Home audio & video: Widescreen DVD not filling screen properly
Widescreen DVD not filling screen properly
by tenkin - 2/24/09 9:58 AMOk, before you answer what seems to be a common question, I know that with many major movies, they're filmed in a wider aspect ratio than my screen, so that's not what this is about.
I recently bought a 46" Sceptre LCD TV and I've got it hooked up to a Philips DVD player (don't know the model # - relatively inexpensive type, less than a year old). Ok, so first time I played a widescreen film I saw that the image was essentially a box in the middle with black bars all around, so I adjusted the settings on the dvd player to set the TV to 16:9, made sure the TV itself was set to "Full" (not 4:3) and great, it fit. Works great for just about every dvd I have, all of which are widescreen, of course.
My problem is with a Rush in Rio concert DVD I just purchased. The concert is obviously taped in a 16:9 ratio, but I just can't seem to get it to fill the screen. To get the proper picture (no stretching), I have to set the TV to 4:3, but then I get black bars on all 4 sides, wasting a lot of my TV space. Setting the TV to Full obviously stretches it unacceptibly wide. I checked that the DVD player is set for a 16:9 tv, so that's not the problem - switching that back to 4:3 doesn't do any good either.
Is it possible this DVD was taped in 16:9 but only meant to be played on a 4:3 TV? That seems very strange for a relatively recent DVD release, when all my other widescreen DVD movies play fine. Am I missing something? I think I've tinkered with all I can on both the TV and DVD player.
Thanks in advance for your help.
At least you know your equipments are ok.
by ahtoi - 2/24/09 5:18 PM In reply to: Widescreen DVD not filling screen properly by tenkinIt maybe a new release but it doesn't sound very professional.
Yes, but has anybody heard of this before?
by tenkin - 2/25/09 9:22 AM In reply to: At least you know your equipments are ok. by ahtoiIt's a major release by a major band from about 5 years ago, and I've seen all kinds of great reviews of it, nobody mentions that the widescreen aspect of it is messed up. I'm wondering if it's possible the encoding on the disc I have doesn't allow my dvd player to recognize it as widescreen? As I said, other movies and widescreen productions work fine, so it's puzzling that this one is off.
How do you have the DVD player connected?
by Dan Filice - 2/25/09 9:55 AM In reply to: Yes, but has anybody heard of this before? by tenkinHow is your DVD player connected to your TV? This is a common oversight. If you don't have your DVD player connected by either Component or HDMI (meaning your DVD player is connected by either S-Video or the single yellow RCA plug or a single coax), you will always get a 4:3 box, even if you play a widescreen DVD, which will display in a 4:3 box with black bars all around.
HDMI
by tenkin - 2/25/09 10:10 AM In reply to: How do you have the DVD player connected? by Dan FiliceThanks for the suggestion, but I've got the TV hooked up to the dvd player via HDMI cable. And, as mentioned, other DVDs work fine - filling up the screen (or close to it if it's a super-wide release), with no stretching, etc. I'm fairly sure it's an issue with the disc itself - is there something inherent in the disc's coding that lets the dvd player know it's a wide angle program? It seems to think that it's 4:3, and interestingly, switching between 4:3 and 16:9 on the dvd player doesn't make a difference in how it looks onscreen, but it does make a difference with other widescreen movies.
The Disc
by Dan Filice - 2/25/09 11:41 AM In reply to: HDMI by tenkinThe only thing I can think of is that the disc was mastered in 4:3 format, even though the source material was 16:9. I don't know why any one would master a disc this way, but stranger things have happened. Is there a menu option on the disc to choose between 4:3 and 16:9 versions? Some discs give both versions, but they are typically burned on separate sides of the disc. Do you know anyone with a DVD player hooked up properly to a 16:9 TV on which you could try this disc for comparison?
No options
by tenkin - 2/25/09 12:21 PM In reply to: The Disc by Dan FiliceNo, the disc doesn't have any setup options, other than audio. I also just today tried playing the disc on my computer with a 16:9 monitor, alongside a couple of other widescreen movies I happen to have at work...same thing, so I know it's the disc. Bizarrely, it does seem to be mastered to play at 4:3 even though it was filmed in 16:9. This was released in 2003, so I find it hard to believe this was done intentionally. I'd rather think it's a glitch in the mastering - a lot of money seems to have gone into the production of this video, so it's hard to believe this is how they intended it to be seen.
The Last Word
by tenkin - 2/25/09 12:26 PM In reply to: No options by tenkinThere's an official website for this video, touting all the benefits, etc. On the first page at the bottom is a special note that Anamorphic Formatting is not available on any version of this DVD. Sure would be nice if that were mentioned on the box!
Well, at least that answers that question. Thanks for your suggestions.
I Have Seen This Before
by Flatworm - 2/28/09 4:56 AM In reply to: Widescreen DVD not filling screen properly by tenkinI have a Sony KDL52XBR4 and have noticed this effect on several of my DVDs from less reputable producers (and on broadcast programs produced in HD being broadcast on SD channels). I don't know about your Sceptre, but on my Sony I can cause it to fill the screen by selecting a setting named "ZOOM" for 4:3 content. My Sony BD-S350, also a low-end BD player, upconverts nicely enough that the resolution turns out fine.
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