SOTHINK video maker: 16x9 vs 4x3

[chadman]

When it comes to burning DVDs that will play in my DVD player I use Sothink Video Maker. It makes it simple for me...I just put the desired video files on the list, create my menu (which I've gotten really good at, with movie poster backgrounds and soundtrack music), then click "Burn". One question I have...I can change the aspect from 16x9 to 4x3. What I want to know is, if it is an older movie, like one made and released before widescreen was an option, would I be better swithing to 4x3?
Any info would help!
Thanks,
Chadman

[jagabo]

Many movies have been wider than 4:3 since the 1950's. You can't go by the age of the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_%28image%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panavision

In fact, there was no such thing as 16:9 before HDTV. The closest movie format was 1.85:1.

[manono]

Yeah, this question is really imprecise. Are you asking whether or not to encode the movies themselves as 16:9? Are you asking whether or not to make the menus 16:9 for older 1.33 or 1.37:1 ratio movies?

In any event, 16:9 encoding is of benefit if the movie is wider than 1.55:1 and resolution is lost if the ratio is less than 1.55:1 and the movie is encoded as 16:9. So, older movies (if you mean 1.33:1 or 1.37:1 movies) should be encoded as 4:3.

As for menus, plenty of older 1.37:1 movies on DVD have 16:9 menus.

I'm still not sure what you're asking. For example, the 70mm version of John Wayne's 1930 film The Big Trail is meant to be shown as widescreen 2.10:1. Abel Gance's 1927 silent film, Napoleon, has a triptych sequence meant to be shown at 4.00:1. As jagabo said, the age of the film doesn't really have a whole lot to do with anything.