top/bottom bars on widescreen RPTV??? (1 Viewer)

[jeff ha]

I'm really new to this and therefore this may be a really silly question...

I've got a new I've got a new Panny 47" widescreen (PT47WX53) and am really blown away with the picture I'm getting out of my DVD player and even digital cable. Its even better than I had expected - once I did some basic setup with the AVIA disc.

I've only got 4 DVD's currently:
1)Avia
2)Shrek double special edition
3)Die Another Day double SE
4)Daredevil double SE

What has me confused is that I expected to get a full screen image with a 16:9 formatted widescreen movie with the TV's Aspect setting to FULL. The Bond film indicates 16:9 but still has narrow top/bottom black bars when viewed. I expected some less than full screen viewing on other aspect ratios but thought that I'd get full screen images on 16:9 formats without going into ZOOM which looks pretty cheezy.

Bottom line is that I'm either confused by aspect ratios altogether or I don't have my DVD or TV settings correct. I want to maximize my viewing potential. Any thoughts?

I'm also worried about the small black bars at the top/bottom of the screen causing burn-in problems as they are truly black and not grey like the 4:3 side bars when viewing TV formats. Is this a legitimate concern?

Thanks for any advice that you can offer.

Jeff

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

You are confusing the term aspect ratio and anamorphically enhanced. Enhanced for 16:9 TV's does not mean will fit the screen.

Some films are shot with an AR of 2.35:1 which is greater than your TV which is 1.78:1.

IF the film AR does not equal the TV's AR ... then you will always see bars ... either top/bottom or left/right.

As for burn in ... I have not yet seen any TV that has suffered w/s bar burn in ... especially if you keep the contrast down.

REgards

 

[Jeremy Stockwell]

For more information, see this post in the FAQ/Primer.

JKS

 

[jeff ha]

WOW! What a wealth of information!

Thanks a ton.