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When is Fullscreen Pan & Scan & When is it really FULLSCREEN? I'm becoming Joe 6 Pack (2 Viewers)

Scott Varney

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Dec 4, 2001
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To add yet another facet to the confusion, some directors have the entire film hard-matted, effects shots or not.
But, regardless of whether or not the film is hard-matted fully, partially, or not at all... the film is not in it's intended aspect ratio.
 

Brian W.

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so I can safely assume that when there is a dual Widescreen & Fullscreen release that the fullscreen is bound to be panned & scanned in at least some way, even if it's just the SFX shots?
It depends on what the theatrical aspect ratio was. If it was 1.85, then no, not for most shots. If it was 2.35, hell, yes, you're still losing almost a third of the picture.

"Lord of the Rings" is a weird one. I've spent a lot of time comparing the fullscreen and widescreen versions. Side-to-side on the fullscreen you're getting what would amount to anywhere from a 1.78 to a 1.66 aspect ratio, with more at the top and/or bottom. It varies. There are a few shots that are 100% pan and scan (not many -- I've found less than ten), but I do want to say that there is no rhyme or reason to them. Some are effects shots, some are not. Effects don't seem to be the determining factor in this particular case.
 

Daniel J

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I would refer to them as Cinema/widescreen and P&S, personally. Chances are, any full-frame title out there will be panned or scanned at some point, FX shot or not. The crew is always working in and around that area outside the matted OAR, and chances are you would see them if you watched a completely open-matte presentation; therefor many sequences must be panned or scanned.
 

Johnny G

Supporting Actor
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Oddly enough, I just checked DVD Price Search and they have a lot of titles now saying Pan & Scan which I think used to say Fullscreen including Murder By Numbers, A Beautiful Mind & Death To Smoochy.
STRANGE!
 

DeeF

Screenwriter
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Jun 19, 2002
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I have a 16:9 plasma television.

While I am all in favor of OAR, lately I've been watching everything stretched to the full width and height of my screen.

Because my plasma has a huge potential for showing permanent burn-in.

Most movies are fine. 4:3 movies look odd, but are quite watchable. Anything from 1.66:1 to 1.85:1 fills the screen admirably.

But scope movies, 2.35:1 contain permanent black areas, top and bottom. Even stretching the picture will not eliminate these areas.

I have to admit -- I'm pretty happy that HBO shows everything in the 16:9 format. Not because I don't need the extra information, but because I'd like to protect my investment (a big one).
 

Scott Merryfield

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Dee,

If your 16x9 television is properly calibrated, there should be no issue with burn-in from watching a 2-3 hour 2.35:1 or 1.33:1 DVD. My 16x9 RPTV is almost two years old, and I watch all DVD's in their OAR, whether they are 2.35:1 or 1.33:1 (no zoom, no stretch). The set has no noticable burn-in affects at all. I do have a decent sized collection of 1.33:1 material on DVD, between classic films and TV shows.

If the material is good enough for me to spend my hard earned money to purchase on DVD, I do not want to chop or distort the picture. I do use the stretch mode for casual TV watching, but not for critical viewing.
 

DeeF

Screenwriter
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My monitor needs to last more than two years.

If I'm watching something critically, then I watch it AOR. All scope movies are watched AOR (because the stretching does little good). But I rarely watch 4:3 material unstretched, either television programs or old movies on DVD.

I'm just too nervous about it. The AVS Forum thread about plasma burn-in is pretty...threatening.

And I already see the effects of watching a lot of scope movies on my plasma. When I put on the white screen, I can clearly see a faded area in the center of the screen, whiter areas top and bottom, conforming to scope's black areas. It's a problem.
 

Johnny G

Supporting Actor
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Dec 12, 2000
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Dee,

Can you zoom an anamorphic 2.35:1 disc to fill the height of your screen & chop off the edges?
 

DeeF

Screenwriter
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I can zoom scope movies, but the black areas top and bottom are actual black pixels built into the image. The zoom sees those areas as part of the picture. So zooming makes for an odd-looking picture, which has smaller black areas, but they are still there. It's the best I can do, but I don't do it, because it really doesn't help. I watch scope movies AOR, unzoomed, which means, I could have burn-in, soon enough.
 

DaViD Boulet

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Feb 24, 1999
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If buying a particular TV negates you being able to enjoy movies in their original format...I'd venture to suggest that you bought the *wrong* TV.

The display should serve the film material...not the other way around!

In any case...if you watch in a darkened room and can turn the contrast (light output) down, burn-in should not be a problem. And if you ever start to notice any uneven wear...you can always watch a few 1.78:1 films with lots of hi-contrast/bright scenes to even out the screen.

When I bought my 16x9 direct-view it had "4x3 burn in" from having been played in 4x3 mode in the store continuously (floor model) with the contrast too high. After 2 years of watching widescreen films (and I often will zoom TV), the wear is now even and I can't even tell where the "burn in" used to be.

Burn in is not what most people think. The black bars aren't what's burning in at all...in fact...the black bars are NOT burning in. It's the area with active picture information that is burning in...and so if you have black "unused" areas of phosphers (or whatever makes plasmas glow) then those areas don't age as fast and retain their "new" brightness.

Watching a variety of programming with the contrast tuned proplery should aleviate all worries. Calibrate your display for a darkened room...don't crank it like a light-bulb trying to compete with an overhead skylight.

In any case...make the display serve the film. What's the point of buying a sports-car only to keep it garaged? You have to risk a few nicks from road-gravel to take that baby out for a spin.

-dave
 

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