dnaps said:
Can someone please explain to me why so many DVDs are coming out in widescreen ratios of 2.35:1 or 2.40:1? I recently purchased a LCD flat panel and spent several nights trying to figure out why I still had black bars at the top and bottom. I dont want to risk burn-in and I refuse to use the zoom feature. After some reading and goin through all my DVDs i realized the only ones that would play "correctly" with a full screen were the DVDs with 1.85:1 or very close to that .....and there werent many. I guess the question is will this continue to be the case or will we see more dvds that target consumers with 16:9 tvs?
Movies weren't made to be watched on a television. They were meant to be watched in a theater in a wide aspect ratio. Why? Because that is visually the most captivating. The directors decide what ratio they want to shoot their film in. Some prefer the 2.35:1, others a little wider hence the occasional 2.39:1 or 2.40:1. What you'll notice is that most of these "wider" movies are the action movies because more can be seen in a frame the wider it is. The comedies and dramas will be 1.85:1 most of the time. Part of them is chopped to get to the 1.78:1 (16 x 9) of your TV when released on DVD. It is too little to worry about and then no black bars.
I want to see the whole movie, so I put up with the black bars on movies wider than 1.78:1. Some can't handle it so they buy the pan and scan fullscreen version and miss part of the film. You won't see this changing. Like I said, movies weren't made for TV watching (as far as a perfect fit goes). If you really want the cinema experience, you need a front projector and a screen, not a TV.
I wouldn't worry about screen burn-in. That is mostly a myth. Your LCD can handle the black bars as long as they aren't there 24/7.
