Upconverting DVD vs Blu; and Ultra (screen, connect, Blu-ray, HDTV)
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I have an upconverting DVD player with an HD TV. Most of my DVDs show black bars around all four sides.
If I played the DVDs on a Bluray player, would I still see the black bars just the same?
Also, my DVDs of Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut only have bars on the left and right. The image goes to the extreme top and bottom. Why are those different?
Finally, a question about the new Ultra HD TVs - what software do you use for it - is there an equivalent to BluRay but for Ultra?
A lot of listings for Bluray players say you can access Netflix and Hulu but does not say wifi. Doesn't that just mean you have to have a cord from your router to the Bluray player?
I have an upconverting DVD player with an HD TV. Most of my DVDs show black bars around all four sides.
Presumably you are connecting to TV with RCA? This is one of those things that can get complicated quick because there is three possible sources for the black bars.
4:3 = Regular TV
16:9 = Widescreen
First understand how widescreen on DVD works. The RAW video is what they call anamorphic and recorded in 720*480 whether it's a 16:9 or 4:3 source. This is raw 16:9, note how the round signs look like eggs and everyone is stretched a little.
There is flag set on the DVD telling it that it's 16:9 or 4:3 so it can adjust output depending on your display and settings. If for example you have a 16:9 video and the DVd player is it set for output on 4:3 TV it will add black bars top and bottom, this is called letterboxing. If you have a 4:3 source and have it set for output on widescreeen it may add black bars left and right, this is called pillarboxing. Also note your TV can do this as well.
Unfortunately that is not the only source........ It's not very common and more likely to be on older DVD's but the DVD source itself can be 16:9 on 4:3 matte. In this case the black bars are part of the video recording itself and there may be additional bars be adding by the DVD player and/or TV. If you have any videos that are original cinematic aspect they will also have black bars as part of the source but be on a 16:9 matte.
The best thing to do is set the DVD player to output full screen, this will eliminate any black bars added by the DVD player. Assuming the TV is displaying this 4:3 as 4:3 it should produce black bars left and right which will give you the right aspect for a 4:3 DVD , use stretch on the TV if it's 16:9 source so it fills entire screen.
I don't have a DVD player with HDMI but it should take care of this for you becsue the DVD player can communicate to the TV what the aspect is.
Last edited by thecoalman; 05-14-2015 at 06:29 PM..
If I played the DVDs on a Bluray player, would I still see the black bars just the same?
Yes, the same disc played on Blu-Ray player will also see black-bars. It is just the way that the movie was shot. HDTV is 16:9 (16 unit long times 9 unit high). Most movies are shot in either 21:9 or 16:9 aspect ratio with 21:9 being the majority. Therefore, you will see black bars on movies that were shot (and transferred to disc) in non-16:9 aspect ration
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertpasa
Also, my DVDs of Full Metal Jacket and Eyes Wide Shut only have bars on the left and right. The image goes to the extreme top and bottom. Why are those different?
Both of those movies were shot in 21:9 (I believe). However, they released a 4:3 version of the film for the old non-HDTV sets. Those TVs were 4:3 aspect ratio. What they did was zoom in on the 21:9 materials to generate 4:3 image. Therefore, you will always be losing information when a DVD was done like that and not to mention distortion of the art quality.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertpasa
Finally, a question about the new Ultra HD TVs - what software do you use for it - is there an equivalent to BluRay but for Ultra?
Most 4K TVs available today are smart TVs with built-in apps like Amazon and Netflix. Amazon, Netflix, and few other providers have a few movies available in 4K. Apps on the 4K TVs are capable of streaming and displaying 4K contents. 4K Blu-Ray specs were finalized less than a month ago. So, 4K Blu-Ray should be released by the Christmas season or early 2016. The initial prices should be high.
I have a DVD of the TV show Monk and it also has the black bars and all four sides, but the bonus feature of interviews has only bars on the left and right.
Did they film the show (which was around 2003) in 21:9 then?
I have some options on my TV for the pic size but it usually makes it the wrong aspect ratio rather than filling the screen more.
I have a DVD of the TV show Monk and it also has the black bars and all four sides, but the bonus feature of interviews has only bars on the left and right.
Did they film the show (which was around 2003) in 21:9 then?
I have some options on my TV for the pic size but it usually makes it the wrong aspect ratio rather than filling the screen more.
That means that the DVD was not encoded as anamorphic (enhanced for widescreen TV). Anamorphic DVD contains information in 16:9 format and is thus enhanced for widescreen. Non anamorphic DVD contains information in 4:3 format. Your movie was shot in 21:9 and stored in 4:3 format so there are black bars on all sides when playing on a widescreen TV. The movie would only have black bars on top and bottom when playing on a 4:3 TV. Make sense?
I just bought a Bluray player. Of the older DVDs that used to have black bars, some still have the bars, some fill the whole screen, including the Monk TV show.
I have the Star Wars original disks where one disk is the Special Edition from 1997 and one is the original from 1980. The former fills the whole screen, the latter has four black bars.
I've played on Blu disk (Selma). There are slight bars on the top and bottom, none on the sides.
I've played on Blu disk (Selma). There are slight bars on the top and bottom, none on the sides.
The aspect movies are shot in are wider than the 16:9 aspect of the TV, movies that fill the entire screen have been slightly cropped on the left and right from the theater version. If it has black bars top and bottom it's the full cinematic version.
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