Q: I was visiting someone with a high definition TV. When they play back DVDs (normal ones, not Blu-ray), the images were letterboxed with black stripes on the top and bottom of the screen. What gives? I expect letterboxing on a square CRT but not on a widescreen HDTV. The TV plays HD broadcast [...]
If you are watching 4:3 content, and assuming that your set allows "jusitified' mode", give that a try. It only stretches the picture edges so the distortion is minimized.
Regman, that mode may work for some people, but it disturbs the heck out of me. It's like watching a movie through a fish-eye lens. On street scenes, bizarrely-stretched cars flow in from the sides where they become normal looking, only to turn into a Dali-esque melting object as it flows out the other edge. And close-up conversations between two actors' faces on either side of the screen would remind me of certain personal experiences in the late 60s and early 70s if I could only remember them.
Like I said, it may work fine for others, and I think that's great, but it doesn't work for me at all.
We have got use to periodically watching some movies from non HD channels in letterbox format, but it has always been my understanding that it was better for my TV (plasma) to have grey bars rather than black bars. Am I right about this ?
Plasma screens used to be susceptible to "burn in" where the phosphors would age differently, leaving a permanent after-image. Most current plasma sets are less prone to permanent damage, though "image persistance" can still be a problem and take hours to fade. One strategy against this problem is to not leave a fixed location completely "on" or "off". The gray bars used in plasma screen letterboxing is designed to put some image at the edges, to mitigate any image persistance problems. I don't have first-hand experience that can tell me whether this makes a substantial difference or not.
I've often heard people tell me directly that they don't like to see a blank part on the big screen that they bought. If they paid for the whole thing, they want to use the whole thing. The impact on image quality is secondary; the stretching "doesn't look that bad".
It makes me crazy to hear stuff like that, but I've learned not to argue. I smile and say "That's nice."
I've often heard people tell me directly that they don't like to see a blank part on the big screen that they bought. If they paid for the whole thing, they want to use the whole thing. The impact on image quality is secondary; the stretching "doesn't look that bad".
It makes me crazy to hear stuff like that, but I've learned not to argue. I smile and say "That's nice."
I'm there! Everyone in my (extended) family, as well as my neighbors insist the only way to watch HD is in "full screen mode", no matter what the actual format of the picture. I've tried to reset the picture on a 4x3 to have it look at least a little normal, but the black bars cause deep intake of breath. It's almost as if they think, regardless of how bad the people, background look, it's just wrong to have black bars. So... I gave up as well.
Now, though, I'm being driven around the bend by another problem. My (new) Toshiba BDX2000 Blu-Ray player also insists on filling the screen with 4x3 picture format. Actually, it looks like it expands the picture in both directions until the sides reach the side of the display, which keeps proportions of what you see on the screen more-or-less correct. But it cuts off the top and bottom of the picture! Nothing I can do. I called Toshiba support almost immediately after having the problem on to find it's a "known issue" with no target to fix it. Interestingly, a CinemaScope format picture is handled correctly with black bars top and bottom. I keep looking on the Toshiba web site for firmware updates for my player, but so far none.
I wonder how much complaining there will be when we get Cinemascope wide TVs and a lot of the images are only 16x9. Maybe with OLEDs, we can roll the screen up that we don't need.
As you said, if Toshiba admitted there is a problem with your player for 4:3 viewing I assume there is nothing else to do than wait.
However, looking at the manual of your player, on page 36 the video menu shows some options that may cause/solve what you describe, and I quote:
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16:9 Wide*:
Select this when a wide-screen TV is connected. Discs recorded in wide-screen format is played back over the entire TV screen.
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16:9 Squeeze:
When playing back 4:3 images, the picture is displayed in the center of the 16:9 screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
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You did not said what your current setting was, but the "squeeze" setting above seems to perform what you want, and the wide setting may produce what you do not want.
I assume you have researched your case with other player owners on the AVS forum to confirm the problem is widespread and there is nothing you can do than wait for a firmware.
I also assume you have tried the other two (4:3) display settings in the menu when playing 4:3 content, even if your TV is 16:9, one never knows how this manufacturer's software was designed until your try it.
When I read the page you're referring to in the manual, I thought it would mean everything would be squeezed down to 4:3, and never tried it. Since I do have a 16:9 aspect TV, I never even considered the other 4:3 options. What "16:9 Squeeze" does mean, though, is the 16:9 material plays properly, and the 4:3 is shown with black bars, exactly as I wanted. I only found this out after trying it with your prompting. So, now everything works the way it's supposed to.
I am glad it worked for you. Toshiba may then be looking for a phantom firmware (a solution for a problem that does not exist).
Without looking at the software code that Toshiba used to implement their version of this aspect ratio setting (every manufacturer has their own choice), I assume the following:
On either setting, the Blu-ray player is outputting 1920 horizontal pixels per line (if you set the 1080 resolution on the video menu).
The software in the player may take first the original 400+ horizontal pixels of the 4:3 image in the DVD disc (max 720 pixels on the full line for a widescreen anamorphic image) and scale the 400+ pixels to 1440 pixels to maintain the 4:3 aspect ratio within a 1920 pixel-line of the 1080 resolution.
If you are playing a Blu-ray disc, rather than a regular DVD, the 4:3 image should already be 1440 horizontally (x 1080 vertically), keeping the aspect ratio of the image within the higher resolution of the Blu-ray format. The image was mastered and stored in the disc that way.
So what your 16:9 settings of the player’s menu would do?
A) On the "16:9 wide" setting, the software spreads those 1440 pixels of content over the 1920 horizontal pixel positions of the final image. 480 new pixels are interpolated (with invented picture elements), which stretches the image sideways maintaining the same vertical resolution, therefore, human faces look fat, moons look as ovals, etc.
If they do not look that way it means streching was also done vertically and the image looses part of the top and bottom, ESPN scores disappear, heads are cut, etc. In both cases the image looses the original quality such as when you enlarge a photo beyond normal limits.
B) On the "16:9 squeeze” setting, the software is not doing the interpolation of the 480 new pixels WITHIN the image, but rather uses those pixels for the side pillars, 240 black pixels on each pillar, giving the impression of "squeezing" the image by those side pillars, compared to the other "wide" format for 16:9.
However, the signal your TV receives is a full mode 16:9 (1080x1920) with pillars that are inserted as part of the image (such many SD/ED DTV stations insert black pillars within a 16:9 image).
Many TVs are not capable of changing the aspect ratio of a full mode signal to allow the viewer to use the TV set’s stretching (such the "Natural" on the Pioneer Elite sets, which gradually stretches the sides of the image, keeping the center in geometry, where most of the human close ups happen.
Since I do have a 16:9 aspect TV, I never even considered the other 4:3 options. What "16:9 Squeeze" does mean, though, is the 16:9 material plays properly, and the 4:3 is shown with black bars, exactly as I wanted. I only found this out after trying it with your prompting. So, now everything works the way it's supposed to.