Help need with 16:9 TV and Anamorphic DVDs

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yesterday, I got a brand spanking new Samsung 40" high definition TV. It's quite exciting. The TV has the 16:9 aspect ratio. After playing around with it for a while, everything seems to work, except for DVDs.

The DVDs play, but the widescreen DVDs take up only about a 1/3 of the screen. It looks like they have been letter boxed twice over, e.g., the black bars along the top and bottom are twice as thick.

I did some minor internet searches discovered this is bound to happen with plain old letterboxed DVDs, but apparently "anamorphic widescreen" DVDs are supposed to be able to "sense" a 16:9 screen and expand to fill it/adjust. I am pretty sure the DVD I was playing (the extended version of "Two Towers") is an "anamorphic widescreen" DVD (at least Amazon.com tells me so), but yet it still had the "double thick" black lines.

Any thoughts/suggestions on how to get it to work properly?

As always, thanks in advance.

[General Mike]

Don;t buy widescreen DVDs with a 16:9 screen no matter what anyone tells you.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Don;t buy widescreen DVDs with a 16:9 screen no matter what anyone tells you.

This comment confuses me (i don't have a 16:9 screen)...

If you dont' by widescreen, isn't it going to cut off the sides?

[General Mike]

If I'm going to either lose the sides on a widescreen TV where not much is going on, or have huge black bars taking up the top and bottom of the screen, I'd rather lose the sides.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Don;t buy widescreen DVDs with a 16:9 screen no matter what anyone tells you.

More explanation please.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by General Mike

If I'm going to either lose the sides on a widescreen TV where not much is going on, or have huge black bars taking up the top and bottom of the screen, I'd rather lose the sides.

You're out of your mind. Watching anything but a widescreen release is simply not an option.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

You're out of your mind. Watching anything but a widescreen release is simply not an option.

Agreed 100%. I buy nothing but widescreen and they look fantastic on my Sony 34" Widescreen HDTV.

Check the settings on your DVD player. Make sure the DVD player knows you have a 16:9 TV hooked up to it.

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by General Mike

If I'm going to either lose the sides on a widescreen TV where not much is going on, or have huge black bars taking up the top and bottom of the screen, I'd rather lose the sides.

Umm...

You're losing some significant stuff there sometimes.

You probably buy letterbox on a 4:3 also, don't you?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Check the settings on your DVD player. Make sure the DVD player knows you have a 16:9 TV hooked up to it.

Thanks! I actually just found my DVD player's manual online and saw where I could do that. It will be the first thing I try when I get home from work.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Umm...

You're losing some significant stuff there sometimes.

Absolutely.

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

[Bee]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Thanks! I actually just found my DVD player's manual online and saw where I could do that. It will be the first thing I try when I get home from work.

That's most likely the problem. If it's set to 4:3 it's sending a widescreen image to the tv as a 4:3 signal which is why you're getting the double conversion issue. (16:9 tv, showing a 4:3 image of a 16:9 movie)

There's no way I would watch anything other than a widescreen DVD on a widescreen TV. On some movies you'll still have small bars on the top and bottom, but they're pretty insignificant compared to the huge bars you'd have on the sides with a 4:3 format DVD (once you get the DVD player settings corrected).

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by General Mike

If I'm going to either lose the sides on a widescreen TV where not much is going on, or have huge black bars taking up the top and bottom of the screen, I'd rather lose the sides.

Umm, if you have things set up right, you don't lose the tops and bottoms when watching widescreen movies on a widescreen set.

[jbmagic]

Honolulu_Blue

that the DLP one right?

I was thinking of getting the 40 or 50 " soon too. I really like that TV.

My brother in law has the 50" but for some reason he is getting that same thick black bar on top, bottom and side when not viewing HDTV. When viewing HDTV it looks great.

Is there a setting he needs to do to view non HDTV without getting that thick black bar?

[ice4277]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Yesterday, I got a brand spanking new Samsung 40" high definition TV. It's quite exciting.

The Southeast Oakland County FOFC contingent is patiently waiting for an invite to watch Wings playoff games.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by General Mike

Don;t buy widescreen DVDs with a 16:9 screen no matter what anyone tells you.

This is completely wrong. If you buy a full screen DVD with a 16:9 TV, you will get a picture that is stretched sideways and is still missing info on the sides of the screen. Widescreen DVDs may have the black bars if the movie was shot at an aspect ration that wasn't 16x9 and the DVD is not anamorphic, but you will get the whole picture and smaller bars than a regular 4:3 TV.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

Honolulu_Blue

that the DLP one right?

I was thinking of getting the 40 or 50 " soon too. I really like that TV.

My brother in law has the 50" but for some reason he is getting that same thick black bar on top, bottom and side when not viewing HDTV. When viewing HDTV it looks great.

Is there a setting he needs to do to view non HDTV without getting that thick black bar?

It's the LCD one.

I haven't noticed any thick black bars when watching anything other than a DVD. For cable, on some stations, I have bars on the left and right, but I think that's pretty standard since most non-HD stations broadcast in the 4:3 ratio. Some of those stations fill the entire screen, but I don't think they look perfectly right. They are a bit stretched.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

It's the LCD one.

