Aspect ratio: help! (1 Viewer)

[Mike TA]

I recently bought my first flat-screen TV ... 16:9 aspect ratio ... mainly for the purpose of watching rented DVD movies, not TV programming. I want to see movies in their original aspect ratio. I'm perfectly content to have horizontal black bars above and below the image as necessary to make that happen. I understand that the typical theatrical film has an aspect ratio that is wider than 16:9. It seems like no matter what combination of settings I choose on the TV and the DVD player, I get an image that is either cut off or is distorted in one of two ways -- everybody looks fat (horizontal stretching), or everybody looks skinny (vertical stretching). On the DVD player (Samsung), I have these choices: 4:3 letterbox, 4:3 pan-and-scan, and 16:9 wide screen. On the TV (Panasonic), I have these choices: Full, Just, H-Fill, 4:3 and Zoom. The most logical combination seems like it should be 16:9 on the DVD player and Full on the TV, but that doesn't seem to produce the desired result ... and neither does any other combination. Any help or advice would be much appreciated! Thanks, Mike

 

[20s2k03]

Are you using an HDMI cable (if the DVD player even has one) or are you using the Yellow, Red, and White A/V cables?

 

[Mike TA]

Are you using an HDMI cable (if the DVD player even has one) or are you using the Yellow, Red, and White A/V cables?

I'm using HDMI.

 

[Citizen87645]

Which DVD title are you playing? Does the packaging state it is "enhanced for widescreen displays?"

 

[Mike TA]

Which DVD title are you playing? Does the packaging state it is "enhanced for widescreen displays?"

I've played several different DVDs ... the packaging (from Netflix) doesn't say, but looking up some recent DVDs that I've seen, all appear to be in one of the following formats: - Widescreen 1.85:1 - Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1 - Widescreen Anamorphic 1.78:1

 

[marcco00]

i also have a panasonic tv and a samsung dvd player. i leave the tv on FULL to get the full benefit of the hdmi connection. then i let my cable box and my dvd player configure the aspect ratio depending on what content i'm watching. check your instructions on your samsung---you first set it up for 16x9...... then for each dvd, you should be able to adjust the aspect ratio from your remote (by pressing the number 6 button on my remote). i have bought a number of upscaling dvd players for my 2 tv setups---- for my onkyo and pioneer players, i have it set up to configure the aspect ratio automatically. the samsung, you have to do yourself manually each time, from the remote.

 

[Mike TA]

check your instructions on your samsung---you first set it up for 16x9...... then for each dvd, you should be able to adjust the aspect ratio from your remote (by pressing the number 6 button on my remote).

On my Samsung, there's a dedicated "EZ View" button on the remote to handle this, but it doesn't help, because the three choices are Wide Screen, Screen Fit, and Zoom Fit, and the last two of those both cut off parts of the image. So I always leave it on Wide Screen, and yet have the problem described in my first post above.

 

[marcco00]

ok . i'll try to remember the steps in my case. tv always on FULL. samsung player connected via hdmi. on the player under the 'setup' menu (as i remember), i have the screen set up for 16x9 widescreen. i also have the dvd player resolution set to match my tv (in my case 720p). there is also a button on the remote to do this. so this is my default setting, and any anamophic (enhanced for 16x9 tvs) dvds play flawlessly. if i have a 4x3 full frame or a non anamorphic WIDESCREEN dvd, i have to change the setting with my remote. i too have that 'ez view' button on my remote, but in addition to the options you mentioned, i have 'normal screen', which is my default setting, and 'vertical fit' , the last option on mine, which gives me a 4x3 square windowbox. there are still some non-anamorphic widescreen dvds that i own that when played correctly will be letterboxed within that 4x3 square, but thats the only way to play it without distortions.

 

[Mike TA]

Thanks very much for the info ... I think I've done all those things, but I'll try to fuss with it some more!