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2.35:1 DVD, but on broadcast TV, 1.85:1?  

post #1 of 10
3/7/09 at 11:41am
Thread Starter 
Hello, first off I don't yet have a Blu-Ray player, but wanted to ask about a situation I see on standard def players and tv broadcast in HD.

I have a particular DVD movie that is 2.35:1 and obviously shows the black bars above and below the picture on my 16:9 flat panel display. Now when I see that same movie broadcast in HD by my cable provider, it fills the screen with no apparent distortion (at least to me). I assume they are chopping off the sides to the point where it vertically matches the 16:9 height? I'm not that much of a "purist" in the sense, so I'd actually prefer to watch 2:35:1 movies that way if possible. My current standard def DVD player doesn't have the particular options to view this way - it will distort. I would be looking to know if most Blu-Ray players can accomplish this type of viewing format I've described.

Thanks.

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post #2 of 10
3/7/09 at 12:00pm
No, thank God. Use the Zoom control on your TV and leave us out of it.
post #3 of 10
3/7/09 at 12:27pm
Uh, oh, here we go again! Buckle up folks its going to be a rough ride.
post #4 of 10
3/7/09 at 12:31pm
The network reformatted the movie to fit on a 16:9 screen. You and I do not have that option. You can either zoom (with distortion) or watch it the way it's supposed to be (with black bars above and below).
post #5 of 10
3/7/09 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by rdclark View Post

No, thank God. Use the Zoom control on your TV and leave us out of it.

Well if it was an "option" as I described, you would be left out...thanks for playing.

For those of you that would like to give a more complete answer; it is my impression that the "Zoom" on TVs will stretch...is this not the case with broadcast?
post #6 of 10
3/7/09 at 12:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillP View Post

The network reformatted the movie to fit on a 16:9 screen. You and I do not have that option. You can either zoom (with distortion) or watch it the way it's supposed to be (with black bars above and below).

Thank you for confirming.
post #7 of 10
3/7/09 at 12:51pm
The answer is yes and no.

If the movie was shot in the Super 35 format (google it for more information) the studio will provide broadcaster a version of the film with is formatted in the 16:9 ratio. In this case they just open up the frame, think of it as removing the black bars.

If the movie was shot with anamorphic lens then the only option is to zoom in. I believe this is done in the film-to-video process so it doesn't look as bad as using the TV button.
post #8 of 10
3/7/09 at 1:31pm
All depends. SW ep II was pan-n-scanned for 16:9. Looked horrible.

TV's Zoom won't necessarily distort. That would be a Stretch mode. But they all call them different things, so don't get caught on semantics.
post #9 of 10
3/7/09 at 2:31pm
True, zoom does not distort, but it does reduce resolution.
post #10 of 10
3/7/09 at 3:40pm
This topic has been covered many times before...primarily in the software forums.

Use aspect ratio, black bars, lettebox for individual searches.

Here's the wikipedia page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)
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