[Randy D]

How do you deal with different aspect ratios on the same DVD? The extras often seem to be fullscreen even though the movie is 1.78/1.85:1 or 2.35:1. I'm using an LT150 on my living room wall so it doesn't really matter right now. But no matter what screen that I eventually choose, I'm going to have problems unless/until someone tells me what I'm doing wrong. Here's what I mean:


My blank wall accomodates all aspect ratios. Let say I buy a 16:9 screen, mask it for 2.35:1, and play 4:3 movies in the middle of the 16:9 with the sides masked. If I'm watching a 2.35:1 movie with the masking in place and then try to watch the extras, what do I do? Sometimes the aspect ratio will switch from 4:3 to 16:9 and maybe even to 2.35:1.

What's the best way to deal with this?


Randy D

 

[Randy D]

I'm probably overlooking the obvious, but can somebody help me out?


Randy D

 

[Namlemez]

The easiest method is to buy a screen that matches the native resolution of your projector. Then you simply mask parts depending on the resolution.


The other way I've seen is people buying, say a 16:9. For the DVDs that are this intermediate res, they do nothing. For 2.35, they either ignore the little white bars or mask that. Then for 4:3, they zoom so it fits in the middle, since lots of 4:3 material looks bad blown up anyway

 

[Randy D]

My question has to do with multiple aspect ratios on a single disc. Sometimes when watching the bonus materials, the aspect ratio will switch back and fortyh several times.


Randy D

 

[chris5977]

Different aspect ratios are a pain. Here's what I do:


16x9 screen.


4x3 projector, but I always leave it in 16x9 mode.


JVC DVD player that automatically scales to the correct aspect ratio.

 

[JeffDM]

Well, the multi-aspect ratio extras has always bugged me.


You could lock it into widescreen mode, get and set a Panasonic RP-91 into widescreen mode, and I think it has modes to resize 4:3 footage to fit into a 16:9 window. It kind of wastes a lot of light though, about 45% of it.

 

[smitty]

This bugs me too. A lot of times I just watched the extras in the wrong aspect ratio, since you get the gist of what they are providing you anyway. Another solution is to use a processor, such as the Rock+, which enables you to switch aspect ratios with little more than a push of a button on a remote. This is rather expensive solution though. I'm hoping that eventually they will at least put the extras in 16:9 instead of 4:3. It's the 4:3 extras that are a real paid after you've watched a widescreen presentation.