Widescreen question

[jbrillo]

I have a Samsung HLT6187S tv. The other day I popped in an older DVD, "The Hunt for Red October". It is the widescreen version. However, instead of the picture going across the entire screen, it appeared as if it were a 4:3 movie with black bars on the top and bottom. I even rechecked it a couple of times to make sure I had selected the widescreen version and I did. Why is this happening? Incidentally, this also happens with the widescreen version of "Top Gun". Is it just b/c they are older movies or what??? All of my other widescreen movies work just fine. And yes, I made sure the settings on my tv & dvd player were correct. My tv picture mode is set to "Just Scan" as per the manual to properly view widescreen sources and all my other movies work fine. Any ideas why these two movies are like this? Any help in understanding what's going on here is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[MDS]

'Just Scan' should be the equivalent of what other manufacturers call 'Native'; ie no overscan and you are seeing every pixel that is on the disc.

If you still see black bars on the top and bottom it is because the aspect ratio of the movie is wider than the aspect ratio of the TV. A 16:9 TV has an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (16/9) but many movies are 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 (Cinemascope). In those cases there will always be black bars unless you use one of the Zoom type modes of the TV.

 

[jbrillo]

I understand the difference in the aspect ratios. I understand the black bars on the top & bottom, I'm getting black bars on the sides AND the top & bottom. I don't understand why they are on the sides as well. And it's only with these 2-DVD's.

 

[supervij]

This is a longshot, but if these two DVDs are non-anamorphic, or not "enhanced for widescreen TVs", then you'll get the bars on all sides, and the only thing you can do is to use the zoom function on your DVD player or your TV to get rid of them. Check the back of the DVD jacket where it says widescreen. Does it also say "enhanced for widescreen TVs" or "anamorphic"? If not, then it's the DVD. If not, then there's a setting somewhere in your system that's wrong.

cheers,
supervij

 

[jbrillo]

I checked the dvd boxes & they just say widescreen version. Nothing about "anamorphic" or "enhanced for widescreen tv's". I guess that's the problem. What exactly does anamorphic or enhanced for WS tv's mean? Thanks for the tip.

 

[supervij]

A widescreen DVD that isn't enhanced or anamorphic will have fewer than the 480 lines filled with picture information. But an anamorphic widescreen DVD will have all 480 lines being used, but the player will squish those 480 lines of picture into the proper aspect ratio. So your TV will actually be receiving a picture with a higher resolution if the DVD is anamorphic than not.

Check out:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/anamorphic185demo.html and
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/anamorphic235demo.html
to see what the various combinations look like.

cheers,
supervij

 

[astrodon]

I had the same experience with the DVD of 2001: A Space Odyssey that I bought in the late 90s. It is my understanding that back in those days, DVD manufacturers assumed mostly everyone had standard TVs (4:3 ratio) and formatted their movies in "letterbox" which assumes the movie is being viewed on a 4:3 screen. Fortunately the release of 2001 this year has a widescreen format designed for 16:9 screens. One way around getting rid of those bars is to set your TV to whatever expansion mode it has that expands both the vertical and the horizontal axes. On my Sony RPTV this is the display mode "Zoom". I hope this helps.

 

[supervij]

Bear in mind that using the Zoom funtion on either the TV or the player will reduce the picture quality. Finding a DVD that's anamorphic will give you a much better picture. (And finding an HD broadcast or the Blu-ray disc of the movie will do you even better!)

cheers,
supervij

 

[John Bailey]

I had the same experience with the DVD of 2001: A Space Odyssey that I bought in the late 90s. It is my understanding that back in those days,

That makes me feel "old."

John

 

[jbrillo]

Thanks guys for all the input. I really like those movies, maybe I'll have to see if they've got newer versions out. I'm sure they do as those DVD's are really old. I've tried stretching the picture, but the picture quality just isn't as good. I know "Top Gun" isn't the greatest movie, but I was in the 6th grade when that movie came out & I loved those F-14's when I was a kid. They're still one of the coolest planes to me. That's why I love that movie.

Yeah, I feel pretty old too!!!!

 

[mtrycrafts]

I understand the difference in the aspect ratios. I understand the black bars on the top & bottom, I'm getting black bars on the sides AND the top & bottom. I don't understand why they are on the sides as well. And it's only with these 2-DVD's.

Most likely the DVD is not anamorphic. I have that happen to me on the new LCD type projectors whereas on the older CRT one played it properly no matter what.

 

[skads_187]

another question then, say you are playing a non-anamorphic dvd, with bars on all four sides, would an upscale dvd player do the trick at all? or would the picture just look better with the bars still on the right and left?

 

[jbrillo]

Skads,

I am using a Pioneer Elite upconverting DVD player. The best thing I could do was use one of the stretch modes on my TV. The picture quality isn't as good this way, but at least it eliminates having bars on all four sides. You end up trading picture quality for size.

 

[TheDog]

Yep, I know what you mean about the F-14s....and about feeling old, but that feeling usually passes in a few seconds as I revert back to my juvinile child-maness.

 

[mtrycrafts]

another question then, say you are playing a non-anamorphic dvd, with bars on all four sides, would an upscale dvd player do the trick at all? or would the picture just look better with the bars still on the right and left?

Well, if you have a large screen, then it will look bad, unfortunately. And, it is a hassle to get into the venue those few times when it is not anamorphic and stretch.
Find a newer version of Hi def

 

[aarond]

i had the old letterbox top gun. i gave it away and bought the special edition that came out a few years ago and it works fine on 16x9 tv

 

[obscbyclouds]

Thanks guys for all the input. I really like those movies, maybe I'll have to see if they've got newer versions out. I'm sure they do as those DVD's are really old. I've tried stretching the picture, but the picture quality just isn't as good. I know "Top Gun" isn't the greatest movie, but I was in the 6th grade when that movie came out & I loved those F-14's when I was a kid. They're still one of the coolest planes to me. That's why I love that movie.

Yeah, I feel pretty old too!!!!

There's a newer version of Top Gun that's got a 6.1 DTS-ES track also! I'm positive that one is anamorphic. I'll also add that F-14's are nasty aircraft!

 

[skads_187]

I am not sure if it is compeletely up to date, but here is a list of anamorphic dvd's (enhanced 16x9):

http://www.dvdreview.com/movies/html/anamorphic_list.html

 

[mtrycrafts]

There's a newer version of Top Gun that's got a 6.1 DTS-ES track also! I'm positive that one is anamorphic. I'll also add that F-14's are nasty aircraft!

It is also out in HD