Anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio

[Neutron]

Why is it some DVD's that are in 2.35:1 aspect ration say enhanced for widescreen TV's when you still have two black bars on your screen? I have a CRT RPTV and it scares me to run those movies in fear of burn in. If I zoom in though, then I lose some of the movie.

Does this bother anyone else? 1.85:1 anamorphic is fine. It plays correctly.

 

[Hall]

Not sure what you're asking... Do you have a *widescreen* TV ?? I really don't think you'll get burn-in in the 2 hours a movie is playing either. I do have a true, widescreen TV (HDTV-capable, 16:9 aspect ratio, etc, etc) and as you say, 2.35:1 movies have black bars across the top and bottom. I've never seen 1.85:1 anamorphic, but 1.66:1, 1.78:1, and 1.85:1 movies have little to no black bars.

16 divided by 9 does equal 1.78, so that should fit *perfect*. From what I've read, the "overscan" capability of TVs makes the black bars on a 1.85:1 movie almost invisible (they'd be very small to start with).

If you're asking just "why", well, I think the main issue is based on how the movie was filmed in the first place. The 2nd link goes into more detail on that, as I recall.

Here's a good explanation of this in layman's terms:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332843

Here's another one that explains *why* things are done in anamorphic:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332843

 

[Neutron]

Yes, my TV is a 16:9 widescreen HDTV ready.

I don't have any black bars on 1.85:1 movies, just 2.35:1 and it drives my wife and I crazy because we don't want burn in. If I could change the black bars to grey I would feel better.

 

[angiodan]

I've had a CRT HD set for over 3 years, never had any burn in because of the black bars. I guess if all you watch are 2.35:1 movies constantly 14 hours a day every day, over time it can happen. A mix of programming formats will lessen the likelihood of it happenning.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[tonyp56]

There is nothing you can do about the black bars (other than stretch the picture). Basically anything that is 1.85:1 or less will fill you screen, even stuff that says its been formated to fit your screen, my DVD player and TV automatically stretch it for me. (if it didn't I would have black bars on the sides.)

Enhanced for 16x9 TV's doesn't mean anything, it's just something they put on there to trick people into thinking it is going to fit their TV, it doesn't! Basically they (movie producers, distributors, etc...) don't care whether or not you can watch a movie on your 4x3 TV without black bars let alone your 16x9! But at least it's better on a wide-screen TV than it is on a normal TV.

 

[Carl B]

Wide screen DVDs that are noted as "Enhanced for Wide Screen TVs" or as "anamorphic wide screen" have been modified so that they project an image that fills the horizontal width of a 16X9 wide screen TV w/o distortion. If the OAR of the video is greater than 1.85, you will have black bars filling the vertical space above and below the picture.

Wide screen DVDs that aren't so noted are just letterbox videos. In normal mode on a 16X9 TV they will project a 4X3 letterbox image on the screen. Zooming them once will pretty much fill the screen w/ little loss of content, but some loss of PQ. A perfect example of this type of wide screen DVD is the wide screen DVD of Titanic.

 

[DarrellP]

Neutron, just calibrate your TV using a THX certified DVD and you won't have to worry about burnin watching an occassional 2.35:1 movie. I've had my Dish 6000 HD receiver for 4 years now and watched it on a 27" 4:3 TV for 3 years and I still watch my Voom and DVD's on that set and there is no hint of burnin anywhere and I watch mostly widescreen material on it.

 

[Neutron]

I'm not worried about a normal 4:3 tube. I'm worried about my RPTV. CRT tubed TV's aren't nearly as prone to burn in like CRT Projection TVs.

 

[DarrellP]

Yes they are, they are the same exact technology, just setup your set with a calibration disc and quit worrying.

 

[hpman247]

I'm not worried about a normal 4:3 tube. I'm worried about my RPTV. CRT tubed TV's aren't nearly as prone to burn in like CRT Projection TVs.

If I were you Neutron, I wouldn't worry too much about burn-in as long as you have you brightness and contrast at around 40%. If this is really annoying you and you watch 2:35:1 DVD's all the time and nothing else, then try moving the picture up and down. Up until the black bar dissappears, and then the next time you watch move the picture down until the black bar dissappears. I really don't think you have to much to worry about unless you
1. Watch 2:35:1 movies 12 hours a day straight.
2. Don't regularly stretch 4:3 SD material
3. Pause games for a long stretch (More than an few minutes).

IMO burn-in is talked about way to much. If you just take certain precautions you will be fine.

 

[Pepper]

I would be more worried about burn-in of the stupid channel logos in the corner than the letterbox bars.

 

[Ken F]

With properly configured brightness and contrast levels, burn-in with normal use should should never be an issue on a CRT RPTV.

If you were to keep your 2.35:1 DVD on the screen all day, every day, that would be one thing. If you watched only 2.35:1 DVDs and nothing else every day, that might be a concern. But I am betting you watch the occasional 1.85:1 DVD, and the occasional HDTV to fill your screen. In that case, you should not be concerned about burn-in.