16:9 aspect ratio

4743hudsonj

ok so seeing as tv's have a 16:9 aspect ratio

and so do dvd's

why can i see black bars (letterboxing) around the picture?

this is when the dvd is being upscaled btw

cant see any settings to change it
and it doesnt really look squashed down so this looks like the original aspect ratio setting

i8change

Not all DVD's are 16:9, many are 2.35:1 (and other sizes) so are letterboxed.

http://www.filmbug.com/dictionary/aspect-ratios.php

(1.85:1 in the link diagram is approx 16:9)

4743hudsonj

i8change wrote: »

Not all DVD's are 16:9, many are 2.35:1 (and other sizes) so are letterboxed.

i do know this, but this one states on the back its 16:9

and every other one


me thinks its some setting somewhere but i was just checking that these claims of 16:9 where porkys

o well

thanks

i8change

That's odd, especially if not stretched.
I know Titanic was a letterbox version 4:3. The actual film was 2.30:1 but on a 4:3 frame, so letterboxed to the extreme. Had to crop loads off it when using PSPVideo9 to convert for PSP!
It could possibly be something like that (2.35:1 on a 16:9 frame). But then it would be stated correctly as such on the DVD's.
Best fiddle with the settings like you say. (my PVR has 16:9 and 14:9 letterbox settings in the 4:3 Display format)

DrScotsman

For a start, let's just clarify that you definitely mean Letterboxes: = and not pillarboxes: ||

Secondly, from Wikipedia

Most video DVDs include widescreen signaling, which allows the player to automatically select whether the video should be presented with digitally-inserted black bars for 4:3 sets, or "as-is" for 16:9 sets. If the source film is wider than the 16:9 (approximately 1.78:1) aspect ratio, then narrow black bars will be recorded on the top/bottom of the DVD's video, in order to preserve the proper appearance of the film (e.g. footage using an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 or whatever the director selected).

If I'm understanding that correctly, it seems that DVDs are only ever actually 4:3 or 16:9, and if it's a wider ratio then the letterboxes are pre-encoded onto the DVD. Now as we know that doesn't stop the boxes saying 1.85:1 or the like, but I'm thinking that maybe your DVDs are "correctly" calling the entire letterboxed image "16:9".

But of course, you say this is happening with many of your DVDs labelled 16:9...which is strange for a start because if none of them are 1.85:1 or 2.35:1, then I assume that hardly any of them are your usual previously-in-the-cinema movies. Are these niche or something, and hence more likely to have errors on the box? Please, divulge your DVD viewing habits

i8change

Originally posted by DrScotsman
If I'm understanding that correctly, it seems that DVDs are only ever actually 4:3 or 16:9, and if it's a wider ratio then the letterboxes are pre-encoded onto the DVD. Now as we know that doesn't stop the boxes saying 1.85:1 or the like, but I'm thinking that maybe your DVDs are "correctly" calling the entire letterboxed image "16:9".

This link, from Doom9, explains it quite well.

http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm

DrScotsman

i8change wrote: »

This link, from Doom9, explains it quite well.

http://www.doom9.org/aspectratios.htm

Okay, so DVDs can only be 1:1, 4:3, 16:9 or 2.11:1. So with those new ratios added on, would my statement above still be correct?

4743hudsonj

i did mean letter boxing

ive just had a deeper look


and i found a few *

and some very very small text

16:9 is 1:78:1 right?

well some said (approx)

others with the * said in small print that its anamorphics or just capable of being a 16:9 letterbox



i should of read those before hand really

that was just looking at a few


too much effort to delve into every dvd!


but there are no other settings to alter


o well