Am I the only one who does not get this?
Since all HD broadcasts and a decent amount of films are 16:9, what is this for? When you want to watch LOTR w/o black bars you can go down into the basement where this is monster is stored? Are black bars that much of an issue?
Kooky. Maybe with my government salary I don't understand the concept of truly 'disposable' income!
Black bars
ARE that much of an issue for many people. (not me)
Why else would HBO, Cinemax, ABC, PPV and others show 2.35:1 movies as 16:9 open matte or cropped? Why else would TNT, TBS, A&E, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, AMC, IFC, Biography, Food Network, HGTV, History Channel and Cartoon Network s-t-r-e-t-c-h 4:3 programming to 16:9?
Quite a few people on AVS asked when 21:9 displays would be available.
Everyone is focusing on the fact that it's a 2.35:1 display--that's nice. It won't eliminate black bars for 2.76:1 films like
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) or
Battle of the Bulge (both already released on HD DVD).
What intrigues me is that this is a 96" display that gives new life to rear projection which previously topped out at 73". (Plasma and LCD both go up to 65" for practical purposes. I'm ignoring the $100k 102" specialty screens.)
Anyone who thinks the 2.35:1 screens won't be the next thing to differentiate the cheaper 16:9 HDTV displays from the pricier ones is kidding themselves. Runco is the first. Expect Pioneer, Sony and others who are tired of fighting (and losing to) Vizio and Westinghouse to offer their own versions.
By the by, JVC actually demoed one at the 2007 CES.
http://jvc.com/press/index.jsp?item=551&pageID=3&PressKitID=10
Cinema Wide HD-ILA
With an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, JVC’s prototype Cinema Wide HD-ILA offers enhanced viewing of DVDs and high definition movies. Most widescreen movies are distributed in this 2.35:1 aspect ratio, while current widescreen TVs have a 16:9 (approx. 1.78:1) aspect ratio. JVC’s Cinema Wide HD-ILA displays 2.35:1 content properly without letterboxing.
http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/ces2007/011007JVC/