Letterbox when watching DVD's on wide screen TV

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dickytim

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#41294 14-Sep-2009 11:16

This is going to be a dumb question but I need to ask it anyway.

I have a Philips HTS at home, I am running it via HDMI to my Sony LCD widescreen TV, When we watch DVD's it shows them in letterbox format with the black lines top and bottom, is this normal or correct?

It seems a waste really, all the movies on Sky etc fill the screen completely so I am not sure why these ones would need to be in letterbox, usually the DVD menu is uses the full screen but the movie itself doesn't.

Should it play on full screen or not?

Also what settings would change this if it is not suposed to?

Thanks.

tonyhughes

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#255550 14-Sep-2009 11:23

From audioholics.com

Whether or not black bars appear on a widescreen tv is dependent on the aspect ratio of the DVD.

A true widescreen tv is 16:9 (1.78:1) vs a normal 4:3 (1.33:1) tv. Movies are shot in a wide variety of aspect ratios.

If the DVD says it is 'widescreen' then:
A 1.78 movie will fill the screen completely.
A 1.85 movie will show very small black bars at the top and bottom unless the tv has alot of overscan.
A 2.0 or 2.35 movie will have large black bars at the top and bottom because 2.35:1 is much larger than 1.78:1.

A potentially useful Bing Google search.

xpd

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#255554 14-Sep-2009 11:30

Someone else asking similar question here... : http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=39553

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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dickytim

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#255559 14-Sep-2009 11:44

cheers guys, I will post on the other thread.

sbiddle

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#255560 14-Sep-2009 11:46

Simple answer is that most DVD and Blu Ray movies are now typically transfered in a 2.35:1 ratio. This would normally be the ratio they are filed in for the cinema release.

A 16:9 TV has a 1.78:1 aspect ratio and the result means you will see borders at the top and bottom.

If a movie is converted to a 1.78:1 ratio for DVD or Blu Ray it would mean cutting off the picture on the left and right hand sides which can ruin the effect the movie makers were trying to get.

If you don't like the borders use the zoom function on your TV or DVD, this will typically get rid of the borders however you will miss some of the picture. Depending on the movie this may mean you miss out on important content.