Dvd's- widescreen vs full screen

[Teenweek]

I finally just recently got a dvd player. Is there a big difference in it between widescreen and fullscreen? All I know is widescreen has the black bars on the top and bottom. All my tv's are average size 36-40 inch screens. I heard widescreen is good if you have HDTV. Anyone know which is better.

[QuickStop]

widescreen is better because you get the full picture (at least 50% more than fullscreen). Fullscreen cuts off the sides. You dont get the movie the way the director wanted it with fullscreen

[Teenweek]

If your tv screen is less than 40 inches, does it make a big difference? I figure if you have a bigger tv, than widescreen would be the way to go.

[HollywoodJewMoses]

wide screen > full screen

[QuickStop]

i watch widescreen on a 13" tv. If i have the choice, I ALWAYS watch widescreen.

[Goatweed]

Widescreen is usually the true aspect ratio (excluding most television programming). What that means is when you go to a theater, the screen is not in a 4:3 ratio like a television set, but usually a 16:9 ratio (more rectangular). When you watch a movie an TV, there is usually a disclaimer that says "edited for television" which most people assume to mean all the curses and nudity are cut out - which is true, but the actual picture is also cropped to fit within the constrains of a 4:3 television set.

The "black bars" you refer to aren't really bars - those are "dead space". meaning the movies looks rectangular because it has to be compressed to fit within a 4:3 screen. On a set 36" and up, widescreen is enjoyable (I have a 36" myself), but if you are looking to get a new set, go widescreen. Widescreen gives you more movie, and you watch it as the director intended you to see it - not cropped. I always buy widescreen, and when I watch a cropped movie it really kills the experience for me.

Widescreen is good whether you have analog, digital or HDTV - the differences between these sets are purely video quality. I'm not an expert, but the differences come down to pixel concentration - more pixels means a sharper picture. Analog sets are standard and offer the lowest res, digital gets considerably better, and HDTV provides the current "best" picture. The problem is a video picture is only as good as it's source, meaning your beat-up old Debbie Does Dallas VHS tape will look shitty on a, HDTV - esp. if it's a large screen. My set is HDTV, and I really only use this setting when I play on my X-Box - I have an analog cable (hot) box, and the picture isn't the greatest - but it's free. Once we move into a house. I plan on getting DirecTV with the Dolby Digital receiver boxes. My brother-in-law has this setup with the same TV as mine, and it looks amazing. DVD's on my TV also look spectacular, and my VCR plays fairly well, but its no comparison to a DVD picture.

The bottom line - if you're not a real movie-phile, you can get away with not watching widescreen, but almost all DVD's come this way, as it really is the best way to see the movie - most times directors have stuff going on in the background that add so much to the scene and when you don't see it, it really takes away from the movie. Stick with widescreen.

[LZMF1]

16:9/widescreen/letterbox format or whatever the fuck you want to call it is the best way to view a DVD

[QuickStop]

Debbie Does Dallas

watched porn 'n chicken last night, did ya?

[Hybrid]

what lz said

[LZMF1]

if we really want to get technical, we could discuss using component cables(for the video signal) and optical cable(for the audio signal). that's what i use with my home theatre system and my 55" high definition tv. i have my gaming systems and my dvd player hooked up that way :thumbs-up:

[Teenweek]

Thanks guys. I figured just go with full screen so I dont see the black bars. You guys rule.

[Hybrid]

have you no brain?

[Goatweed]

On this page you can view actual side-by-side examples of widescreen vs. fullscreen (or pan & scan). Check out how much of the movie you're really missing...

[Teenweek]

This also results in what are incorrectly referred to as "black bars" at the top and bottom of the screen. In reality, these "black bars" are actually unused areas of the screen. The areas are black to allow for better contrast.

The truth of the matter is that the widescreen process actually allows you to see more of the frame - not less. Yes, you have a smaller visual portion, but you are seeing the movie the way that you saw it in theatres, which is almost always the way that film makers want the movie to be seen.

Thanks goatweed. I honestly did not know all that. It is amazing seeing it side by side the differences.

[Goatweed]

No problem. When you see how much gets cropped out, it's like you're getting ripped-off in a sense. That site and Home Theater Forum are great sites to learn up on Home Theater - from soup to nuts. It can be a little techie when you read it, but once you get the terms and ideas down, it all makes sense.

[Teenweek]

I knew widescreen was the way to go, but I thought it really did nto matter unless you have a big screen (ex:48 inches or higher) or HDTV. I guess it does. Well I screwed up than with 1 that I pre-ordered with LOTR extended and Spiderman (get it free at blockbuster deal).

[QuickStop]

you know what i thought was funny...i first saw lord of the rings on dvd, then on ppv. In full screen, when "the fellowship of the ring" is written on the screen, it actually reads "he fellowship of the rin" because that much gets cut off. Now how could anyone seriously watch that without getting pissed off?

[Gooch]

widescreen....and that's on my bedroom's 20inch flat screen. Fuck the size...see it as it was intended. Fullscreen is for pussies.

[Hybrid]

i'd be angry. like this -------> :angry:

[Teenweek]

well at least i learned now for the future.