Should I go 16:9 or 2.35:1



Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoPignoneIII /forum/post/0


Thanks for that link. Looks like a fairly significant percentage of DVDs are in 2.35:1. Most of my content will be HD, and some SD, but I would like to have the best possible movie experience possible. Also, since my room is pretty small, at about 12 by 11 or so, I will be sitting pretty close, and a slightly smaller screen with 16:9 content would not be a great loss.


Please forgive me, I'm a complete noob. If my screen is 2.35:1, what exactly do I do when watching 16:9. Do I simply zoom in so the image is smaller and have empty space on the sides of the screen? How do you mask off the part of the screen you aren't utilizing.

Click to expand...

Yep, just like the theater.


Instead of black/gray bars above and below, they shift to the sides. Masking is as simple as pulling drapes...just like the cinema.


Now, if you want the full monty, goto the 2.35 CIH forum.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeradin /forum/post/0


I went with 16:9, I watch a lot of HDTV and the majority of that is 16:9. Also, easy to mask off the 13 inches at the top to get a 2.35:1 image.


I am at my max width for a screen in my room, when watching 235:1 is the biggest it can be and same for 16:9.


Dale

Click to expand...

Room size is often not factored into the equation and I think you are absolutely right in the quoted post.


My room was width challenged also and combined with the seating distance made my decision for me.


Every person has a different preference for how close they like to sit or better put how much of their vision they like to consume with the image. But in all aspect ratios the image width is the controlling dimension. In my case in my room that width was 96 or 8 ft. I took things a step more then and opted for a 4:3 setup for personal reasons with a screen size of 72x96 and when viewing 16:9 its 54x96 and etc with scoped content but in all cases I don't have to change seating distance.


I do like the morphed AR screen idea that uses some of the projectors zoom to go slightly bigger when switching between AR's. I helped a friend do a similar setup where we split the difference between AR's on a 4:3 setup. The only drawback is if the projector is ceiling mounted and high and the projector doesn't have auto zoom from the remote it's a little messing around changing it.


I wouldn't strictly go by just what percentage of what content is out there. That's something to consider for sure but just one factor in screen size. Content did play a roll in my pick of a 4:3 setup because I enjoy a lot of old AR movies SDTV and things like IMAX movies shot in native 4:3. I had the height and not the width so why not in that case get them all as big as I could while maintaining the best screen width.