Just why is widescreen not accepted in the U.S.? (1 Viewer)

[Lou Sytsma]

You would have better luck getting the US to convert to metric than you would getting them to understand OAR.

 

[Geoff_D]

In the UK, widescreen is destroying all-comers. More 16:9 tvs are sold than 4:3 sets, because every manufacturer, small or big, has produced 16:9 sets of some description. Sony even produced a 16-inch 16:9 set - can you believe that? It's been long out of production, but even today I still get people asking for it where I work.

And the fact that all five (don't laugh) of our main channels broadcast in anamorphic widescreen thru digital is a godsend. Sure, they crop 2.35:1 movies to fit the 16:9 frame, but if I want to watch a movie I'll watch a DVD or a Laserdisc instead of a tv broadcast. DVD is also kicking ass, showing movies in their OARs to millions for the first time. And they love it!

Oh yeah, before I got into Laserdisc or DVD I used to watch all my widescreen VHS tapes thru a 14 inch tv. My Great Escape VHS has a ratio of around 2.55:1 (wider than the DVD) - imagine that on a 14 inch tv...

 

[Roberto Carlo]

why they are so stubborn that they can understand widescreen but still not switch over.

1. Because a 2:35 widescreen film uses 43% of the screen's real estate for the black bars. This, in effect, turns a 27" set into a 20" one.

2. Because, for the average American, 80 to 90 percent of what they view on their television is designed to fill the entire screen. This is changing but it's been the case since the late 1940s. Widescreen movies are the exception that stands out.

3. For the vast majority of Americans, movies are a means to an end, entertainment, and not an end in themselves. As is often the case in that context, they are resistant to the idea that it is they, and not the means, that should adapt. IOW, they are neither stupid or misbegotten. They probably understand the reasons we favor OAR; they just disagree with us.

 

[Bryan Tuck]

Zooming out only on certain scene's in films like Ben-Hur is the ultimate incarnation of the word PATHETIC! It's like suggesting in some way that the rest of the film isn't is as important or is as glorious in it's OAR!? Their's A LOT more to see in Ben-Hur than just the chariot race.

I dunno. This was done in the late '80s, before letterboxing really caught on. I saw this VHS version in '88 or '89, and it was what introduced me to widescreen video. It immediately clicked. Of course, I wished the rest of the movie was the same way, but it was a nice way to introduce the idea to people mixed in with something they were familiar with.

Now I'm 100% for OAR on DVD, but for a late '80s VHS release, this was a bold step.

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

It's not that I want to step on your point here, but I have always agreed with what Mikko and Kimmo said, in that I don't really recognize myself in most Americans wiev of Europe as bastantly pro OAR, although I was happy to see Geoff's post about the UK. I don't really get the impression there is any controversy either way, people accept what they are given, and I can't think of the last time I heard someone officially complain about any video or TV format. So I'm not sure the public at large, at least in my country, are more informed than the American. This may be a little case of prejudice on my part against USA, but I actually believe the reason there are more uproar in the USA is because consumers there are less likely to accept the product they are given as is, and more likely to raise a fuss when it does not meet their expectations. That in itself is not really a bad thing, while it is still based on a lack of insight in this very case.

 

[Nick Sievers]

Just wait until everyone starts owning 16x9 Sets. Then J6P will start complaining about all the DVD's he bought in Full Screen and how his brand new 16x9 cuts the sides off.

 

[John_Berger]

Just wait until everyone starts owning 16x9 Sets. Then J6P will start complaining about all the DVD's he bought in Full Screen and how his brand new 16x9 cuts the sides off.

Sadly, he probably won't. I've already been witness to a J6P saying to a sales representative that the bars on the sides don't bother him, but he can't deal with the bars on top and bottom. Needless to say, he provided ample fodder for the sales rep and me when he walked out of hearing distance.

 

[Vlad D]

I've already been witness to a J6P saying to a sales representative that the bars on the sides don't bother him, but he can't deal with the bars on top and bottom.

We have a long way to go when it comes to educating J6P about widescreen and OAR. Here is a quote from a letter of a reader of Sound & Vision magazine (from the Q&A page of the Sept 2002 issue):
"I am outraged that vitually all DVD movies are in some form of widescreen, forcing me to watch those evil black stripes at the top and bottom of the picture."

I think its funny how he refers to the black bars as evil.

 

[Lance Rumbolt]

Mikko and Kimmo,

There seems to be a problem in Finland!

I think what is being said is wider europe is more accepting of widescreen, I'm on my 4th set here in the UK and would never go back.

There was also an interesting point about adverts in widescreen I think without doubt every advert shown in the Uk now is widescreen. Hell when Dolby Pro Logic was new to these shores there used to be adverts proclaoming there pro logic credentials.

I believe that because is Widsecreen TV's are generally very cheap here it has increased sales masively also being the first country in the world to go digital helped as alot of the digital channeles broadcast in widescreen.

Lance UK

 

[Aaryn Chan]

I have NEVER seen a Hong Kong home video movie in FULLSCREEN in my life. Glad that even if HK home video movies have crappy image/sound quality, they retain the OAR.

