When watching 2.35:1 DVD's on a 16:9 TV you will have black bars right? (1 Viewer)

[JohnMW]

I want to make sure I have everything set correctly on my equipment. Now if I was watching a 1.85:1 it would take up the FULL 16:9 TV screen?

 

[Brian E]

I don't own one yet, but I think I can answer.

With 1.85:1 what little bars there would be are taken up by overscan. 2.35:1 films will have black bars, but they'll be smaller than on a 4:3 set.

 

[Robert George]

Correct.

 

[Andrew W]

I've adjusted my overscan to a minimum, but even so, 1.66:1, 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 all appear the same fully filling the screen on my set. (assuming anamorphic for all three ratios.)

 

[MichaelPe]

Well, this is just simple math:
- a 16x9 TV has an aspect ratio of 1.78:1
- a 4x3 TV has an aspect ratio of 1.33:1
So, if the aspect ratio of the movie is higher than the aspect ratio of the television, then you will have "black bars".
Of course, overscan complicates things a little.
http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/usefulinfo/overscan.html