DVD Wide screen - options ?

[bathjobby]

Have bitten the bullet and finally got a DVD machine to replace the old VHS so am still reading instructions, but have a general question.
Tried some DVD playback (testing machine and learning) which works but they are obviously recorded for wide screen aspect, so on my none wide screen TV I get the classic 'letter box' slit of a picture. Is there generally any way that DVD players (JVC in this case) allow you to blow this to full screen (albeit by probably chopping the sides off) ?
ny advice appreciated.

 

[Diyisfun]

If it were to blow it up & chop the sides, think what it would do to a snooker table.

 

[nstreet]

Can you not chnage the aspect ration on the TV? The only trouble with doing this to films that are meant for widescreen, is that every thing is elongated in the vertical plane, so people end up with some strange shaped heads. You also loose a lot of the side of the picture.

If you move closer to the picture the letterbox format is not so noticable.

 

[bathjobby]

Thanks nstreet. Got through the instructions now and found that the DVD output aspect ration can be set. Mine was set to 4:3LB (letter box) which is correct for my 'old' TV so I was getting the widescreen letter box. Apart from be able to set it to 16:9 for those who actually have a widescreen TV you can also set it to 4:3PS (Pan and Scan !) which fills the screen vertically but in doing so chops a bit off both sides (like what Sky cleverly does) but at least you get a full screen. However, it also states that the DVD has to support this feature and not all do, including Warner Bros Matrix Reloaded which I am testing with. From the net I have yet to find any comments relating to any DVDs that appear to support 4:3PS ! So now looks like I'm moving towards a widescreen TV which means all the wifes VHS (4:3) will be in a nice little box in the middle of the future 16:9 screen; and I thought all this had gone away with the VHS vs Betamax battle ! Ho hum !

 

[ninebob]

My advice would certainly be to bite the bullet and get a widescreen TV. A year ago I was arguing vehemently against this but now I've done it I wouldn't go back.

Further advice would be to dig deep in your pocket and buy the best you can possibly stretch to. Sure, you can get a Bush, Matsui etc widescreen for about £160 now but the quality is poo. The old adage "you get what you pay for" rings true on this one. Mine is a Philips and to be honest I don't even rate that too much, the sound isn't all as sharp as it could be. When I replace it (hopefully in a few months), I'll be looking at Toshiba or JVC.

 

[bathjobby]

Thanks ninebob, a JVC would suit me as my new DVD is also JVC. From the little I've learnt these last few days it would appear I would need one which automatically detects, and switches between 16:9 and 4:3, does yours do that ? and if not, what hassle is it for you. Also, what does it do for normal TV or any 4:3 input ? is it really a 'little' box in the middle of the screen or do you just have the black lines down the sides ? I am now noticing however that normal terrestrial TV progs look like half way to 16:9 as there are now black lines top and bottom, they look like they are around 14:9. Is this their attempt to partly satisfy both 16:9 and 4:3 viewers ?
Thanks for your views, nothing like the voice of experience.

 

[AdamW]

Widescreen TVs can automatically select 4:3 or 16:9 when a source is plugged into the scart socket. It does this by setting a pin in the connector to either 6V (for 16:9) or 12V (for 4:3).

So, when your DVD or digital box is turned on, you get a widescreen picture (unless the content is 4:3), but when you turn your VCR on you get a square picture.

Analogue terrestrial broadcasts are usually in 14:9 ratio. Yes, a bit daft as it means no-one is happy!

 

[muffking]

I thought all this had gone away with the VHS vs Betamax battle ! Ho hum !

You wait until you buy a DVD recorder. You'll be asking what format to go for next

 

[bathjobby]

You wait until you buy a DVD recorder. You'll be asking what format to go for next

.........
But that was my opening post !

 

[Steve]

dvd recording format - DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW DVDRAM DVDROM lol. confused?

 

[bathjobby]

Thanks guys, but your not adding anything to this threads topic by hi-jacking it to prattle on about dvd formats.......

 

[muffking]

The opening post related to replacing a VHS recorder with a DVD player, but the fun begins when you replace it with a DVD recorder, unless that what you meant.
It's like the guys have already said though. A 4:3 TV won't have any options to change the aspect ratio which is why they are written into the DVD player/recorder, but when you eventually buy a 16:9 TV you will need to change the DVD player/recorder setting to output a 16:9 picture, although the TV will auto detect the ratio for general TV pictures.

 

[bathjobby]

Thanks muffking, yes it is a DVD recorder (with HDD, best decision I ever made) and I'm ok with recording media. With a view to upgrading to a widescreen TV now, I've just trawled around Currys just to get an idea of whats on offer. Typical, when you have a question, no shop assistants (although I wouldn't be optimistic of getting a good answer). May be you guys can help with this one;
There must have been around 60 widescreen TV switched on, Plasma, TFT, CRT, CRT flatscreen, etc. There was a DVD being played to all of these and only about 5 or 6 of the TV actually had a full screen display, all the others still looked like letter boxes with the top and bottom still blank/black. Yes they were 'widescreen'. Any ideas as can't see the point of upgrading to widescreen if you will still have a letter box view.

 

[muffking]

Depends on the film as some are recorded in 22:9 wich comes up as a letterbox on a 16:9 TV. Chances are that if any of the TV's showed a full screen picture that those TVs were set to a zoom type of aspect mode, which doesn't do their quality any justice as it enlarges the picture.
The reason behind having a 16:9 TV is really to match the digital broadcasts (although some are still in 14:9). 22:9 only really came about with films to get people back intothe cinemas (another way of Hollywood trying to squeeze more money out of poor folk).
It won't affect me though as I can still watch mega large 22:9 films
http://www.vectra-sport.com/uploads/P1000053.JPG

 

[bathjobby]

Thanks again, makes sense, but also makes you want to scream a little. Surely 'they' realise that when a DVD is sold it is invariably sold to an individual (as opposed to an organisation) and the industry standard for domestic widescreen TVs is now 16:9 to cater for the same industries earlier move. So with that in mind, they now push DVDs out in 22:9 ! So lets wait a while, buy new 22:9 widescreen TVs and wait for them to push out, what ? 32:9. They are extracting the urine aren't they ! Whats the system you have that appears to negate their efforts ?