4:3 Vs 16:9

[mob]

I just want to know what you guys prefer and why...

I personally like to watch a movie in fullscreen rather than widescreen.

i see absolutely no point in 16:9 other than the minimally enhanced quality when transcoding/re-encoding

does anyone here really like watching a movie with only half the screen?

[teegee420]

I don't think you understand that most movies were recorded using a frame size that is rectangular. In order to fit a rectangular frame(16:9) onto a TV that is more square(4:3), it must be letterboxed. You think that you are only seeing half the movie in widescreen when in fact you are missing the sides of the original frame size when viewing in full-screen on a 4:3 TV.

[ZippyP.]

does anyone here really like watching a movie with only half the screen?

Do you like only seeing 2/3 of a movie in full screen or all of a movie in wide screen? Personally I want to see all of the movie.

[drewson99]

yeah, I too like to see the whole movie.

sometimes the cinematography goes to sh*t when they convert it to 4:3 (sometimes characters which are meant to be on the far right are cut off or centered.)

not exactly sure why they even bother putting 4:3 versions onto DVDs anymore, are people still really not over the whole "I hate the black bars" thing?

[manco]

Which is better? A side-by-side photographic analysis.

Widescreen vs. Pan & Scan Examples

Fellowship of the Rings

Star Wars

(Terminator 3 is an exception.)

[garryheather]

For some reason this seems to be an American thing - I rarely hear of people using widescreen TV's in the region 1 world. Here in the UK widescreen TV's are a lot more popular, and all TV based content is now produced in a widescreen format of sorts (usually 14x9 so as not to p*ss people off too much with the 4x3 sets while they get used to it). Set top boxes (ie satellite decoders) have the option to select 4x3 or 16x9 sets, and on the 4x3 settings, you can select letterbox or "pan and scan" when faced with widescreen content if you really must use the "full screen". But these are not usually the default settings, so if you were here in Europe you had better much get used to it !

I can understand why 4x3 users don't like widescreen, especially if the content is 2.35:1, where the picture appears very small and they complain about "black bars". But I myself am a bit of a purist too - I like to see the film how it was intended, and my widescreen telly does a cracking job of displaying it. When I get region 1 discs, I NEVER buy the full screen variant. It would be like getting robbed.

[energy80s]

I actually prefer 4:3. Virtually all DVD Films released in the UK are 16:9 or 21:9 anamorphic so you have to put up with black bars top and bottom of the screen, but as most of my archive material is 4:3 and off air broadcasts are 14:9 I still would go for a 4:3 telly. I know that people say the 16:9 is closer to what the human eye sees, but I think this is rubbish. Imax is the closest that film gets to what the human eye sees - not some small box in the corner of your living room. My existing TV is about to be replaced (probably this week) and I am planning to go with another 21" 4:3 set.

[garryheather]

This is probably a silly question, but you do know 16x9 TV's will display 4x3 images, don't you ? I ask because a lot of people don't know this because the bloody shops set up (or don't set up at all) the TV's correctly, and they all stretch the 4x3 into a 16x9 frame, and it usually looks bloody awful.

If something is supposed to be in 4x3, I watch it in that - my widescreen TV is set up to display that in the center of the screen as like you, I have a lot of older stuff that's in 4x3.

Getting a half decent widescreen set gives me the best of both worlds, and I would avoid ruling out a widescreen set if you're thinking about "upgrading" just because you don't watch a lot of widescreen stuff now. Haven't you noticed the increase in broadcast widescreen material for yourself ? The BBC (who you've pinched the logo of, I see... ) do a lot of stuff in 14x9 on terrestrial or 16x9 on Sky / Freeview, so you're not even watching much of that in 4x3 these days unless they go to their archive and then, some of it is reframed if they've done any analogue - digital conversion on it.

Why the aversion to widescreen sets in general ? If set up properly the results can be outstanding.

[energy80s]

I don't like the look of pictures with black bars to the left and right of the image. I know as I have a 32" Sony widescreen sitting a few feet away from me in work! Oh and as the BBC pay my wages, I don't think they'll object to me using their logo!

[garryheather]

You're doubly screwed if it's 2.35:1, then - black bars all round !

Each to their own, I suppose - I wouldn't be without a widescreen set now. Ever tried watching a 2.35:1 on a 14" portable like I had to for a while ? The picture's in there somewhere...

[mob]

(Terminator 3 is an exception.)

haha... T3 is definately a good example of fullscreen over widescreen

other than that i guess widescreen shows more from the sides of the movie, but if you are viewing a widescreen dvd with a 4:3 TV can that mess up the tv somehow?

i heard that since the black bars are on through the whole movie and never change colors they can damage the tv on the top and bottom of the screen. I dont know wut its called, but they have a name for that type of TV damage.

does anyone know if its true?

[teegee420]

Rubbish. I've been watching widescreen movies for years(on the same TV) and never had the slightest evidence of what you suggest.

[johns0]

Thats called screen burn and you have to leave the same type of pattern on for something like 3 months straight with no changing to get any damage.

[Alan69]

And, um, black is the absence of on. Sort of hard to burn the pixels on when you're not doing anything to them at all. Worst that could happen would be uneven wear since the middle is on, but that would have the moving part and take nearly forever to happen.

You'll replace your TV or it'll die of other things long before you need to worry about this.

And of course, yes, 16x9 is the only way to see a movie! Even on a 4:3 set you must see the whole picture.

Alan

[energy80s]

Well, just bought my new 21" 4:3 TV and its a fine piece of kit. Proper 4:3 images and it collapses the image for true widescreen of a 16:9 anamorphic image - the best of both worlds! Unless you are a film buff (which I am not) I see no real need to go widecreen just yet. RTE, MTV/VH1, UKTV, and most European satellite channels all use 4:3 for the majority of their output. As this is what I mainly watch, then it's still 4:3 for me!