Jesse Skeen
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Apr 24, 1999
- Messages
- 5,033
I'm not going to get into how I feel about pan-and-scan; one of the main selling points of DVD before it came out was that it would be able to show all movies in both widescreen and pan-and-scan, and if some people want to watch their movies that way then so be it. However, I have to first say that I have a big problem with these separate releases where one will contain only widescreen and the other only pan and scan- in addition to causing more trouble for consumers and retailers as they have to make sure they're getting the "right" version, it of course makes the preferred version harder to find at some stores and invites a 'competition' to see which format sells more. MGM has started using DVD-18s for some movies that require it to include BOTH versions on ONE disc. Perhaps DVD-18 is still not reliable enough to produce in mass quantities for several titles, but DVD-9 wasn't reliable in the beginning either but it's become commonplace now. (No, I don't care about the lack of printing on 2-sided discs as DVD was designed to be a 2-sided medium, though it seems like it would be easy to print on the entire center of the disc- "Scooby Doo" could have Shaggy on one side and Scooby on the other, for example.)
In cases where it's just not possible to do two transfers, the "pan and scan" function of the DVD player should be used- for 1.85 movies it will crop the picture for regular TVs if people desire to watch it that way. Only on 2.35 movies does this present a problem. I have seen a few discs unintentionally use this (like Elite's Drive-In Discs) and the function DOES work, but most discs just don't use it.
Now, regardless of whether the choice is given on the same disc or by separate releases, it is VERY misleading and confusing to have the pan-and-scan version labeled as "Fullscreen" or "Standard"- the average consumer at first glance may think that this version shows the Full screen picture in the Standard format, and the "Widescreen" version is just for people who like those funny black bars. MGM actually labeled their first DVDs as "Pan and Scan" but have changed it to "Standard", doing nobody any good. If there MUST be a pan-and-scan version for consumers to choose (and by no means whatsoever should it be the ONLY version available!) it should be labeled as such. Additionally, if two versions are available, it should be clearly indicated that the "Widescreen" version is the one that shows the movie as it was meant to be seen, and the other one shows the movie "without the black bars" but constitutes an alteration of the film in the process.
With the advent of 16x9 TVs (which DVD was DESIGNED for from the get-go), the term "Fullscreen" is even more ridiculous, as if it is played on one of these TVs the screen is neither "filled" nor is it possible to view the full picture.
So please, if pan-and-scan DVDs are going to keep coming out, they should be labeled TRUTHFULLY- that on a regular, 4x3 TV it will show without "the black bars", but that it is not the way the movie was intended to be seen.
In cases where it's just not possible to do two transfers, the "pan and scan" function of the DVD player should be used- for 1.85 movies it will crop the picture for regular TVs if people desire to watch it that way. Only on 2.35 movies does this present a problem. I have seen a few discs unintentionally use this (like Elite's Drive-In Discs) and the function DOES work, but most discs just don't use it.
Now, regardless of whether the choice is given on the same disc or by separate releases, it is VERY misleading and confusing to have the pan-and-scan version labeled as "Fullscreen" or "Standard"- the average consumer at first glance may think that this version shows the Full screen picture in the Standard format, and the "Widescreen" version is just for people who like those funny black bars. MGM actually labeled their first DVDs as "Pan and Scan" but have changed it to "Standard", doing nobody any good. If there MUST be a pan-and-scan version for consumers to choose (and by no means whatsoever should it be the ONLY version available!) it should be labeled as such. Additionally, if two versions are available, it should be clearly indicated that the "Widescreen" version is the one that shows the movie as it was meant to be seen, and the other one shows the movie "without the black bars" but constitutes an alteration of the film in the process.
With the advent of 16x9 TVs (which DVD was DESIGNED for from the get-go), the term "Fullscreen" is even more ridiculous, as if it is played on one of these TVs the screen is neither "filled" nor is it possible to view the full picture.
So please, if pan-and-scan DVDs are going to keep coming out, they should be labeled TRUTHFULLY- that on a regular, 4x3 TV it will show without "the black bars", but that it is not the way the movie was intended to be seen.