Eliminating black bars

[Bdog]

My new Samsung Pn50b650 finally delivered! Picture is excellent. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong- I can't get rid of top and bottom black bars on some DVD's. I am playing them on a Sony BDP-n460 Blu Ray connected via HDMI to my Yamaha HTR6160. I have the Band of Brothers series, they play perfectly, while with Batman Begins I cannot get rid of bars on bottom or top. I am trying to get up to speed with new tech-am I missing something? Do I buy only widescreen DVD's? I haven't tried a Blu-Ray disc, but will soon. Any problems there? Any help will be appreciated!

 

[SopRage]

Those black bars are there to preserve the original 2:40:1 aspect ratio many movies were filmed in - the bars are absent from Band of Brothers because it was made for HBO and the 16:9 HDTV standard.

While the 16:9 HDTV size comes closer than old-school SDTV 4:3, 2:40:1 is significantly narrower. You'll continue to see these black bars on (I dare say) the majority of the movies you watch. The only way to get rid of them is to use the "Zoom" or "Aspect" function on your Bluray player (or, possibly TV, I think).

 

[son-yah-tive]

The DVD you have may be in Widescreen format. I thought buying wide screen movies was a good idea a few years ago, 'till I found that's what happens with Widescreen movies. I started buying Fullscreen Movies instead. But, they are hard to find now since most movies are all released in wide screen formats on DVD these days. Try a FULL SCREEN Movie, and see if those Black Bars disappear. That's my guess.

 

[MDS]

Fullscreen movies will show the black bars on the left and right when viewed on a 16:9 TV. You can of course use any of the TV's zoom type functions to fill the entire screen just as you could with Widescreen movies.

The reason for black bars on the top and bottom was explained by SopRage - the aspect ratio of the movie is larger than the aspect ratio of the screen.

 

[BruZZi]

The DVD you have may be in Widescreen format. I thought buying wide screen movies was a good idea a few years ago, 'till I found that's what happens with Widescreen movies. I started buying Fullscreen Movies instead. But, they are hard to find now since most movies are all released in wide screen formats on DVD these days. Try a FULL SCREEN Movie, and see if those Black Bars disappear. That's my guess.

If you meant 1.85:1... then yes.

1.85:1 movies are a little wider than 16:9 TVs but since most TVs have a bit of overscan, those movies will fill the whole screen (unless using dot-by-dot aspect).

.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Please read this information thoroughly and then you will NEVER buy a full screen movie to view on your HD set.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/index.html

 

[son-yah-tive]

Fullscreen movies will show the black bars on the left and right when viewed on a 16:9 TV. You can of course use any of the TV's zoom type functions to fill the entire screen just as you could with Widescreen movies.

The reason for black bars on the top and bottom was explained by SopRage - the aspect ratio of the movie is larger than the aspect ratio of the screen.

Our Sony KDS R50XBR1 fills the screen all the way around without zooming the picture, with Full screen formats. We only have the black bars above and below the picture in Wide screen movies. But, we don't have the black bars you speak of on our screen in the full format. Not sure why that is.

 

[bandphan]

You but an external scaler with the vertical stretch feature, but I wouldnt use it

 

[SopRage]

Our Sony KDS R50XBR1 fills the screen all the way around without zooming the picture, with Full screen formats. We only have the black bars above and below the picture in Wide screen movies. But, we don't have the black bars you speak of on our screen in the full format. Not sure why that is.

The only possible explanation I can imagine is that your TV is set to "stretch" the full-screen format.

Does standard-definition TV programing fill your whole screen as well?

 

[Bdog]

I can get SD to fill the screen. Watched "The Hurt Locker" last night on DVD, it looked and worked fantastic. Do I need to change a setting? The only thing I can get the picture to do is to move up and down on the screen, and have only one bar across either the top or bottom. I must be missing something!

 

[adk highlander]

I can get SD to fill the screen. Watched "The Hurt Locker" last night on DVD, it looked and worked fantastic. Do I need to change a setting? The only thing I can get the picture to do is to move up and down on the screen, and have only one bar across either the top or bottom. I must be missing something!

You have it wrong. By not having the black bars you are missing something.

Did you read or look at the link jeffsg4mac posted?

If you look at the back of any widescreen DVD or Blu-ray you will see the aspect ratio listed. If it is not 16x9 or 1.78:1 then you will have blackbars at the top and bottom.

Here is another link that gives images if the different types of ratios:

http://hometheater.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=hometheater&cdn=gadgets&tm=19&gps=139_1468_1157_771&f=10&su=p284.9.336.ip_p504.1.336.ip_&tt=2&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5140690-4.html

 

[SopRage]

I can get SD to fill the screen. Watched "The Hurt Locker" last night on DVD, it looked and worked fantastic. Do I need to change a setting? The only thing I can get the picture to do is to move up and down on the screen, and have only one bar across either the top or bottom. I must be missing something!

The manual I found online said that your remote should have a "WIDE" button on it. It should be below the numbers and above the "crosshair" that controls play/stop and all that jazz.

If you hit it a few times it should cycle between "Wide Zoom," "Normal," "Full," and "Zoom." For a non-distorted picture you should have "Normal" selected. My guess is that you do not.

This is strictly a judgment call as well; many of us here would probably tell you to watch in "Normal" so that you're getting the source distortion free and "as intended" on 4:3 SD content. I think the lion's share of us would tell you as well that widescreen movies, even with the bars below and above, is a vastly superior experience to watching stretched 4:3 SD content.

Obviously, however, it's your setup to enjoy as you please.

 

[Bdog]

I do not have "wide" on remote. My main concern is burning in the top and bottom bars. The tv manual says only 5% of viewing per week should be with sidebars displayed on screen. I would assume the same applies to bars at top and bottom? Am I making too much out of this?

 

[Bdog]

Thanks for the suggestions and links on aspect ratios-very informative.