What's the difference between...

GateandGarden · #1 08-10-2005, 08:03 PM

a "full screen" DVD versus a "wide screen" DVD?

Try not to laugh too hard. We're not technology people in my family. We were like, the last people to get the internet. We have tiny TVs in our house and one cheap DVD player. Just not our thing, except I insisted on the internet a while back.

So, is the wide screen edition of something only useful to you if you have one of those huge wide screen TVs?

This is embarrassing so go easy on me.

dissention · #2 08-10-2005, 08:05 PM

They cut out half of the picture from the sides when they adjust it to fit on normal television screens. Pan & scan movies are the devil.

Anyone who would want to watch half of a movie needs to be slapped.

GateandGarden · #3 08-10-2005, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dissention

They cut out half of the picture from the sides when they adjust it to fit on normal television screens. Pan & scan movies are the devil.

Um, huh?

You must've forgotten that I'm blonde. Are you referring to wide screen editions with that comment?

dissention · #4 08-10-2005, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Um, huh?

You must've forgotten that I'm blonde. Are you referring to wide screen editions with that comment?

http://www.moviesbystarlight.com/wid...widescreen.htm

**mylittledemon** · #5 08-10-2005, 08:07 PM

Full screen DVDs are in a 4:3 (1:33 to 1) aspect ratio and you miss a lot of the image that is intended to be viewed. They "blow" the image up to fill the screen, and you miss things that are happening on the "side". I caught Ghostbusters in full frame the other day and buddy, there is some vital stuff going on to the left/right of the characters that is totally left out. Full screen DVDs are a complete waste of money.

A Widescreen DVD (16:9 format) can be in a 1:85 to 1 ratio or 2:35 to 1 ratio, depending on the type of camera the director uses to film the picture. All movies are shot "wider" than most TVs to get more of a viewing angle (hence the black bars on the top and bottom of your screen). You never see the "bars" in a movie theater because of the screen size. Your typical home TV set you will see the "black bars" at some point. If you have a widescreen flat panel TV (an LCD, or Plasma, or DLP or even some of the projection TVs) they can eliminate a lot of that.

GateandGarden · #6 08-10-2005, 08:11 PM

Oh! Now I see. Thanks to Brandon for the explanation and to Josh for the link. Finally, I get this. I've been wondering for too long.

How sad.

**mylittledemon** · #7 08-10-2005, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Oh! Now I see. Thanks to Brandon for the explanation and to Josh for the link. Finally, I get this. I've been wondering for too long.

How sad.

It's cool. Glad I could help. I work with installating home theater equipment for a living, so I'm used to the "dumb" questions. It can be confusing and even I'm not an expert on it, but I think what I said above is about all you need to know. Just wait until they start releasing hi-definition DVDs...! It never ends, I tell ya.

GateandGarden · #8 08-10-2005, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

Just wait until they start releasing hi-definition DVDs...! It never ends, I tell ya.

Man, I'm tellin' ya that I do not need that.

I was just beginning to get used to the whole mp3 thing when the whole bit torrent thing started up. And I was still buying cassette tapes when everyone else started buying CDs!

**mylittledemon** · #9 08-10-2005, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GateandGarden

Man, I'm tellin' ya that I do not need that.

I was just beginning to get used to the whole mp3 thing when the whole bit torrent thing started up. And I was still buying cassette tapes when everyone else started buying CDs!

Yeah I use the Live in Boston Fleetwood Mac disk for a demo a lot, because it was shot in Hi-def and it looks really sharp on plasma Tv's, etc...Technology changes so damn fast now, it's pretty frustrating.

Nixxxed · #10 08-10-2005, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

Full screen DVDs are in a 4:3 (1:33 to 1) aspect ratio and you miss a lot of the image that is intended to be viewed. They "blow" the image up to fill the screen, and you miss things that are happening on the "side". I caught Ghostbusters in full frame the other day and buddy, there is some vital stuff going on to the left/right of the characters that is totally left out. Full screen DVDs are a complete waste of money.

A Widescreen DVD (16:9 format) can be in a 1:85 to 1 ratio or 2:35 to 1 ratio, depending on the type of camera the director uses to film the picture. All movies are shot "wider" than most TVs to get more of a viewing angle (hence the black bars on the top and bottom of your screen). You never see the "bars" in a movie theater because of the screen size. Your typical home TV set you will see the "black bars" at some point. If you have a widescreen flat panel TV (an LCD, or Plasma, or DLP or even some of the projection TVs) they can eliminate a lot of that.

Mid-90s, when I first discovered the difference between widescreen & pan&scan, I remember looking for months and months for a widescreen version of Gone With The Wind.

And I was *furious* that one wasn't in production - how dare they cheat me out of "the rest" of one of my favorite films (and one of the most beloved of all time)???

Finally, a very nice videophile explained to me that the first films were shot in the 4x3/1.33:1 ratio. Then TV came along, and adopted that format out of necessity. When the movie moguls realized how much of their audience was being stolen, they widened the screens so people would be enticed back into theaters. And for artistic reasons too - if you've ever seen a true Cinemascope or 70mm movie, you understand - your entire field of vision is taken up (without having to sit on the first few rows).