alond Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 i have noticed that when i watch hd dvds i have blacks bars on the top and bottom so i need to zoom in so i dont have the black bars. i have a panasonic px70a and an ep10 hooked up and i am wondering what settings i can possibly change so that the movie takes over the whole screen. when i watch sd dvds i have no problems, its only with my hd dvds that i have these problems. thanxs in advance
Huge Metal Fan Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 oh dear. it really does depend on the aspect ratio on the disc as to what fills the screen and what doesnt, but you would be defeating the loveliness of all that hd if you zoomed in, not to mention losing picture on the sides. is it really a problem to view films in widescreen? thats the way it was shot. you would probably want to set the zoom on the plasma and not the hd dvd player, so at least that way when you do realise you see more picture you can just push the button on the remote. see the light! [or more of it]
Mjr69 Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Have a lookie here: http://www.widescreen.org//animations/wide...lanation_v5.swf
alond Posted May 9, 2008 Author Posted May 9, 2008 surely though i cant be the only person experiencing this problem can i? or is it that most people have 50 inch plus and that makes a difference?
SDL Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 It isn't a problem, that is hwy no-one mentions it. A widescreen panel is 16:9, many movies are not filmed in this format it was just settled upon as a standard for TV's. You will find many normal DVD's will have the black bars as well, and also if you have Foxtel many movies shown in their original format on some of the channels. Many of us prefer it as you are watching the whole picture as it was displayed at the cinema not a cropped picture or anamorphic view that is changed for home use.
Caprica13 Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Come on guys - he's pulling your leg. Anyone who joins this forum I am sure would know about aspect ratios.
minbin Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 This question had been asked for a decade since the inception of DVD. I not ashamed to say I had asked this before. On the pana70a remote, there is an "aspect" button. Press it while you're playing a movie & there will be a few options on the TV screen. Choose one that fills your TV screen, but note that some of the film on its side edges will get cut off. Most of us don't like to watch only 80% (give or take a few %) of a film & that's why we put up with black bars at the top & bottom. Don't forget to change the aspect back to 16:9 when watching another input (e.g a movie with aspect ratio closer to 16:9) otherwise you'll be missing out on lot more than 80%.
achjimmy Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 you would probably want to set the zoom on the plasma and not the hd dvd player,so at least that way when you do realise you see more picture you can just push the button on the remote.see the light! [or more of it] I did not think HD players could zoom?
Mjr69 Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Zooming is dependent on the movie itself - many use the "A" button to progressively zoom in...
gstok Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 All Warner titles have zoom from my understanding. 2x, 4x and 8x - press A while it's playing. Kinda nifty!
tvbert Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 what aspect ratio is Blades of Glory and Invasion in ? Cause when I play them on my 16:9 projector they come out as full screen and look great.
Submariner1503559614 Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 The best way to fix this problem is to only buy movies that have a 1.85:1 ratio. You might also be able to squeeze in a 1.78:1 ratio.
peterjcat Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 I'm always kind of amazed when this question comes up -- and at the outrage people feel when they see the black bars. Movies have always been shaped differently to TVs -- well, almost always. Movies were generally 4:3 until television came along, when they got wider to differentiate themselves as more spectacular, more immersive or whatever. By the time there were widescreen TVs at 16:9 there were already heaps of movies at 2.4:1, but a 2.4:1 TV isn't really feasible (a projector screen is a different story) as you still need to accommodate 4:3 content as well as 16:9. 16:9 is a pretty good compromise because there is a lot of TV and movie content at that aspect ratio, and both 4:3 and 2.4:1 can be accommodated at reasonable sizes. You just have the black bars. This has been an issue since the first movie was shown on a television. It's way older than DVD. I remember getting VHS tapes that had black bars on them so they'd play on my 4:3 CRT. Thousands of standard DVDs have black bars for 2.4:1 material, though many also depart from the theatrical aspect ratio to get to 16:9, especially in the US (where you can buy "Fullscreen" or "Widescreen" versions of the same movie). Since high-definition is still a relatively expensive niche, it's assumed that most people who buy HD DVDs or BDs are to some extent movie connoisseurs, and there's no way a connoisseur would want a movie shown at anything but the original theatrical aspect ratio -- since that's the ratio the director and cinematographer framed for. A movie frame conveys much more than information, eg who's doing what. Every part of its layout contributes to the feeling of the scene, where the eye is drawn, whether there is balance or asymmetry or whatever. If you just want to know what happens in the movie, VHS is fine. If you want to get the full intended experience of the movie, get a high-definition version in the original aspect ratio, and learn to love the bars.
AndrewW Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Since high-definition is still a relatively expensive niche, it's assumed that most people who buy HD DVDs or BDs are to some extent movie connoisseurs, and there's no way a connoisseur would want a movie shown at anything but the original theatrical aspect ratio -- since that's the ratio the director and cinematographer framed for. A movie frame conveys much more than information, eg who's doing what. Every part of its layout contributes to the feeling of the scene, where the eye is drawn, whether there is balance or asymmetry or whatever. If you just want to know what happens in the movie, VHS is fine. If you want to get the full intended experience of the movie, get a high-definition version in the original aspect ratio, and learn to love the bars. Could not have said it better myself.
MACCA350 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 We went for a family birthday/reunion the other week and decided to watch AVP2 while there........4:3 59cm(or so) CRT TV and a simple HTIB setup. As soon as the movie started I adjusted the AR to be shown correctly..............boy was that a bad move ........I could not convince them that it was the "correct" way to watch the movie. In the end I gave up, shut my mouth and had to sit through the whole movie watching a 2.40:1 movie distorted/tortured to fill a 4:3 screen I'm still having nightmares about it cheers
Mjr69 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 I remember watching Dirty Harry on the TV when it first came out (P&S) version. The end of the movie when Dirty Harry walks up the steps to see the girl you don't even see her and you don't have a clue what he is doing and in the background you hear a car scream to a halt and the doors open and slam shut and then footsteps running up the steps and you don't see the car or the people or anything until they are right next to Clint. It was really disconcerting and I have never watched anything P&S/4:3 by choice since. Sure it is probably natural to want the maximum fulfillment of the screen zoomed in but it is magnified which means a loss of quality and you lose about 20% or more at both the left and right sides of the screen. Live with the bars - they are your friends
peterjcat Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 I think it's interesting that Channel 7 is showing the Indiana Jones movies in 2.4:1 at the moment, I think it's the first time I've seen the black bars all the way through a local HD broadcast (though I haven't really been paying attention). Usually they zoom/matte it to 16:9 regardless. Maybe the times are a-changing.
cooyarpjm Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 (edited) We went for a family birthday/reunion the other week and decided to watch AVP2 while there........4:3 59cm(or so) CRT TV and a simple HTIB setup. As soon as the movie started I adjusted the AR to be shown correctly..............boy was that a bad move ........I could not convince them that it was the "correct" way to watch the movie. In the end I gave up, shut my mouth and had to sit through the whole movie watching a 2.40:1 movie distorted/tortured to fill a 4:3 screen I'm still having nightmares about it cheers I had the exact same experience with my parents, trying to convince my father that the black bars are suppose to be there and car wheels are round not egg shaped, thank god for the THX optimizer and my mother for helping me out Edited May 10, 2008 by cooyarpjm
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