Widescreen? uugghh...

[Mr. Meat]

I really need to get a DVD player. Every year I realize I'm behing the technology that is currently available for the public.

Anyway, most of my friends have DVD players and they say most of the films they have are in widescreen or 'letterbox' format. The also say that some DVD's have both sides available on the disc, meaning one side can be widescreen the other full screen.

I hate widescreen format. I think the only good widescreen format is in the movie theaters. To me it doesn't make sense to have those 2 black bars on the top and bottom of your screen when your whole T.V. can be picture. My question is are most DVD's out there widescreen or both? And do you need a special kind of DVD player to play full screen or is it in the disc's theirselves?

Also, what is everybody's thought on widescreen formatting?

[yvonne]

widescreen is supposedly the way the director sees the film when he is looking in the camera, fullscreen is for our benifit....for people who dont own huge ass tvs....when i lived ih a different town, my hubby and i had a huge 52 inch tv and wide screen looked hella cool!!! i prefer widescreen, especially in grease cuse u can see all the people doing their dancing that u just dont see in the regular format......have u noticed that before u watch a movie (vhs) it said "this film has been modified to fit your tv" ? thats what they mean...it is filmed in widescreen...yvonne

[Mr. Meat]

Thank you for giving me that info. I knew widescreen was for the purpose of really seeing through the lens of the camera, but I never really thought about it like that. But see I don't have a big screen, and it (widscreen) is sometimes a pain in the butt. I find myself always scooting the couch in closer and it makes my family pissed off. Maybe the answer we need is a bigger tv, but I will settle for the DVD for now.

But can you or anybody answer my first question as to why most DVD's are formatted into widscreen and are all DVD's like that? Does it depend on what kind of DVD player I have so I can play it in full screen? Thanks...

[Silent Bob]

you can go to the menu of the dvd playr and pick if you want widescreen or fullscreen. all of my dvds have it. i prefer wide screen, though. if you get a dvd player, you won't be disapointed. you can control almost everything on it. the movies are hella cheap, too.

[Mr. Meat]

Thats pretty cool! I didn't know if I had the choice or not. Thanks

[Tuukka]

The full sreen ratio of TV is 1:1,3. Many of the big hollywood films are shot in a widescreen ratio of 1:2,35. When you add the usual overscanning of TV's to that, it means up to 45 percent of the picture is missing, when you watch a film on TV. That's right, 45 PERCENT!!! If someone buys a painting, does he cut 45 percent of it, so that it would fit better to his bedroom wall? Of course not!

I'm really frustrated, because widescreen formats are so rare in videofilms. Thankfully DVD's have arrived and finally we can watch films in their intended format

FULLSCREEN SUCKS!!!

[Mr. Meat]

I never knew that ratio...but even that is not fair. So you're meaning to tell me that most of the films I've seen in my lifetime, I was missing up to %45 of the true picture?

[Silent Bob]

I've always liked widescreen on my DVDs. And before I got my DVD player, I always tried to buy the widescreen version of the movie. I just think the little black bars are cool /ubb/smile.gif

[Tuukka]

It depends on the film. Most big budget films are shot on 1:2,35. The 1:1,85 ratio is also very common. If I remember correctly, there is also a 1:2,1 ratio in use. In Europe they use more of the 1:1,66 ratio.

But if we think about visually gorgeus, big budget Hollywood films, the answer is yes. It's pretty close to 45 percent we are missing. The 1:2,35 ratio is visually most attractive in my mind. It's best for putting different visual elements in the right order within the frame... (I don't remember the english word for this, but hopefully you understand what I mean with that muddly argument).

It makes me really angry sometimes when I see a fullscreen version of a visually beautiful film and it looks just terrible, because there is so much missing from the picture. You know when there is picture of two people talking to each other, their profiles are on the left and right corner of the frame. When the film is transferred to TV, we see only their noses! Sometimes they even re-edit the scene. They cut from one face to another, because they both can't be seen at the same time. Directors give a lot of attention to the lenght of the shots, which creates the overall pace. Re-editing can do annoying damage to their vision.

[Mr. Meat]

Well I am gonna get a DVD player real soon. I was planning to get all my 100 fav movies on DVD (some haven't came out) and a lot of other films I've seen through the years I have to re-watch them all. I am pissed off at that piece of info you gave me, and while most my favs aren't big budget mainstream Hollywood, I still need to re watch and analyze them all. I can't rest until I do that. Nd Bob, yes, I guess we all get attached to those little black bars after a while!

