widescreen tv's and (disappearing) dvd subtitles (1 Viewer)

[Bart_R]

Hello everybody,

I've been considering getting a widescreen tv. I can get one for a very decent price, so I thought: "why not?". But then, last night I went to a friend's house and he was talking about how the subtitles of his Two Towers-dvd disappeared whenever he played it on his widescreen tv. He said it was a problem of the dvd, which I found somewhat vexing. I believe it is anamorphic, besides I think this big of a release wouldn't be treated in such a sub-par way.

So then, what is the problem? Is it because of the tv? The dvd-player (he has an X-box)? Because now I don't know about getting a widescreen tv. If half of my dvd's will have chopped-off subtitles it's no good (well, for me it is, but not for my family).

Can anyone here help me out perhaps? Do you know what the deal is? Should I just wait until I can afford a projector or something, or is the problem fixable?

Thanks in advance...

 

[Craig]

If the TV is in a zoom mode then you can have this problem. A widescreen TV will have a mode for viewing anamorphic DVDs (Toshiba calls it the FULL mode for example) and you shouldn't lose any subtitles.

I've had some problems with non-anamorphic foreign language DVDs with subtitles that show in the black bars. When I go into one of the zoom modes (TW2) I've lost part of the subtitles. Again, this isn't the case with an anamorphic DVDS and I haven't had any problem with either Fellowship of The Ring or The Two Towers.

I'd say your friend needs to make sure his DVD player is in 16x9 mode and not 4:3 letterbox and also make sure his TV is in the proper mode for anamorphic DVDs.

 

[John S]

I think your friend has something set wrong for sure.

 

[Bart_R]

Thanks for your replies

So, ok, it is probably some settings or configuration problem then... Well, good to know. Then I can go ahead with the purchase of that widescreen tv. If only to tide me over till I can afford a projector...