Gamecube 16x9 and 480p settings (1 Viewer)

[Morgan Jolley]

I never said that games went into 16x9 when they went into 480p. I said I thought they did but was unsure. Apparently, I was wrong.

For our purposes, as I mentioned above, the two terms are interchangable

Nonetheless, there IS a difference between 16x9 and anamorphic. 16x9 is letterboxed, anamorphic is not.

 

[CameronS]

It's my understanding that 16:9 and anamorphic can be used interchangeably, and therefore mean the same thing.

In fact that's how I've always seen it and if these two terms mean something different, well, that's news to me.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

If you play SSX Tricky, you'll see that there is a difference. It has a 16x9 and an anamorphic mode, 16x9 having letterbox bars and anamorphic just being a vertically squished 16x9 image without the bars.

 

[Andre F]

No, that's anamorphic. This is animorphic.

-Andre F

 

[Adam Tyner]

Whatever you're insisting, Morgan, it has nothing to do with the way everyone else on the HTF (not to mention the vast majority of DVD review sites) uses the term.
The general convention is:
16x9 = anamorphic widescreen
anamorphic widescreen = 16x9
Sift through the posts in the Link Removed, since you seem to find this so difficult to believe. 16x9 is not used to refer to the aspect ratio of the material; it's to indicate that the material is enhanced for widescreen televisions.

 

[CameronS]

I've never played SSX Tricky on the Cube, but it sounds like the terminology the game uses is misleading.

Generally, Anamorphic is described with terms such as "16:9", "16x9", "Anamorphic", and "enhanced for widescreen TVs".

Regarding the subject of anamorphic, a transfer with only black bars at the top and bottom with no enhanced resolution for widescrren TVs, is usually referred to as "non-anamorphic widescreen".

Whereas this same letterbox picture can be described as its actual aspect ratio (1.33:1, 1.85:1). In this regard, SSX Tricky should have labeled their "16:9" mode as "1.78:1". The term 16:9 is absolutely correct when talking about the height versus width, but when using this term in this context, it has nothing to do with anamorphic vs. non-anamorphic.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

In SSX Tricky, "non-anamorphic widescreen" is what the 16x9 mode actually is. The image is presented in a 16x9 ratio with black bars.

 

[CameronS]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. They are calling it 16:9 even though it is not anamorphic enhanced. I think other games do this as well (Goldeneye comes to mind, and that game was definitely not enhanced for widescreen TVs.)

It just comes down to the fact that the saying 16:9 generally means "Anamorphic enhanced for 16:9 TVs". At least it does in the DVD world.

I also think they do this because more people will know what you are talking about by saying "16:9" rather than something like "1.78:1".

 

[Alex Spindler]

I would think they would use the proper term - that being letterboxed. The defacto meaning of 16x9, as pushed unanimously by DVD studios on their packaging, refers to anamorphic presentations.
Man, what a derailment of a thread this has become.
Interesting trivia - the PS2 SSX (original version) uses the term "widescreen" for an anamorphically enhanced presentation, with no option for a letterboxed presentation (which the GC apparently has).