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Obsessed With Widescreen?

TheSpaz

TheSpaz

macrumors 604
Original poster
Jun 20, 2005
7,032
1
Okay, so I'm obsessed with widescreen video and anything that's widescreen. I love the look of it and I love "black bars". What is with this crazy obsession with widescreen that I have? Anyone else here crazy about widescreen?

A few points:

1. You get to see the movie as the director intended in the original film format.

2. You are in fact seeing MORE of the movie by watching it widescreen... it does NOT crop the top and bottom (most of the time).

3. The placement of people and objects looks more carefully arranged on widescreen movies.

Cons:

1. Leaves people feel like they're getting cheated out of image when they view them on full-screen TVs

2. Not ALL widescreen movies are true widescreen. Some DVDs are just a cropped down version of the full-screen movie.... yes... SOME are. Take a look at "Phonebooth" for example. It has 2 sides... one wide and one full... the full-screen version of the movie actually gives you more image and the widescreen movie is just a condensed version of the full screen and it does not give you any more image in the across direction.
 
I hate wide screen and I think its a horrible trend.

At first I did not even like it on my iMac, but now have grown to accept it and enjoy it.

I don't like widescreen because much of the TV in my area is still being sent to my house in the standard format. We had digital cable for a time, however only like 6 channels were in HD and many of the channnels were being "UP"ed to the widescreen format, which distors a little OR they simple had the black bars or in some cases a nice background. I DO not enjoy that.

My camera also shoots in standard format and when I display them in widescreen everyone looks fat as hell but then if I choose to display them in standard format, I get the stupid black bars.

No thx.

That being said, people like yourself enjoy widescreen which is all fine and dandy. I just wish I still had the option to go standard on TV's which is like near impossible on larger models.
 
I love widescreen too. I will not buy any DVDs that are not widescreen. I'm not sure exactly why but probably similar reasons to the ones you made.
 
Wow... why do so many people hate widescreen? Our eyes see more image horizontally than vertically. Peripheral vision up and down isn't very good but, side to side is better. It makes more sense to view things at a wider angle. With full-screen, the bigger your TV gets, the taller it gets... so that puts strain on your eyes and you still don't get to see scenes where you can have 3 people talking at once... instead you have to see the camera pan back and forth as the people talk.

Take a look at this flash video.
http://www.widescreen.org/widescreen.shtml
 
Widescreen is definitely better. We see stuff more wide then high anyways, so using a wide-aspect screen just makes sense.

You might not appreciate widescreen on a 4:3 tv, but if you get a widescreen tv, you'll love it. The first time I watched a football game on a widescreen hdtv, I was amazed at how much better the picture is.
 
I do have a widescreen tv, but the lack of programming in my area and that I can afford sucks.
 
I have a wide LCD, and I buy widescreen movies. While in the US it's (apparently) common to find fullscreen movies, they typically only sell them in widescreen here.

Cassie said:
I hate widescreen.

What is the point? how about going all the way with FULL screen?
Click to expand...

Widescreen IS "all the way". A widescreen image consists of everything you see on 4:3 "fullscreen", plus more content on the sides.
 
Nermal said:
Widescreen IS "all the way". A widescreen image consists of everything you see on 4:3 "fullscreen", plus more content on the sides.
Click to expand...
? I've never seen a widescreen movie like that.
pseudobrit said:
It's a different aspect ratio.

It's like asking why you don't go "all the way" to 11 on the amps.
Click to expand...
well, I don't like it.;)
flopticalcube said:
The point is mentioned above. Our eyes are horizontally arranged, so a wider screen makes sense. Movies have been "widescreen" for decades, why not TV? SDTV and 4:3 screen ratios are dead. Live with it. :D

EDIT Replying to Cassie.
Click to expand...
They said Elvis was dead too, but here we are...
 
Cassie said:
? I've never seen a widescreen movie like that.
Click to expand...