 

[KlausWinkler]

@nick

I guess most J6P will use one of the stretch modes to fill the screen anyway. The fact that anyone looks fat won't be noticed...

 

[Rob Gardiner]

What I don't understand is how more "widescreen" commercials are appearing each day when the general public is supposed to dislike the black bars so much. Watch an hour of TV and you'll see at least three or four "widescreen" ads. If the black bars are so bad, then why use them in an attempt to attract someone's business?

I think I read an interview by one of the producers for E/R. He noticed that several ads that aired on NBC were letterbox and he asked the ad department why. He was told that letterbox looks "classy". He thought that E/R was classy and deserved the same treatment and the viewer mail has been something like 90% positive.

 

[Peter Hollandare]

Now, in Europe, (from what I have read here), all they have are widescreen sets, but they don't have any big ones (over 40" or so.)

Hehe, not entirely true, i have made a reserach on this. The biggest stores in Sweden for sample, wont reveal exactly how many of each (widescreen or not), they sell, due to marketingsecrets.
But, they told me that widescreen sets are gettin more and more popular. Still only, about 10% from all TV's that are sold in sweden, are widescreen TV's. I think the situation is pretty much the same in entire Europe, execpt from Germany - where new tech seeme to be faster introduced.
Ofcourse, a movie made in one format - should be seen, show'd in the same format - anything else is insane.
edit - i take you guys have seen this? if not - get a god laugh here )
http://members.aol.com/Savetele/

 

[andrew markworthy]

I think there are several reasons:

(a) US widescreen TVs seem to be sold only in conjunction with high-definition, making them v. expensive. In the UK at least, there are no HDTV broadcasts, and no great interest adopting the system. [Largely because PAL is rather more detailed than the NTSC, and the improvement created by HDTV is marginal]. Thus, widescreen sets don't carry an additional financial premium. Tangential to this, I suspect that some US consumers may be deterred from buying widescreen because they fear that HDTV won't take off and so a large part of the cost of the set may never be utilised.

(b) Digital satellite is currently being heavily marketed in the UK, and there are a lot of attractive financial packages for buying new (widescreen) TVs along with a satellite receiver. Since the digital channels regularly broadcast in anamorphic widescreen, there is a strong incentive to buy a widescreen set. [Incidentally, there are five *terrestrial* channels - there are tons of satellite channels; most of the ones you guys get in the States are familiar to us here as well]. I suspect the reason why there are so many widescreen braodcasts is to reinforce that digital is qualitatively different from analogue.

(c) widescreen is seen as being aesthetically pleasing. I've lost count of the number of adverts and TV programmes where I've seen the Phillips Matchline model (the archetypal widescreen TV in Europe) used as a desirable consumer artefact. I suspect that a large number of sets are being bought because they are seen as status symbols (yes, Brits really are that shallow about social status).

 

[Patrick Larkin]

Just wait until everyone starts owning 16x9 Sets. Then J6P will start complaining about all the DVD's he bought in Full Screen and how his brand new 16x9 cuts the sides off.

THis is the $64,000 question. Will mass adoption of 16x9 sets EVER take place in the US? HDTV is not mandated, merely strongly suggested. HDTV also does not require a 16x9 set as far as I know. The widescreen sets that are being sold are huge rear projection jobs. Where are the direct view sets? There are very few and the few there are are SO expensive that the average person won't buy one.

I always see this sentiment....just wait until J6P gets a widescreen TV!!! Well, J6P might not.

 

[Neil Joseph]

There seems to be a real ignorance in North America, so much so that even if 4x3 TV's were no longer sold and they were all 16x9, people would still complain about the black bars on their 16x9 TV's when watching 2.35:1 material. I have already seen a few posts by fellow members asking why this was so.

 

[Peter Hollandare]

Neil : You are right, people need to be learn about proper aspect ratio, instead of just 16:9.

 

[BarryS]

I am always amused (and dismayed) to hear people complaining about the "black bars". I work at a video store and deal with it on a regular basis. I've often heard people say that they own a big screen TV (50 - 60 inch) and hate watching widescreen movies on them. They say "I didn't buy a 60-inch TV to have half the screen covered up!" Of course, they don't consider that if their TV was smaller, the picture itself would be even smaller. It just makes me shudder, and I want badly to tell them that I used to watch 2.35:1 widescreen movies on a 19-INCH TV and never complained. In fact, I insisted upon watching widescreen as I still do. I now have a 27" inch TV and watch widescreen movies exclusively. I watched Ben-Hur widescreen on my TV with no difficulty. If I can do it anyone, can. Move your chair closer to the TV if you have to. It's not that difficult.

 

[Grinnell]

A lot of you have missed my point. A preference for full screen can be a real preference, not something that can be changed by "education". I have seen wide screen and in my opinion the short display is inferior.
Most of you on this forum have a different opinion which is fine. I support your efforts to have wide screen DVDs available, because I can always use my DVD player to zoom the image to a full screen presentation.
Now that I've stirred the hornets over here, I'll go back to lurking on the audio side of HTF

 

[Aaryn Chan]

That is soo right in saying that "black bars" are more "classy".