I haven't had time to go through all of the extras on Hot Fuzz yet, as I just got my AX100U back from the Panasonic repair center, but I found that some of the extras on Hot Fuzz are windowboxed (the outtakes and the first trailer are a couple examples), while other extras (such as the "making of" documentary and the last couple of trailers) fill the entire screen. This happens with the same extras on either the SD or HD side of the disc. For what it's worth, I'm playing the disc on a Tosh A2.

Is this how this disc is supposed to work, or is there something somewhere in either my projector or DVD player setup that is causing this?

I don't have this disc but would guess that some extras are anamorphic (and thus fill your widescreen) and others aren't (and appear windowboxed).

I noticed that too and was surprised no reviews mentioned it. This seems like an easy adjustment for studios to make. I hope the days of letterbox-inside-windowbox extras are almost behind us.

I find it a little odd, what with all the people singing the praises of this disc in this forum, that only one person besides me has noticed that some of the extras are appearing in a 4:3 letterboxed window.

I don't want to seem needy here, but I'd love some confirmation that some of the extras are indeed windowboxed or that Sorax and I both have something set improperly on our systems.

I find it a little odd, what with all the people singing the praises of this disc in this forum, that only one person besides me has noticed that some of the extras are appearing in a 4:3 letterboxed window.

I don't want to seem needy here, but I'd love some confirmation that some of the extras are indeed windowboxed or that Sorax and I both have something set improperly on our systems.

A LOT of extras on both Blu-ray and HD DVD are non-anamorphic.

A LOT of extras on both Blu-ray and HD DVD are non-anamorphic.

As well as SD-DVD. Methinks they do this on purpose sometimes.

Don't see it as much to complain about and don't see why people would expect different treatment on HD.

For HD DVD 16:9 is the native format so it doesn't seem unreasonable to expect that widescreen extras would be anamorphic. On the other hand, for 4:3 extras there's not much that could be done unless they were cropped.

I wonder how many people actually watch the extras on these discs? I'll sometimes watch the trailers or music videos -- and in some rare cases listen to commentaries -- but very rarely view any other extras (haven't even viewed any of the extra content on the 4-disc Lord of the Rings SD-DVD sets). Even so... I agree that any SD extras that are included on HD-DVDs should at least be anamorphic to maintain viewing consistency.

On the other hand, for 4:3 extras there's not much that could be done unless they were cropped.

The 4x3 content could be encoded within an (anamorphic) 16x9 frame.

Norbit is the only HD DVD movie I've seen where almost every extra is actually in HD. I think there were just one that wasn't. I applaud Paramount/Dreamworks for that.

The 4x3 content could be encoded within an (anamorphic) 16x9 frame.

True but this doesn't really have any advantage for 4:3 only features. For features that switch between 16:9 and 4:3 clips then yes this would be beneficial.

From my review at Home Theater Spot:
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The bonus features on this disc are very thorough and deep, although as with the movie, they tend to run a little too long. None of the features are in HD though, which is a real shame, but at least some of them are anamorphic widescreen, although in the lower standard definition.


FEATURES INCLUDED:

Outtakes (10 Minutes) 4x3 pillar boxed

Theatrical Trailers (4)

The Man Who would Be Fuzz (32 seconds) 4x3 pillar boxed

Hot Funk (The TV Version)

Danny’s Notebook: The Other Side (inside joke from the movie)

Audio Commentaries (4 in total)

Fuzz-O-Meter Trivia Track

Deleted Scenes with optional Filmmaker Commentary (22) 4x3 pillar boxed

We Made Hot Fuzz (29:32) Anamorphic widescreen

Speculative: Video Blogs (13) Anamorphic widescreen

Forensic Features (8) Anamorphic widescreen

Photographic: Galleries (posters and photos)

Special Effects: Before and After (8)

Dead Right (1993) – on of Edgar’s early films which Hot Fuzz is loosely based



http://www.***************.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/138058/

From my review at Home Theater Spot:


http://www.***************.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/138058/

Awesome -- you've just been bookmarked. :)

Thanks Darthclem.

True but this doesn't really have any advantage for 4:3 only features. For features that switch between 16:9 and 4:3 clips then yes this would be beneficial.

No need to switch aspect ratios on the TV when moving from the movie to the extras...

That might not seem like a big deal to us, but it'll be more so for non-enthusiasts when/if HD-DVD goes mainstream.