DVD questions (Letterbox, Pan-Scan etc.)

[Wingnut]

Now let me get this straight...the format that you are allowed to watch the movie in depends on the DVD itself? For instance, I rented "Gone in Sixty Seconds" and all I can get on my 52" is this annoying enveloped wide screen garbage! I want to use the rest of my TV! I have gone into the menu and chose pan-scan and it just doesn't respond...goes right back to widescreen.

I am fairly new to this and I rented the DVD at Blockbuster, which I'm guessing these morons only order the movies with the widescreen format? The player is a pretty good one (Sony DVP-C660 changer) so, I doubt it's the player.

What do I do if I want a movie in pan-scan instead of wide screen? Do you have a choice? Do they make them in both formats? Or should I not rent them from Blockbuster and go to a reputable DVD-only type store?

 

[Passions]

Some are widescreen on one side of the dvd and full screen on the other side. But sometimes, the dvd is widescreen only. and you jus gonna have to tough it out sucka!

 

[Praetor]

<< which I'm guessing these morons only order the movies with the widescreen format? >>



Oohh, you might want to do a bit of research before you (needlessly) start calling people morons.

A lot of DVDs are released in the Widescreen/Anamorphic format only. Warner Bros. is usually very good about putting the Widescreen on one side and the Pan&amp;Scan on the other, but they are the only ones that seem to use it to any great extent.

Gone in 60 Seconds is Disney/Touchstone, isn't it? Ten-to-one says you won't find it in P&amp;S outside of VHS.

 

[Wingnut]

Well, my apologies to Blockbuster then and notice that it was in the form of a question.

So you're saying that some DVD's you actually flip over and play the other side to get PS? Strange...what about the labeling on the other side?

Take it light on me guys, DVD virgin here!

 

[Praetor]

I'm not saying there aren't morons at Blockbuster, just that you should research first.

Seriously though, look at the DVD box, usually on the back, on the bottom, it lists what formats the movie is in.

Universal has the best info box, IMO. It clearly shows the video format, languages available, single/dual layer, length. It's kick ass.

Fox/Disney/Paramount/Warner have similar designs, the info is in a box, jumbled all together. Not near as clean as Uni's, but the info IS there.

Again, a lot of DVDs are Widescreen/Anamorphic only. It caters to the &quot;Audio- Video-phile audience, and it's just better. But each person is different in their preferences.

 

[Wingnut]

Thanks guys...

I guess the best option then is to maybe purchase the DVD's cuz I have noticed that Blockbuster doesn't have this info on all of their cases but, most of the time they do mention the ws format. It's not that I can't get used to it, I was just under the impression that the idea behind DVD was the luxury of options. I feeling a little let down at the fact that they can't put these options (like viewing angles etc.) on all DVD's like what was promised when they first came out! Perhaps cost was a factor considering they still have to compete with VHS.

 

[kami]

I own around 20 DVDs now and every single one of them is widescreen only... 2.35:1 or 1.85:1 screen ratio. NO pan and scan's at all. Widescreen is the only way to watch a DVD anyway...cutting off the sides is just stupid. Widescreen is how it was meant to be seen!

edit: well, the DVD in my Tool box set with the music videos are pan&amp;scan but that's probably because they were originally filmed like that.

and..software like PowerDVD can do a little bit of zooming to make it full screen for you..but obviously this is not a feature of set top dvd players.

 

[luv2chill]

<< but obviously this is not a feature of set top dvd players. >>



Actually, some DVD players do have the zoom feature. The cheapest one that I know of is the Toshiba 1600 and from what I've read people say that it does an awesome job of zooming.

Wingnut... believe me you'll get used to watching movies in widescreen. With DVD there's not a whole lot of demand for P&amp;S, frankly, and so more and more movies are coming out in WS only.

Another reason for this is that the future of television is also widescreen. It may be a while yet before DTV really takes off, but most of those sets are 16 x 9.

I don't like P&amp;S, and I'm not trying to be snobby. I just believe that composition is a very important element to films, and by chopping the sides off and adding that artificial panning you're not seeing the picture how the director intended it. IMHO, that widescreen effect is part of what makes watching movies in theatres so compelling.

That said, there are some movies that are full-screen on DVD that are not Pan &amp; Scan--they've been matted. Many Stanley Kubrick films are like that. Also, movies filmed before the industry went widescreen will be full-frame (e.g. Casablanca, Wizard Of Oz, etc.)

Welcome to DVD... it's an expensive hobby if you get into the habit of buying them (I've got over 200).

l2c

 

[nEoTeChMaN]

If you want the thick widescreen..not the crapping letterbox version....just disable the 1:1 ratio.

The 1:1 ratio button keep it at letterbox version.

I've checked my PowerDVD, WinDVD 2000 and Hollywood+ which they all have the check box to turn off the ratio effect.