sets). They are labelled as "anamorphic" or "enhanced for 16:9 widscreen TV's". (Note that the phrase "enhanced for 16:9 widscreen TV's" does not mean that their aspect ratio is 16:9; it just means they are stored on the DVD in a way that produces a sharper picture on a 16:9 set.) However, bear in mind that not all widescreen movies are available in anamorphic form. As far as letterboxing (black bars at the top and bottom of the screen) is concerned, it is normal for all widescreen movies with an aspect ratio greater than 1.78:1 (16/9) which means almost all of them. Depending on your TV set you might not even notice the letterboxing on 1.85:1 movies but it will definitely be noticeable with 2.35:1 movies and there is no way to avoid it without cropping or distorting the picture (or both).