Gabriel>P

Are the Black bars normal?

Ok sorry if this is a bit simple, but I need some help and am a bit of a novice.


I have an HDTV, just got my new HD-DVD X-Box 360 add-on, and as so I popped in Kong. And while it looked great, I couldn't help but think that there shouldn't be black bars. That the entire screen should be filled, and that was sort of the whole point of the wide screen television.

Are the black bars on my HD-DVD's normal? In otherwords should they be there, or should my entire screen be filled? I ask this becaue my HD channels come out without bars. My video games don't have any. I only get them when I download a trailer or when I put in one of my new DVDs.

Is it my TV? My X-Box? Something else? Or is it all just normal?

Again sorry, but I am annoying my family to no end over this.

ScottHM

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

It depends on the movie, but it's not abnormal to see black bars at the top and bottom of some movies, even on a widescreen TV.

Theatrical movies are often about 2.3 times wider than they are tall, while a widescreen TV is only about 1.8 times wider than tall, thus you will still sometimes have black bars.

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Shane Martin

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

Gabriel,
Did you not have a dvd player? Because those had the same problem. Just because it's HD doesn't mean it'll come in the HD 1.78 ratio. Movies are different and come in different formats.

From 1.33 like Casablanca all the way up to Ben Hur at 2.76 which will have some seriously big black bars.

In short, watch the movie and not the bars. It's all a mental thing.
Some HD channels will provide the OAR(Original Aspect Ratio) like IMHO they should. If they don't then they are cropping the film and distorting the picture.

What you are seeing is what the director intended. Enjoy.

Gabriel>P

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

Thank you very much. All I needed to know.

And Shane yep have a DVD player, just thought that such a thing wouldn't happen on HD. Thought that it possibly adjusted for your screen in some great magical way. Silly I know, just needed to make sure.

And yes it is a mental thing, I will agree. I will get over it in no time, just needed to make sure or it would of haunted me. What is most important to me is seeing the film they way it was intended.

Thank you both.

GlennH

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

Congratulations. That's the right way to look at it for sure. You definitely "get it." If only so many others would do likewise we wouldn't have to deal with pan&scan, etc.

Shane Martin

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

NP. You have a good attitude about it.

You won't be the last guy to ask about aspect ratios on HD because people are so used to see their screen filled on HD. A sad practice that companies like HBO are allowing

Brent T

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

I asked the same question on the 360 add on page. I figured it was normal but with the new HD-DVD player I figured I better ask some people that know much more then I do.

While it does disappoint me that not all of my 55 screen is filled, I would much rather see the movie the way it was intended. I love the HD-DVD so far and Season 5 of Smallville just arrived on my desk here at work. I cant wait !

Reginald Trent

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

Watch HDNET if you want to see movies in OAR.

Shane Martin

Re: Are the Black bars normal?

Cable company doesn't have it and I don't want to see the downrezzed version on D* or E*.

I wish I could get it the way I should be able to.