Horizontal Black Bars with DVD's

[tnlandsailor]

Ok, I hope this doesn't sound too silly. Why on almost every DVD I own, are the horizontal black bars at the top and bottom of the screen always there? I have a 16:9 plasma display and I can change the aspect ratio to get rid of the bars but the picture distorts or some of the picture is lost off the screen.

One of the reasons I ask is that I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a new plasma (65" VT30). It will be used mostly for DVD/Blue-ray viewing and not much HD broadcast at all. If the black bars are just a part of life for movies (I don't mind them too much, just a little annoying), will they hurt the display as far as burn-in or image retention? Maybe not since it's black, but just thought I would ask. Thanks for any help here.

 

[j_garcia]

Anamorphic widescreen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[GranteedEV]

DVDs are 16:9
Movies are 2.35:1

Movies on DVD, are 2.35:1 + Black bar to get 16:9

As for the consequences - I suppose on paper the top/bottom of your screen might have less phosphor aging than the rest of the screen. I've had my plasma for 3 years now and haven't seen any immediate evidence of it though.

 

[j_garcia]

DVDs are 16:9
Movies are 2.35:1

Movies on DVD, are 2.35:1 + Black bar to get 16:9

Depends on the movie. Anamorphic widescreen movies will "fit" the screen and lose a bit on either edge, but not nearly as much as the fit function of most displays. That unfortunately means you have one or the other: black bars or a portion of the image cropped off unless you use a "stretch to fit" option, which results in those odd looking images. Letterbox widescreen movies will still have black bars no matter what you do though.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I wish I could anything usable about the bars, other than my last plasma (rip) never shown any issues related to black bars in it's 6 years of life

Slight off-topic - why pay extra for VT30, then GT30 is exactly same panel - the difference is at least $600 or that matter ST30 lacks the THX cert and advanced controls, but in the end of the day is essentially same panel

But 2012 VT50 is actually a brand new panel, which lower models don't get
My budget choice was 55ST30, but if I'd be looking for top dog, I'd get xxVT50