In simple terms, what do you do with Blu Ray and an A-Lens?

The RS2 will provide you with the Scaling you need for CIH with the PS3 when using a lens such as the Panamorph UH480...


It is 2 part process - Scaling + Optics. Scaling takes the 810 lines on the BD and converts it so that it now uses the full 1080 lines. As a result, the image appears "Vertically Stretched". The Anamorphic Lens then optically expands the image to restore the geometry. Now you have a Scope film that not only uses the full panel of the projector, but is also the same height as a 16:9 image (hence the name CIH) and is some 33% wider!!!

NO WAY! BD is the perfect source for CIH. The math is simply 1080 x 0.75 = 810 and 810 x 1.3333333 = 1080! Don't read into the bad press about the Scaling. It seems that those without lenses are always the ones promoting this as bad...


As I said above, CIH is a TWO step process. If you display the image as 16:9 without Scaling the image first, the Lens will still optically expand the image and your image will appear distorted.


I leave the lens in place 100% of the time, so I switch from the 4 x 3 mode to the letterbox mode when changing ARs. It is really that simple.

1. Choose the BD I want to watch.
2. Power up all system components - BD player, AVR, Projector.
3. Load the disc.
4. Select 4 x 3 mode (as I leave the lens in place, this gives me a optically correct 16:9 image) on the projector.
5. Play the disc.
6. Go to Letterbox mode on the projector if I see black bars top and bottom. [all of my titles are Scope except 2 anyway]
7. Enjoy the film presented in Scope

All too easy...

Or...

1. Watching an hdtv show, then
2. Pop in a Blu-Ray into my ps3 (now I have black bars)
3. Press "Letterbox" on my projector (black bars gone, but image distorted and stretched vertically)
4. Slide the lens into place (widens the image by ~33% and image is brought back to original proportion
5. Enjoy a super widescreen movie that will make everyone around you jealous

There is no difference b/t Bluray and DVD when doing CIH with a lens. Do for Bluray exactly as you would do for DVD.

Method 1: Slide the lens
For 1.78/1.85/HDTV material, don't use a lens. For scope movies, slide the lens in place and vertically stretch using scaler or projector.

Method 2: Leave the lens in place all the time
For 1.78/1.85/HDTV material, scaler/projector reduces horiztonal resolution to restore proper geometry. For scope movies, scaler/projector does the vertical stretch.

Perhaps what you've been reading is that Bluray is not anamorphic (where as DVD is) and that's where the logic that BR isn't ideal for CIH comes from. But this point is moot. Bluray has more resolution than anamorphic DVD. Using a lens is not about resolving all the resolution in the source, it's about maximizing the resolution of the display device.

Well said

But also to be considered is whether electronically scaling vertically 810 pixels to 1080 pixels and then optically stretching the entire image horizontally to restore the AR is in fact better than just displaying 810x1920 pixels but with perfect 1 to 1 pixel mapping and just zooming it. As for leaving the lens in place for 1.78:1material well apart from adding two forms of distortion it's hardly maximizing the resolution of the display or even using the available resolution of the source.

Jeff, good lenses (better than a prism) and sleds cost fairly serious money, but zooming won't cost you anything, even if it's only to see if it works for you.

Let's not turn this thread into another lens vs. zoom debate. All I'm saying is that the primary purpose of using a lens is to use the full vertical resolution of the projector's panel, not to resolve the full resolution of the source. (Although a lens may help better resolve 1080p source material on a 720p pj.)

I just wish zoomers would actually find a find a CIH system that uses a lens and actually take a look at the projected image rather than just post their number cruching results on this forum.

Jeff,

Here are 3 other options if you're getting desperate.

Option 1: Use a first surface mirror to increase the throw
Try mounting the projector vertically off the wall and use a mirror to get the extra throw distance you need. So the projector would fire up (or down) and then bounce off a mirror to the screen. Mirrors are used for rear projection all the time with great results.

Option 2: Use a wide angle lens
This is what I did a while back when I was in the same predicament as you. When projecting 2.35 images, zoom all the way to get the image as large as possible, and then put a wide angle lens in the light path to make up for the rest of the zoom. I found a cheap $150 wide angle lens to do the job very well with less distortion than a typical anamorphic lens. Of course, you may run into the same issues that you do with an alens and possibly have some vignetting due to small aperture lens + recessed pj lens.

Option 3: Mount the projector in the room behind the theater
If you have another room right behind the rear wall, mount the projector in the other room and project through a port hole in the rear wall.