Press Release MPI Press Release: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet Seasons 1 & 2 (DVD) (2 Viewers)

[timk1041]

My sets should be here soon from Target. I ordered Seasons 3 & 4 from Deep Discount. Always looking to get the best deals.

 

[Lecagr]

I received seasons 1 and 2 today also but was hugely disappointed to find out that the episodes are not in the proper full screen format, they are presented in a reduced size, square shaped picture with black bars on all four sides and it looks awful. I'm shocked that MPI did this, it's the last thing I expected from them, wow what a huge disappointment.

 

[Gary OS]

I received seasons 1 and 2 today also but was hugely disappointed to find out that the episodes are not in the proper full screen format, they are presented in a reduced size, square shaped picture with black bars on all four sides and it looks awful. I'm shocked that MPI did this, it's the last thing I expected from them, wow what a huge disappointment.

I don’t see what you’re seeing. It has black bars on the sides so that it’s at its correct aspect ratio. But there are no black bars at the top and the bottom.

The episodes look fantastic.

 

[BobO'Link]

I received seasons 1 and 2 today also but was hugely disappointed to find out that the episodes are not in the proper full screen format, they are presented in a reduced size, square shaped picture with black bars on all four sides and it looks awful. I'm shocked that MPI did this, it's the last thing I expected from them, wow what a huge disappointment.

Sounds like you need to change the way your player is set up to display. I'd guess it's set for 4:3 output - change it to "native" or WS. It's also possible the AR on your TV is incorrect - but it sounds more like a player issue.

It's possible these are encoded to play in 4:3 even if played on 16:9 defaulted equipment. That's usually what causes that issue and it's only curable by changing settings in your hardware. I'll know for sure about that when my sets arrive.

 

[Lecagr]

Here's another problem I discovered, when selecting to watch an individual episode from the menu screen, after the episode is over, the DVD doesn't revert back to the menu screen, instead the next episode automatically starts playing and if I don't want to watch it I have to hit the stop button on the DVD remote. It's not that big of a deal but it's still a problem.

 

[Lecagr]

I don’t see what you’re seeing. It has black bars on the sides so that it’s at its correct aspect ratio. But there are no black bars at the top and the bottom.

The episodes look fantastic.

There's nothing wrong with the episodes themselves but I dislike seeing black bars on the screen, a huge disappointment for me.

 

[Gary OS]

Here's another problem I discovered, when selecting to watch an individual episode from the menu screen, after the episode is over, the DVD doesn't revert back to the menu screen, instead the next episode automatically starts playing and if I don't want to watch it I have to hit the stop button on the DVD remote. It's not that big of a deal but it's still a problem.

Sounds like you’re going out of the way to nitpick the set. I would’ve thought all fans of the show would be absolutely thrilled with these releases! It’s a dream come true.


Gary “this should be a day for celebrating, not complaining“ O.

 

[Lecagr]

Sounds like you need to change the way your player is set up to display. I'd guess it's set for 4:3 output - change it to "native" or WS. It's also possible the AR on your TV is incorrect - but it sounds more like a player issue.

It's possible these are encoded to play in 4:3 even if played on 16:9 defaulted equipment. That's usually what causes that issue and it's only curable by changing settings in your hardware. I'll know for sure about that when my sets arrive.

I could be wrong but it seems to me that these DVD's are not formatted in full screen and that's why I'm seeing black bars on all four sides of the screen.

 

[LouA]

There's nothing wrong with the episodes themselves but I dislike seeing black bars on the screen, a huge disappointment for me.

4x3 ratio would have small bars on either side of the screen. All classic television plays that way. It’s the way it was filmed.
If they closed in to accommodate a 16x 9 TV you would lose info on top and bottom of the screen.
Mine haven’t arrived yet , but I’ll take Gary!s word they look fantastic!

 

[Lecagr]

4x3 ratio would have small bars on either side of the screen. All classic television plays that way. It’s the way it was filmed.
If they closed in to accommodate a 16x 9 TV you would lose info on top and bottom of the screen.
Mine haven’t arrived yet , but I’ll take Gary!s word they look fantastic!

I suspect that these DVD's are not formatted in full screen and that's why there are black bars on all four sides.

 

[The Obsolete Man]

I suspect that these DVD's are not formatted in full screen and that's why there are black bars on all four sides.

They're almost certainly pillarboxed. Meaning, the discs are authored at 16x9 with the complete full frame image in the middle with black bars on the side. So when your TV is set to widescreen, the image comes out correctly. When stretched, you get the black bars all around.

It's a method used by some companies for whatever reason, and it prevents stretching a 4x3 picture out to fill the entire screen so you're stuck with the correct aspect ratio. But it's probably a convenience thing since most people have their TVs set to widescreen or source, anyway.

 

[LouA]

Mine just arrived. I previewed The Rivals and it looks great and in the proper ratio in my OPPO.
I think the above poster who had issues might meet to adjust the aspect ratio in his player.
A lot of episodes per disc , but they still look great!

 

[smithbrad]

I suspect that these DVD's are not formatted in full screen and that's why there are black bars on all four sides.

