Aspect Ratio 4x3 16x9 4:3 16:9 Letterbox Pillarbox Pan Scan

[rankingtrevor]

Norting wrong vertical black lines, especially on an older movie.

[pCriistopher]

Then you get a widescreen the "same inches" or a bit more as the full screen and you get a smaller picture for older movies, no? Can't win either way. lol.

[Agantjr]

What is meant by 0.672916667 aspect ratio? I see this listed on some large plasma TVs, Panasonic for starters.

[skrikon]

/watch?v=04i3DcH42mw what aspect ratio is that?

[apache566]

Now why did I get a 4:3 HD LCD tv in 2005?!

[PREZILLA2009]

Letterboxed is awsome hell with full screen Those two black bars dont bother me at all Im pretty much fine with them.

[RMProdux2008]

my god to think we went decades watching movies at home pan and scanned. not until what 2005 did they come out with 16:9 tvs?? every movie i see now in its original format is like watching it for the first time.

[ZroDfects]

Thumbs up if you were like me and you hated widscreen movies with the annoying black bars when you used to own a 4:3 tv, but over time you got used them and now you can't stand full frame moves :P..

[benry200]

lol they think i use 4x3 i have 16 x 9...... home theater... covers the WHOLE wall

[mthemaniac]

Almost a perfect demonstration however...  Many people complain about the black bars at the top and bottom on their new 16:9 TV. It would have been nice if you had mentioned that movies are frequently in 2.35:1 or greater to explain why even 16:9 TV's have black bars. People always think they are losing something with black bars, I could have referred a lot of people here had you explained black bars on 16:9 TV's. Personally I have a CIH projection system.

[AnotherMarionette]

I should email tis video to all my family members who complain about movies with "the black bars". I can never convince them that wide screen is better.

[Johnnybomb1]

Stretching 4:3 images to fit 16:9 looks awful in my opinion.

[Darrylizer1]

I loathe pan and scan, I'll put up with the bars.

[Knightmessenger]

I think the 4:3 tv looks like a widescreen tv, it should be more of a square.

Why have movies in the past been panned & scanned to fit 4:3 instead of having the entire image stretched?

I mean, sure it distorts the image but judging by how many widescreen tv's are set to stretch a 4:3 video instead of pillarboxing it, many probably would probably like widescreen stretched to fill 4:3.

[EnvyMyPower]

@Knightmessenger 4:3 wouldnt strech it would crunch... but yea i agree

[realisticHomeboy]

@Knightmessenger Because stretching it is retarded. Why on earth would you want to watch a video distorted? Unfortunately many people are not even able to see the difference.

[Knightmessenger]

@realisticHomeboy Trust me, I hate widescreen tv's that aren't pillarboxed as much as anybody.

What I meant was: Since so many people don't even care about distorting the picture on their television, why didn't studios transfer their widescreen movies in a squeezed format so they could fill a 4:3 frame without chopping off the sides? Sure a letterbox is better but isn't a distortion less bad than pan & scan?

[flares]

@Knightmessenger You must be joking. I'd rather watch a film pan and scanned than watch a film where everyone looks squashed. That would just look crap. When a film is P&S most of the stuff thats cut off doesn't effect the film or the storyline anyway. Only purists would think it does. It would be a lot easier if all film directors would just make films in 4:3 like they were before 1953. That way there wouldn't be a need to P&S. Nobody would miss anything and the film would be just as good.

[Knightmessenger]

@flares Well, like I said so many people with widescreen tv's set 4:3 video to stretch instead of pillarbox, I would think the average person wouldn't mind seeing everyone squashed either.

Also, it would preserve more resolution (this is how video is made anamorphic).

I actually think the full frame version of a movie should be available if it was shot open matte. These days with so many super 35 movies, it's hard to tell what the original shot aspect ratio is anyways.

[flares]

@Knightmessenger I just don't agree. I've spoken to people about this before and I've never found one person who doesn't care if people are stretched. People want to watch a film or tv programme with the people the right size.

[laifalbert]

@flares Then they should learn to configure their TV correctly.

[JackethRawreth]

@Knightmessenger 4:3 isn't technically square, a square aspect ratio would be 1:1, both length and width are equal.

[dhcorporation]

great !

[guyboy625]

some people are just unaware of this mess o_o

[RAQ665]

i don't like stretching a 4:3 image it makes the people look fat.

[jafri]

Me too, I mean even some old game consoles like PS2 (some games had 16:9), PS1 and others (unlike PS3, 360 & wii had 16:9 support) had only 4:3. I mean when playing on the new 16:9 HD TV.

[ziptieTV]

Black bars are sompthing you have to live with unless you get a projecter

[riothero313]

unfortunately sometimes the side bars are grey depending on the brand.

[inagod]

you failed to mention aspect ratio on DVD,depending on the ratio is whether your 16x9 screen is full,many have horizontal black bars top and bottom because of the aspect ratio.

[effectsmaster1]

that aspect isn't 16:9 it is 2.4:1 (or 2.35:1). Which is what they call the "Theatrical Version". 16:9 is mainly used for Cable (or dish network) on a Widescreen TV

[xunwenkai]

Yes, it not only helped us understand the conversion between aspect ratios but also let us know why there are these different aspect ratio. Very good. dig it.

[vectorman1234]

Super cool!

[mowingthefrontlawn]

Well explained, but the movie with the cowboys clearly had a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, not a 16:9 aspect ratio. Therefore, the video could be a little confusing to some people. But, overall, well explained.

[n40798]

Very well explained. Too bad not everyone can comprehend how it works. Even worse is when people DO understand this and STILL prefer "Full" Screen instead of seeing the entire video.

[TheFourthRat]

Great explanation David.

[DavidHipolito1229]

But I didn't say anything yet.....