Lint21

Ok, so I have the non-Criterion version of Rushmore. I started to watch it last night, but the aspect seemed screwy to me.

When my 16:9 television was in 16x9 Standard mode, the picture looked like it was being stretched out. When the TV was set to 4:3, the picture seemed much more accurate, but it was as if it were a letterbox inside of a 4:3 box. So the options were 1) distorted picture with huge bars on top and bottom (looked like about a 4:1 aspect ratio) or 2) normal picture with bars on top AND on the sides.

WTH is this? There is no other side to the disc, no option to watch in widescreen mode. I've only had a 16:9 set for a couple of weeks... is this just the way some DVDs are? Is this the difference between letterbox and widescreen?

Bill Geiger

Your Rushmore dvd is not Anamorphic. The Criterion Rushmore is anamorphic and is 16x9 anamorphic. Any dvd you have that is not anamorphic, is going to look much smaller.. and possibly stretched out.

This is always a good read.. you might want to check it out.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...hic/index.html

Also, I'll bet yours looks like this

Lint21

Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check out that article.

I could have sworn I'd watched other non-anamorphic DVDs on this TV before and they didn't display this behavior.

Lint21

I'll be buggered.

No wonder the people on these forums are always so up in arms about anamorphic DVDs.

Also, my picture actually looked like this:

DivxGuy

Doesn't your set have a "ZOOM" mode to scale such images so that they fill the screen in their correct proportions? If not, or its quality is poor, you can use a scaling DVD player like the RP-91 or a home theater PC.

RD

Lint21

It does, but I didn't think to use it. I'm pretty new to having a widescreen TV (Hitachi 51SWX20B).

That's a good thought about the DVD player, too. I have a Panasonic CP-72, and it will be interesting to compare the zooming/scaling quality between it and the TV.

I feel like kind of a boob. I always knew anamorphic was better, I just never knew (or cared) why, having a 4:3 set.

FilmFanSea

FWIW, the Criterion release is excellent. Highly recommended.

Bill Geiger

Yes, it is. Watched it the other night. Pleasantly surprised!

DivxGuy

That was one of the driving factors in my getting a widescreen back in 2000.

The model I got has the FULL mode lock problem, and it was a headache until I got a home theater PC. I might have been better off getting one of the Elite models.

RD