[hornmdt]

I have them hooked up via DVI. When using the DVD Top Gun the picture displays in the middle of the screen on my Mits 73713 with black bars both across the top of the screen and down both sides of the screen. I can go to "wide expand" mode on the Mits and the picture will then fill out all the way to the sides and leave just a small black line across the top and bottom like is common in films that are a 1 for 1 match from the theater.


I tried the same Top Gun DVD in a Samsung HD931 DVI unit and the picture is where it is supposed to be without having to expand it using the TV expand feature. I tried another DVD (Patriot) and it displays properly on both the D1 and V880 - go figure.


I notice that the Top Gun DVD is a multi-layer DVD (whatever that is). Could that be the problem? Anyone have this same or similar experience with either of these two units and know of any suggestions? I'm running the most current firmware in both units.


Thanks very much for any input!!

 

[goofygrin]

Did you change the player to know that you have a 16:9 tv?

 

[David_Levin]

This is not really a Bravo problem. You're Top-Gun DVD is NOT "Wide Screen Enhanced". Meaning it's a 4:3 letterboxed recording. If you watch the disc on a 4:3 TV it'll be letterboxed (black bars top and bottom).


The Bravo has no way to know the top and botttom of the picture do not contain useful information, so the picture is displayed with the top/bottom bars. The side bars are there because the 4:3 image recorded on the DVD isn't wide enough to fill the width of a widescreen TV.


On the bravo you can hit the zoom buttom to get the image to fill the screen (zoom 1 mode). You lose some picture quality doing this, and hitting any trasport keys (and sometimes the layer change) will revert back to zoom-off.


Now, some old 4:3 letterboxed moves use the black top/bottom areas for sub-titles (Klingon -> English translations) - if you've zoomed these off the screen, you'll never know they're there.


Most new releases are "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs" or 16:9. These images are on the DVD formatted for wide TVs (the DVD player will create a letter box if you have a 4:3 TV). Those will play without problems.


Do a search and read up - this topic has been discussed to death (as well as what Dual-Layer means).

 

[hornmdt]

Well, I do have the settings on all three DVD players set at 16:9 so that isn't the issue. Also my version of "Top Gun", which I just recently purchased has been remastered and has DD 5.1 and is enhanced for widescreen. In fact, when you hit play the first thing that comes up is a screen where you choose "widescreen" or "standard". I've tried both.


On both the Bravo and the Momitsu the picture will display correctly if I choose standard 4:3 (full to the top and bottom of the screen with black bars down both sides). However, if I choose "widescreen" the resulting display is centered perfectly in the middle of the TV with black bars above, below, and down both sides when using either the Bravo or Momitsu.


The Samsung does display this "Top Gun" DVD correctly in widescreen mode. The Bravo and Momitsu display other DVDs correctly, just this Top Gun DVD (which is the wife's favorite movie) is hosed up. I haven't run up against any other DVDs that do this but I suspicion that if one does it there are others out there that these players will not handle correctly. I want to use the D1 as my primary player but if there's many DVD's out there that do this I have to second guess that.


So, to summarize, my settings are correct and my version of "Top Gun" is current with both the standard and widescreen versions on the DVD.


Anyone else have any ideas or seen these players do this?


Thanks!!

 

[Vlad_Dracule]

Having the widescreen version of the DVD doesnt mean that it is "Enhanced for 16:9 displays" or "Enhanced for Widescreen TV's". Take a look at the packaging and see if you can find those words anywhere on it. Also look for the word "Anamorphic" which is the same thing as the other two.


If I recall correctly there has been no Region 1 version of Top Gun that is anamorphic (IMDB also shows this) so I suspect this is the case. If you want to learn more about anamorphic check the links in my sig.

 

[Vlad_Dracule]

Oh and the reason the Samsung displays across the width of the screen is because it doesnt output 4:3 properly (it stretches the picture). If the Samsung had proper 4:3 output it would show the exact same thing as the other two players.

 

[hornmdt]

Ok, my "Top Gun" DVD cover says:


Special Features:


Dual Layer Format

....Widescreen Version

....Standard Version


Dolby Digital

.....English 5.1 Surround

.....English Dolby Surround

.....French blah, blah, blah


In boxes at the bottom:


Widescreen Version: This film is presented in "widescreen" format. The black bars on the top and bottom of the screen are normal.


Standard Version: This film has been modified from its original version. It has been formatted to fit your TV.


Other things mentioned at the bottom are Dual Layer Format, Region 1, DVD Video, Dolby Digital, Paramount


So, should it play in widescreen or no?


Thanks!!!!

 

[dthigpen]

Quote:

Originally posted by hornmdt Widescreen Version: This film is presented in "widescreen" format. The black bars on the top and bottom of the screen are normal.

If the DVD was anamorphic, it would generally say something along the lines of being 'enhanced for widescreens televisions' or 16x9, etc. That description reeks of a non-anamorphic letterboxed version, though. What you're seeing is a result of the DVD, not the player.


Doug

 

[wblynch]

Old dvds are like this. Jim Carey's "The Mask" is the same way. You just gotta zoom in with either the dvd zoom control or your monitor's features.


(I find the monitor zoom to be superior).

 

[hornmdt]

Ok, I ordered a region 2 version of this DVD from the UK. It does say it is enhanced for widescreen and is anamorphic w/ English DD 5.1 sound so when it arrives the wife should be happy. The D1 is region free I think.

 

[Huey]

Hit the Zoom button on your DVD player and move on, jeeeeez. Some movies are non-anamorphic and will be centered (correctly) by DVD player. Some non-scaling DVD players will just display it as is and then your display squishes it further making the image too squished.

 

[dthigpen]

Quote:

Originally posted by hornmdt Ok, I ordered a region 2 version of this DVD from the UK. It does say it is enhanced for widescreen and is anamorphic w/ English DD 5.1 sound so when it arrives the wife should be happy. The D1 is region free I think.

Yep, it is, just as long as you modified it to be region free and your TV will handle the 50hz input that'll be a result of playing a PAL disc in the D1. Of course, if you modified it to be Region Free, unless you can toggle regions on it, you can't plat RCE protected discs....

 

[hornmdt]

It's easy to toggle the region setting on the Momitsu but I'm yet to figure out how to get into that menu on the Bravo. Anyone know how?


I think I remember seeing that it was region free when I bought it but without knowing how to get into that menu you're right, any disk that requires region 1 won't play. I have the Momitsu set to Region 0 and stuck in "Patriot" the other day and it would not play it. Most DVDs do play however. If the Momitsu didn't freeze up so much it is a little easier to operate (region setting, Macrovision, DVI setup menu, etc). But I think the Bravo is the more solid unit. Now if I could just get into that menu.....