DirecTV PPV - where's the letterbox? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Owen]

I don't often watch PPV, but the other night I figured I'd see what was on the DirecTV pay-per-view offerings. I was surprised to not find a single letterbox / OAR movie offered. Not one. You'd think that widescreen DVDs outselling their pan-and-scan counterparts, maybe DirecTV would get the hint.

Or am I missing something here?

-Steve

 

[Joel Mack]

Interesting. They used to offer letterboxed features on PPV, but the last time I looked at DTV was over a year ago, so things may have changed...

 

[Jonathan_]

Does anybody know if the HD PPV channel is in OAR?

 

[Tino]

Yes, it is OAR...most of the time. They also crop 2.35 films like HBOHD does..although I am not sure how often.

 

[Steve Owen]

I decided to ask DirecTV directly why there's no letterbox PPV movies anymore... here's the response I got...

Dear Steven,

Thank you for your comments. We strive to provide a selection of widescreen (letterbox) movies that meets the demand. However, many of our customers still prefer the "pan and scan" format. Our objective will always be to offer customers a variety of programming selections. Please continue to visit DIRECTV.com for the latest news and information about our services.

Sincerely,

Karen
DIRECTV Customer Service

I guess I'm just surprised that they feel that offerin the same movie starting every half-hour on several different channels is a better use of space than perhaps making one of those offerings a letterbox version.

-Steve

 

[Mike Levine]

They haven't offered any letterboxed ppv movies for several months. I complained to customer service and got basicly the same response as Steve. I let them know that I won't be signing up for any pay-per-view movies until they offer widescreen versions again.

 

[Chris Lockwood]

This is the main reason I don't get HBO or Showtime.

 

[Jonathan_]

Showtime HD shows movies in OAR. Plus I feel the picture quality on Showtime is better. Just my 2 cents.