[Crynot]

The DVD player I have does give the choice of selecting Wide or Full screen. However, if I select Full screen on a DVD that only comes in Wide, then my picture is stretched and slightle warped due to filling those bar gaps. I'm not sure if they are all that way but you may want to consider that before buying one and thinking that you can watch Full screen on a Wide DVD.

Crynot

[Mr. Meat]

From what you all said, it makes me feel raped and pillaged because I missed out on the true form of the film. : (

[yvonne]

just a suggestion...for those of u who dont have a dvd player, buy a few dvd movies first, then the player, so u wont feel like you spent tons and tons on a dvd player without any movies, thats the way i did it....yvonne

[retardinAz]

Most DVDs that I've seen are in widescreen. and Widescreen is much better. For people with really small TVs it sucks, but on mine(which is like a 26") it is awesome. The reason behind widescreen is that you see things to each side that you don't on fullscreen.

[Scarface]

I think one movie that i wouldn't want to watch on fullscreen is M:I2. That movie was made for widescreen.

[screamer581]

I think they should come with both wide screen and regular screen, I think we deserve a choice!

[Crynot]

Apparently they know what they're doing! Most DVD's that come out right now are in widescreen and I believe the reason is because probably the majority of the general public do not yet own DVD's, they're still using VHS... so my point is that by the time DVD's become the majority - most people will probably own widescreen TV's. That is the reason why DVD's are in widescreen. It's all about marketing.

What do you guys think?

Crynot

[DarkLight]

I really agree on the whole market conversion thing you speak of Crynot.

However, DVD is made for the film fan. They really should try to make both versions either available on a single disc or have 2 versions available. Two good DVDs that do this that I can think of is the Go and Cruel Intentions DVDs which have both versions on one disc, plus loads of extras!

Personally, I prefer widescreen format and always watch my movies like that. Another added advantage to 'getting the whole picture' is getting a crisp, sharply focused feature. So what if the movie is trapped between two black lines? This beast was caged that way on the director's say-so.

DL

[Jon Lyrik]

Our first Widescreen vs. Fullscreen debate! Cool!

*dusts it off*

[Goosey]

Here's a good link for Mr. Meat and whoever else wants to see why widescreen kicks ass!


http://www.widescreen.org/widescreen.shtml

[Jon Lyrik]

Um...he hasn't been here for years. After all, I justed wanted to dust this off, thought it was cool.

[Goosey]

I didn't realize how old this thread is! Always a classic debate, though.

[Neesh]

LOL! Who the heck are those people? They dont know how to throw down a good widescreen vs. fullscreen debate like the schmoes of today. ;)

[::salty::]

Holy shit, I cant remember the last time I watched a movie that wasn't widescreen, I just find it better when you see the whole thing. watching LOTR in fullscreen to me is just sacriledge.

[PorcheRacer]

Check and see if your remote has a "zoom" button. If you press that the bars go away and you can see the movie in fullscreen.

Really though, you do see more with widescreen. Here are some examples;

Blade Runner

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/bladerunner1.jpg http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/bladerunner2.jpg

A Few Good Men

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/fewgoodmen1.jpg http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/fewgoodmen2.jpg

A Fistfull Of Dollars

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/fist1.jpg http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/fist3.jpg

See how much picture your missing? I used to loathe widescreen too until I seen shot camparisons like that and I soon got used to them. I don't even notice the "black bars" anymore.

[Jim H]

Sergio Leone films are more damaged then almost any other films. He VERY frequently puts characters all the way to both sides, and the panning never helps.

BTW, try getting a DVD player with zoom, and zoom about halfway in, effectively making the ratio about 1:66 or 1:85 instead of 2:33. I know some people who can't stand losing a huge amount of their TV screen (45% of the screen is a big difference, I don't care what any of you say) but when that amount is cut in half some people don't mind.

Myself, I always watch films on widescreen when possible.

[Cronos]

all fullscreen dvds (apart from those filmed in fullscreen!!!!) should be burnt in a nice big fire, widescreens the only way to see a film

[Psychocandy]

Here we go again. I have only one contribution to make to this thread. There are instances where Widescreen is not the best option but they are few. Widescreen is the ONLY way to watch most movies. Pan & Scan is an awful concept and can make even the best movies look like the work of a two-bit hack.

[The Shootin Surgeon]

NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Everytime I try to get out, this topic keeps PULLING ME BACK IN!!!!!


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http://www.joblo.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52210&highlight=battle+rages+on