I haven't noticed any thick black bars when watching anything other than a DVD. For cable, on some stations, I have bars on the left and right, but I think that's pretty standard since most non-HD stations broadcast in the 4:3 ratio. Some of those stations fill the entire screen, but I don't think they look perfectly right. They are a bit stretched.

You are going to have to compromise on the non-widescreen broadcasts. You can have the bars on the side, or you will get a stretched picture. Most TVs will have multiple stretching option, and you'll probably fine one you like.

For the DVD problem, you probably do have to set the DVD player to 16:9 mode. The problem you describe sounds like the player is trying to output to a 4:3 TV.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Samdari

Umm, if you have things set up right, you don't lose the tops and bottoms when watching widescreen movies on a widescreen set.

I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but not all movies are in the exact 16:9 ratio (or 1.7777777:1). I think the LOTR movies, especially, are in some odd 2.35:1 kind of ratio, which would tend to give bars even on a 16:9 screen...

FM

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but not all movies are in the exact 16:9 ratio (or 1.7777777:1). I think the LOTR movies, especially, are in some odd 2.35:1 kind of ratio, which would tend to give bars even on a 16:9 screen...

Yes, but they aren't very big bars, at least compared to what you'd get on a 4:3 TV. They just aren't nearly as noticable or as big a deal as they were on my old 4:3 TV.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by BrianD

You are going to have to compromise on the non-widescreen broadcasts. You can have the bars on the side, or you will get a stretched picture. Most TVs will have multiple stretching option, and you'll probably fine one you like.

I really can't stand the stretched look at all. On my projection TV screen, I have curtains that I shift in for extensive 4:3 viewing. You don't notice the bars that way and the image is still around 90" or so.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

Yes, but they aren't very big bars, at least compared to what you'd get on a 4:3 TV. They just aren't nearly as noticable or as big a deal as they were on my old 4:3 TV.

oh, I agree, and I'm pro-widescreen. I was more pointing out that there could be movies that will have black bars, even on a widescreen TV.

That was nitpicky, but that's how I am


FM

[wade moore]

Originally Posted by Bee

I really can't stand the stretched look at all. On my projection TV screen, I have curtains that I shift in for extensive 4:3 viewing. You don't notice the bars that way and the image is still around 90" or so.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

oh, I agree, and I'm pro-widescreen. I was more pointing out that there could be movies that will have black bars, even on a widescreen TV.

That was nitpicky, but that's how I am


FM

You were correct in your original point. Widescreen/HDTVs are 16:9. Movies are almost always 1.85:1 or 2.35:1.

[kcchief19]

Man, I think I have the same problem with my DVDs/new TV as well. I could get around it somewhat using zoom, but then you get picture degradation.

I need to look for this when I get home, but I could have sworn I already did. Maybe it means I need to upgrade from my RCA Divx player I got at a big discount when RCA abandoned the whole Divx plan.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

Man, I think I have the same problem with my DVDs/new TV as well. I could get around it somewhat using zoom, but then you get picture degradation.

I need to look for this when I get home, but I could have sworn I already did. Maybe it means I need to upgrade from my RCA Divx player I got at a big discount when RCA abandoned the whole Divx plan.

I'm still bitter about the whole Divx fiasco and refuse to shop at Circuit City to this day because of it.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by Bee

I really can't stand the stretched look at all. On my projection TV screen, I have curtains that I shift in for extensive 4:3 viewing. You don't notice the bars that way and the image is still around 90" or so.

I can understand this thought. It really depends for me on the stretching design. The Full Mode (just strech sideways) isn't terrible, but it does make everything too wide. The wide strech that zooms the whole picture a little bit and cuts off just a bit of the top and bottom works pretty well as long as you aren't watching anything with a scoreboard on top or a ticker on the bottom. The one that really bothers me is the stretch mode that stretches more on the outside of the picture than it does in the middle. It gives the objects on the screen a weird shifting motion.

[jbmagic]

Is a progressive htmi dvd player great for a HDTV?

Will there be a big difference from a standard dvd player when viewing?

[Raiders Army]

WS is the only way to go. TV viewing will come onboard in a few years. I usually watch 4:3 shows in "Standard". Some stretching, but not bad at all once you get used to it. We bought our 16:9 TV six years ago after I had seen how they work when we went out to the field (we had 2 16:9 Plasmas in our TOC). What finally sold me was how regular 4:3 TV looked. Nothing noticeably different.

[ISiddiqui]

Well I'm late to party, but I'll nod in agreement. It sounds like a DVD setting that hasn't been changed. Make sure it is on 16:9 mode. And if you don't have a Progressive Scan DVD player, you may want to think about getting one.

And widescreen is the ONLY way to go. It's hard to watch non-Hi-Def TV after witnessing the glory of 16:9 programming. Though I don't streach 4:3 programming. I leave it as normal. I like watching things in the aspect ratio they came in.

Oh, and yes, some DVDs will give you small black bars on top and bottom, because it isn't exactly at 16:9 aspect ratio. Not a big deal, however.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Thanks for all the replies/advice, fellas!