All in the Family-cropped

ScottR · 01-15-2006, 12:46 AM

I compared the Season Three episodes of "Mike and Gloria's Wedding" to their TVLand counterparts and the dvds are horribly cropped! I knew there was a problem when the titles were off center, but when I compared the two I was shocked to see that the dvd severely crops the left side of the screen and about 5% of the top and bottom. The right is about the same on both.

David Von Pein · 01-15-2006, 05:31 AM

Yes, Scott, I've certainly noticed the cropping/chopping of the AITF discs. I mentioned that very thing, in fact, in an AITF HTF thread last April......

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...58#post2650458

But, just like when I brought this up in 2005, not a great number of people seem to care at all (probably due to the general lack of good PQ on these AITF sets...therefore the cropping/zooming matter is just one more splash of mud adorning an already-dirty pig).

Joe Karlosi · 01-15-2006, 10:52 PM

This very weekend, TV Land is showing a marathon of AIF episodes to celebrate the 35th Anniversary. I've been watching some of these broadcasts and I'll take the DVD's over them any day --- which are uncut and uninterrupted. So some of the shows seem to be cropped differently? Maybe a few, but that's a sweeping generalization from what I've seen. The TV broadcasts also don't look as good as the discs.

Ethan Riley · 01-16-2006, 01:22 AM

I just got season 5...i think there's a general lack of quality in the episodes. Some are very cloudy and washed out. I guess it's just because the original tapes weren't were cared-for by the studio.

Tony S · 01-16-2006, 08:44 AM

Could this cropping possibly be DVD overscan?

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Jeff# · 01-16-2006, 10:23 AM

We're typing about a TV show that was shot in videotape in the 1970s. Sometimes the opening theme credits were off-center when they originally aired, particularly after a few seasons when the "All in the Family" series title was enlarged.

ScottR · 01-16-2006, 12:04 PM

Tony, it very well could be overscan. The titles "End of Part One" are almost cut off on the left side of "Mike and Gloria's Wedding" but without overscan, it would have been about the same image.

David Von Pein · 01-16-2006, 01:51 PM

Joe Karlosi · 01-16-2006, 03:12 PM

One problem I recall noticing was in Season 2 (I THINK) where some of the images seemed to bend. I seem to recall noticing that the spokes on the staircase seemed to get distorted whenever there was movement. Did anyone ever see this? It was only for one season, and seemed to be a problem with the mastering.

ScottR · 01-16-2006, 05:20 PM

It's not just the top....the left side is more cropped than the top.

TonyD · 01-17-2006, 01:25 AM

overscan doesnt have to be perfectly equal on all 4 sides.
it depends on the geometry of each individual tv.

most tv's that suffer from overscan are at about 5-10%.

David Von Pein · 01-17-2006, 04:28 AM