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I hate black bars around movies
- Thread starter Sid
- Start date
Serious question: when they started making widescreen TVs, why didn't they use the theatrical ratio so that it would be uniform? Why go with 16:9 instead?
IIRC Galaxy Quest has 3 different aspect ratios and the way they're used is awesome.
Because there isn't a single "theatrical ratio".
I personally don't feel the need for ultra wide aspect ratios... like in games where it's more dynamic and you can compensate by adjusting the FOV, I think 16:9 or even 16:10 are wide enough...
but for the most part the "black bars" are normally the only decent way of playing mismatched aspect ratio from the content and your screen, the alternatives are far worse (cropping or the worst possible, stretching the frames)
but for the most part the "black bars" are normally the only decent way of playing mismatched aspect ratio from the content and your screen, the alternatives are far worse (cropping or the worst possible, stretching the frames)
Lol.
But yeah, zooming/cropping is just as big a heresy as 'watching stuff at a higher speed'
I hope you learned something today OP.
If not, just use whatever zoom-in options your TV has lol.
If not, just use whatever zoom-in options your TV has lol.
Because at the time there was still plenty of 4:3 content on TV. Do you have any idea how awkward that would look on such a wide-ass screen? 16:9 is an appropriate compromise between all the major aspect ratios. BTW movies shot in 1.85:1 don't actually perfect fit in 16:9 TVs either, you'll see a small amount of black bars, unless the movie is (slightly) cropped.
I think everyone can agree LCDs do a piss-poor job with black bars, they're more like dark grey bars, and with HDR you may even see considerable blooming apparently. But it's good enough I guess.
that's not an old movie. That's a movie that came out last year and proved the versatility of aspect ratios as an artistic choice.
Thank you for this. This was probably 10+ years ago on GAF, but I'm glad someone else remembered that thread.OP, I think you forgot something.
I always zoom my movies. I paid for all these pixels, why wouldn't I use them?
Similarly, I always watch everything with motion-smoothing on. I paid for all these frames, what am I going to do, only use 24/60ths of them each second? That's leaving frames on the table, buddy. Next thing you'll be telling me I shouldn't max out the Contrast and Sharpness sliders, lol.
Don't even get me started on subtitles. I'm not trying to read a book over here. I'll wait for the Netflix adaptation, thank you very much.
Similarly, I always watch everything with motion-smoothing on. I paid for all these frames, what am I going to do, only use 24/60ths of them each second? That's leaving frames on the table, buddy. Next thing you'll be telling me I shouldn't max out the Contrast and Sharpness sliders, lol.
Don't even get me started on subtitles. I'm not trying to read a book over here. I'll wait for the Netflix adaptation, thank you very much.
If my 64 year old mother can live with different aspect ratios, anyone can. Can't believe that people still complain about this. 16:9 is, for me, the best middle ground when it comes to displaying the widest variety of content with minimal use of bars.
'My whole screen isn't being used' is so unimportant compared to the original aspect ratio being preserved, it's not even funny. Just a staggeringly pointless issue, imo.
'My whole screen isn't being used' is so unimportant compared to the original aspect ratio being preserved, it's not even funny. Just a staggeringly pointless issue, imo.
Only time it annoys me is the handful of old ass DVDs I have that are 4:3 widescreen films. So on a modern TV you end up with the picture in a box in the middle of the screen.
I imagine this is a generational thing, used to hate the top and bottom bars until I understood the point but sd screen were blurry enough it was a problem. In the world of hd I don't see a problem
So you can see all the footage that was shot and framed in the way that was intended by the director?
My AMC converted all of their screens to 16:9 a couple years ago. Looks horrendous. It's like a theater for ants or something16:9
ewwww...
It's not a love or hate it thing, it's about respecting the artistic intent. You want more movie that connect with you? Let artists do their thing. Someone of them are fine with fitting their work into different aspect ratios, but no one should tell them they have to do that.
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Aquaman changes between aspect ratios actually.
I didn't even notice that, did not do anything for those underwater sections though, it was still very hard to see what was going on haha.
Do you understand today there are films shot in both 2.35:1 and 1.85:1? It's an aesthetic choice, it has nothing to do with movie theaters.
The majority being 2.35:1 is a pretty good indication it has a lot to do with theatres. Isn't 1.85:1 a thing due to IMAX? Not to mention almost all video content made for TV's is 16:9 or close, it's just theatrical releases that have this problem.
I was very hopeful that OLED displays would bring a return of ultra-wide 21:9 TVs (technically 43:18) but that hasn't happened yet.
Because I also hate black bars around movies.
Well, to be specific, I hate letterboxing. Pillarboxing is a non-issue.
Letterboxing screws everything up because it makes the image smaller.
Our perception of image size is largely based on its height.
So when you start watching a letterboxed movie on your TV, you now have to sit closer to get the same experience.
An OLED TV with perfectly black letterboxing in a dark room does not fix that.
I put this image together a while ago when discussing ultra-wide gaming, but I think it illustrates the point quite well:
Pillarboxing does not distract like letterboxing does.
Because I also hate black bars around movies.
Well, to be specific, I hate letterboxing. Pillarboxing is a non-issue.
Letterboxing screws everything up because it makes the image smaller.
Our perception of image size is largely based on its height.
So when you start watching a letterboxed movie on your TV, you now have to sit closer to get the same experience.
An OLED TV with perfectly black letterboxing in a dark room does not fix that.
I put this image together a while ago when discussing ultra-wide gaming, but I think it illustrates the point quite well:
Pillarboxing does not distract like letterboxing does.
That's pretty good.
Shooting in 2.35:1 is an indication of wanting more information on the sides.
So your argument is cinemas should die so an aspect ratio chosen for such films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Terminator 2, High and Low, There Will Be Blood and w million of movies shouldn't exist?
Please feel free to peruse resellers for pan and scan. They have the artistic merit you need and deserve.
these showbiz elites with their liberal hollywood bank accounts don't wanna take up my whole TV that i paid good money for
With a TV that can do true black, I don't even notice them anymore. I mean I always preferred the correct aspect ratio, but the 'not actually black' nature of the bars used to bother me a tiny bit.
This is all false. Unless the only thing you watch in movie theaters are blockbusters.
Did it ever occur to anybody that the black bars are actually part of the image and that the artists and filmmakers Involved shoot the movie with that in mind? And the constant quest to get rid of them is actually going against the idea of having a proper home theater experience that replicates the original experience the filmmakers intended?
My 70 year old father also hates black bars, and it drives me nuts and I gave up after the 100th time trying to describe aspect ratio to him.