Movie Screen Why?

[alexb123]

When watching a movie you often get a huge amount of the screen that is just a black area, why is this?

It seems strange that you pay out money for bigger and bigger screens yet is gets cut back by big areas of nothing.

Also, is there anyway of movies on your computer fill up this space?

[orc brute]

Originally Posted by alexb123

When watching a movie you often get a huge amount of the screen that is just a black area, why is this?

It seems strange that you pay out money for bigger and bigger screens yet is gets cut back by big areas of nothing.

Also, is there anyway of movies on your computer fill up this space?

its called original aspect ratio, it means that is the same format as you would watch it in the cinema and it is correct, its been this way for years on most dvd media , if you want to watch it without the black bars either watch it on a non widescreen tv or a vhs tape

[Crabman32]

If you are watching a film in the 2.35:1 ratio you will get the black bars at the top and bottom. You should have a setting on your TV that will zoom in but you will lose some information and resolution. If you are watching a film in the 1.85:1 ratio this will fill out a 16:9 screen. You can buy some films on DVD that are in full screen but to be honest you really aren't watching the film the way the director intended. Also, watching widescreen films on a non-widescreen (4:3) TV will give you bigger bars so forget that. Hope this helps.

[partyweb]

...careful, don't get Pincho started on this topic.

[Pincho Paxton]

Originally Posted by partyweb

...careful, don't get Pincho started on this topic.

Errr... correct aspect ratio.. like director intended.. blah de blah.. cough!

Framing a picture involves getting people to stand in the right places for the camera, and involves scenery being placed, or measured, or distanced to fit in the edges of your TV screen. You can't cut off the edges of the screen else you might cut off somebody's ear, and the director will cut off his ear like Van Goff.

Then there is full matt which overcomes this problem, but you need Blu Ray 1.1 or HD DVD to put the black bars back on for Directors Vision fenatics, and nobody is bothering to do that yet.

[pRot3us]

Originally Posted by Crabman32

If you are watching a film in the 1.85:1 ratio this will fill out a 16:9 screen.

Not quite, 1.78:1 will fill the screen, there are still slight bars with 1.85:1

[Battlestar]

Here we go

Most Movies are shot with the cinema screen in mind. This screen is bigger and wider than a TV. Films for the cinema are normally in two different aspect ratios (screen sizes) to keep it simple and not over complicate it I will call the two sizes 1.85 or 2.35.1

On a wide screen TV if your DVD player, sky box or cable box are set up correctly then the picture should fill the 16.9 (wide mode) screen. This is because the size is almost the same.

A 2.35.1 film such as star wars is even wider so in order for the whole image to be displayed correctly the picture has to be , for want of a better word, set back a little in order for you to see the sides of the image. Because there is nothing at the top and the bottom of the screen to see, you then get the black bars.

[the_pauley]

Originally Posted by Pincho Paxton

...but you need Blu Ray 1.1 or HD DVD to put the black bars back on for Directors Vision fenatics, and nobody is bothering to do that yet.

Nor, thankfully, will any director allow them to.