Here's the first thing I found when looking online:

sw1_p.jpg


sw1_l.jpg


Edit: Even worse is this one from Harry Potter! :eek: (source)

03348.jpg
 
TheSpaz said:
1. You get to see the movie as the director intended in the original film format.
Click to expand...
Not all movies have an widescreen OAR (original aspect ratio). Especially films from the "golden era" which came before the move to widescreen (which basically started as a marketing gimmick to differentiate the movies from TV).

2. You are in fact seeing MORE of the movie by watching it widescreen... it does NOT crop the top and bottom (most of the time).
Click to expand...
Most movies are shot 4x3 then "soft matted" into a widescreen viewable area so you actually see LESS in the widescreen version of the film than in the 4x3 version (as mentioned in your "con #2").

3. The placement of people and objects looks more carefully arranged on widescreen movies.
Click to expand...
No they don't. ;)


Lethal
 
Cassie said:
? I've never seen a widescreen movie like that.
Click to expand...

Pretty much every movie is filmed in widescreen. Theatres are all widescreen. You do not film in 4:3. If you are watching pretty much any movie in fullscreen, they've cut off the sides.

Widescreen is the original format of the film.

Fullscreen is the cropped format.

I, personally, would not like my video to be cropped. Hence widescreen.

Note that this doesn't apply to TV shows as much, because TV shows were made for TVs and not cinemas.

Though widescreen hockey rocks.
 
it doesn't matter to me if it's wide screen or full screen format, just as long as i'm seeing the picture as it was shot. nothing cropped. that said, since most material these days is wide screen, i like having wide screen tvs and wide screen computer displays, giving me smaller black bars, if any at all.
 
LethalWolfe said:
Most movies are shot 4x3 then "soft matted" into a widescreen viewable area so you actually see LESS in the widescreen version of the film than in the 4x3 version
Click to expand...

True...however the 4x3 frames of the original are not used to master the DVDs...they take the soft matted print to master both the fullscreen and widescreen DVDs. So the widescreen DVD shows more of the director's intended image.
 
Why do people not understand that widescreen is showing you everything. You are not losing anything but gaining.
 
Xcat said:
Widescreen is the original format of the film.

Fullscreen is the cropped format.
Click to expand...

You have backwards actually. The 35mm frame is about 1.33:1 (4:3) and the top and bottom are masked off either in production (hard matte) or projection at the movie theater (soft matte) to give the desired aspect ratio. An exception is the relatively rare anamorphic movie in which the camera lens distorts the image so a widescreen image is "squeezed" vertically to fit into the 4:3 film frame and then upon project a special lens is used to "stretch" the image so it displays undistorted on the screen (typically at 2.35:1).


Lethal
 
Don't they use wide angle lenses tho.

Lawrence of Arabia was shot in 2.20:1 and is maybe the best example for seeing a movie in its original aspect ratio.
 
TheAnswer said:
True...however the 4x3 frames of the original are not used to master the DVDs...they take the soft matted print to master both the fullscreen and widescreen DVDs. So the widescreen DVD shows more of the director's intended image.
Click to expand...
That's not always the case. Typically it is because there is "garbage" (equipment, edges of sets, etc.,) in the matted area that the director never intends anyone to see. IIRC, though, the fullscreen version of T3 shows more Kristanna Loken hotness because parts of her are no longer hidden behind the widescreen mattes.


Lethal
 
LethalWolfe said:
That's not always the case. Typically it is because there is "garbage" (equipment, edges of sets, etc.,) in the matted area that the director never intends anyone to see. IIRC, though, the fullscreen version of T3 shows more Kristanna Loken hotness because parts of her are no longer hidden behind the widescreen mattes.


Lethal
Click to expand...
But aren't they also cropping the sides of the film when they show it 4:3.
 
MacNut said:
But aren't they also cropping the sides of the film when they show it 4:3.
Click to expand...

For films matted to a widescreen ratio they usually crop it or compress it for the DVD...changing the graphical composition of the frame.

The important part for those with HDTVs is making sure you watch some older films with the black bars on the sides to preserve the intended aspect ratio. Wider is not necessarily better.
 
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