[stevenpaulrhodes]

I've got a new movie room with a 2.35 screen. I am new to the streaming world but with 75MB fios I am eager to begin.


For the movie originally shot in 2.35, are most of the Netflix streams at 2.35?


Is there a way to tell what the ratio will be?


Is there a way to specify the ratio?


Are there other services with more 2.35 content? I am an Amazon Prime member, for example.

 

[andyross63]

I don't think there is anything that is truly 2.35:1 in video right now. I assume most is probably 16:9 (1.78:1) with letterboxing. Even on DVD or BD, 1.85:1 has tiny letterbox on the top and bottom.


Also, depending on the source, some companies crop 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 for online/cable/satellite/ondemand.

 

[Wendell R. Breland]



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenpaulrhodes  /t/1469650/netflix-2-35-vs-16-9/0_60#post_23237134


For the movie originally shot in 2.35, are most of the Netflix streams at 2.35?

No, if they are shown in OAR then they will be letter boxed. Many titles on Netflix (and other services) will have have cropped and zoomed 2:35 titles to 1.78.


There are some companies trying to get the studios to release 2:35 titles on anamorphic Blu-ray disc. This would appeal to folks with 2:35 (or 2:40) projector screens which would require a external anamorphic lens or zooming. There are a few TVs with 2:35 screens.

 

[stevenpaulrhodes]

Let me restate my question in its simplest form.


Does NetFlix stream most 2.35:1 films in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio?

 

[michaeltscott]



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenpaulrhodes  /t/1469650/netflix-2-35-vs-16-9/0_100#post_23240596


Let me restate my question in its simplest form.


Does NetFlix stream most 2.35:1 films in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio?

I think that they stream most films in OAR, but not all. For instance, The Grey was shot 2.35:1 and the stream is 1.78:1. (VUDU and Amazon stream the OAR version). I think that Netflix presents the version that their content providers give them.


What people are saying is that most devices are going to output a 1.78:1 image with a 2.35:1 image letterboxed in the center of it. I assume that your projector can deal with this.

 

[Wendell R. Breland]



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenpaulrhodes  /t/1469650/netflix-2-35-vs-16-9/0_60#post_23240596


Does NetFlix stream most 2.35:1 films in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio?

At one time I deleted about a third of my movies from my queue because they were cropped and zoomed versions of 2:35 titles. My DVD version of the same title was OAR. I had put them in my queue because they were supposedly HD and were not available on Blu-ray.


Now I use Netflix streaming for old TV shows (Alferd Hitchcock, Twilight Zone, etc.) and some TV series (Hell on Wheels, etc).


If quality matters to you then sign up for Netflix Blu-ray by mail.

 

[Wendell R. Breland]



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenpaulrhodes  /t/1469650/netflix-2-35-vs-16-9/0_60#post_23237134


I've got a new movie room with a 2.35 screen.

Just curious, do you zoom your projector lens to fill your 2.35 screen with lettered boxed 2.35 movies or do you use a scaler (internal or external?) and anamorphic lens?

 

[stevenpaulrhodes]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland  /t/1469650/netflix-2-35-vs-16-9#post_23241943


Just curious, do you zoom your projector lens to fill your 2.35 screen with lettered boxed 2.35 movies or do you use a scaler (internal or external?) and anamorphic lens?

No sure. My media guys gave us a button we push which expands it perfectly.


And yes we did also signup for blu-ray service.


Thanks

 

[Apostate]



Quote:
Originally Posted by stevenpaulrhodes  /t/1469650/netflix-2-35-vs-16-9#post_23240596


Let me restate my question in its simplest form.


Does NetFlix stream most 2.35:1 films in their original 2.35:1 aspect ratio?

Not from my experience. Most newer "popular" movies in Netflix seem to have been cropped. For example, Ironman 2 was cropped in Netflix and was in OAR in Amazon. Amazon appears to generally present the movies in OAR without cropping, albeit at 720p.

 

[michaeltscott]

I went through the movies in my IQ yesterday (about 60) and a little over half of them were 1.78:1. Some of those must have been shot in that AR but certainly some of them weren't.


It's possible that some were shot "open matte"; shot 1.78:1 framed for a 2.35:1 window in the center to which it's cropped on theatrical presentation. I know of several films like that: Man on Fire (2004), Schindler's List, Top Gun, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, etc. When films like this are presented in 1.78:1 you see the entire 2.35:1 picture plus more at the top and bottom so no "pan and scan" editing is necessary. Of course, the director framed the shots for the 2.35:1 view; although nothing is omitted, you're not seeing it exactly as intended. In some rare instances they're not as careful as they should have been about what's in the areas outside of the wider frame and things that shouldn't be seen are revealed, like bits of wires and boom mics. A famous instance of this is a scene from A Fish Called Wanda wherein some characters have walked in on a naked John Cleese but in the presentation without the mattes you can see that he's wearing shorts

(you can see that here --it was shot open matte 1.33:1 cropped 1.85:1, which can just as easily be cropped 1.78:1 without loss).

 

[Brian Conrad]

Anamorphic lenses are considered hard to work with and it was cheaper to just shoot on Super 35 and crop. There's different methods of cropping including "common top" I heard described on one commentary. However one film I saw in a theater was meant to be matted and though it was it was not center framed so you saw the edge of the set and the lights above it. Informing the concession stand that it needed proper framing resulted in nothing being done. I suspect that studios feel that no one except photographers will be annoyed with the "dead space" in a full frame even if they do make sure that there is no boom mikes or set edges are shown. But I've seen films from the 1930s where there is just too much dead space in a frame. Many cinematographers also did still photography and some were even painters and would have never framed a photo or painting in 4:3 aspect unless for some reason it called for it such as a head portrait.

 

[michaeltscott]

I did just check a couple of the more recent films on Netflix--Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Thor and both are cropped to 1.78:1 from the wide view. I'd prefer to watch these on Amazon anyway--on Netflix they only 720p as well and in stereo sound versus DD 5.1 on Amazon.