As others have stated, they appear to be formatted to correctly display 4:3 content on a 16:9 screen in the correct aspect ratio with black bars on the sides. In other words, the black bars are integrated into the image so when it expands out to fit the 16:9 screen everything appears correct. This has become more common to ensure the aspect ratio is being properly maintained. What you are trying to do is to stretch the content horizontally to fit your 16:9 image, which shows the image incorrectly then how it was intended.

What happens then when you try to stretch it, is that it considers it a 16:9 image, which it is not, and attempts to artificially add bars to the top and bottom to compensate, giving you the image you describe.

 

[smithbrad]

They're almost certainly pillarboxed. Meaning, the discs are authored at 16x9 with the complete full frame image in the middle with black bars on the side. So when your TV is set to widescreen, the image comes out correctly. When set at 4x3, you get the black bars all around.

Correct.

It's a method used by some companies for whatever reason, and it prevents stretching a 4x3 picture out to fill the entire screen so you're stuck with the correct aspect ratio. But it's probably a convenience thing since most people have their TVs set to widescreen or source, anyway.

Agreed. I believe over time some have found the convenience aspect now outweighs the need to support those that want to stretch the image away from the proper aspect ratio.

I first recall encountering this with the Rifleman season DVD releases.

 

[Lecagr]

They're almost certainly pillarboxed. Meaning, the discs are authored at 16x9 with the complete full frame image in the middle with black bars on the side. So when your TV is set to widescreen, the image comes out correctly. When stretched, you get the black bars all around.

It's a method used by some companies for whatever reason, and it prevents stretching a 4x3 picture out to fill the entire screen so you're stuck with the correct aspect ratio. But it's probably a convenience thing since most people have their TVs set to widescreen or source, anyway.

I own other classic TV DVD's from MPI, Family Affair, Here's Lucy, etc., and they all play in proper full screen with no black bars except for O & H, which is why I am thinking MPI did something different with the formatting when they made these O & H DVD's.

 

[Gary OS]

They're almost certainly pillarboxed. Meaning, the discs are authored at 16x9 with the complete full frame image in the middle with black bars on the side. So when your TV is set to widescreen, the image comes out correctly. When stretched, you get the black bars all around.

It's a method used by some companies for whatever reason, and it prevents stretching a 4x3 picture out to fill the entire screen so you're stuck with the correct aspect ratio. But it's probably a convenience thing since most people have their TVs set to widescreen or source, anyway.

That’s correct. But I don’t see it as a problem at all. I’m for watching these show in their correct aspect ratio regardless.

 

[BobO'Link]

I own other classic TV DVD's from MPI, Family Affair, Here's Lucy, etc., and they all play in proper full screen with no black bars except for O & H, which is why I am thinking MPI did something different with the formatting when they made these O & H DVD's.

You say "proper full screen with no black bars"... That description makes it sound like you're not seeing the normal "pillar boxing" you'd see on 4:3 content in the correct AR on a 16:9 TV. There's only one explanation for that... Is your TV a 4:3 CRT?

 

[smithbrad]

I own other classic TV DVD's from MPI, Family Affair, Here's Lucy, etc., and they all play in proper full screen with no black bars except for O & H, which is why I am thinking MPI did something different with the formatting when they made these O & H DVD's.

They did, for what I'm sure they feel is for the better.

If a player is properly setup for the TV and the content played, it will properly fill the screen for 16:9 content and show bars on the sides for 4:3 content to maintain the intended aspect ratio, without any manual manipulations using the controls. However, many aren't configured properly, leading to people having to manually set the aspect ratio as needed. This approach solves that for those wanting to watch in the correct aspect ratio while their player is set to always stretch. At the same time, it takes away the ability for those that want to artificially stretch the image horizontally, which I believe is your case.

 

[smithbrad]

You say "proper full screen with no black bars"... That description makes it sound like you're not seeing the normal "pillar boxing" you'd see on 4:3 content in the correct AR on a 16:9 TV. There's only one explanation for that... Is your TV a 4:3 CRT?

Or that their preference is to stretch the image horizontally to fill the 16:9 screen, regardless of the intended aspect ratio.

 

[BobO'Link]

They're almost certainly pillarboxed. Meaning, the discs are authored at 16x9 with the complete full frame image in the middle with black bars on the side. So when your TV is set to widescreen, the image comes out correctly. When stretched, you get the black bars all around.

It's a method used by some companies for whatever reason, and it prevents stretching a 4x3 picture out to fill the entire screen so you're stuck with the correct aspect ratio. But it's probably a convenience thing since most people have their TVs set to widescreen or source, anyway.

I don't "stretch" images but will sometimes "zoom" a 4:3 product to fit the WS TV - that will cause cropping of the top/bottom (and I can adjust the image up/down to help that look better). It really depends on the show I'm watching (the more I like it the less inclined I am to zoom the image). Due to the way most TV series were filmed or taped you have lots of extra head/foot room due to "overscan" compensation for old style broadcast. Often the framing still looks acceptable if such product is zoomed to put the sides of the image at the edge of the screen. For that one reason I don't particularly care for product that has forced the AR on me - but I don't let it bother me either as I generally watch the intended AR.