Total NOOB question about Widescreen TVs

[Daniel L]

Okay, this has been confusing me for a long time. I only have a 27'' flat screen TV with 16:9 mode, but I've recently seen some large 16:9 TVs in action. I was always under the impression that, went you set both your DVD player and 16:9 TV to widescreen mode, that the DVD image would fill the screen. Yet, on each display I've seen running, both 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 films still have the black bars on the screen. The bars on the 1.85:1 discs are a little less pronounced, but they're still there. Now, I'm not saying that I care, "the black bars" are not evil, but is this just how widescreen TVs work, or are these people simply not setting up their screens properly? I'd appreciate any explanation.

[DVD Polizei]

Yeah, basically, a true 16:9 movie would have to be around 1.77:1 (I think) aspect ration in order for you to see no black bars. 1.85:1 you see a little, and with 2.35:1 you see even more. So, even though you buy a widescreen television, you will still see a small amount of black bars on top and the bottom. Some televisions allow you to "stretch" the movie so it fills the screen. Since you're not stretching it that much, it can sometimes work. This stretch feature is called many different things on different DVD Players and Televisions, and of course, only some offer this.

[Mr. Salty]

I was always under the impression that, went you set both your DVD player and 16:9 TV to widescreen mode, that the DVD image would fill the screen. Yet, on each display I've seen running, both 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 films still have the black bars on the screen.
It's pretty simple: A widescreen TV is one set aspect ratio: 16:9 (or put another way, 1.78:1). Any DVD presented in a different aspect ratio will have black bars.

1.85:1 may or may not exhibit narrow bars at the top and bottom (depending upon how much overscan is present on the widescreen TV); 2.35:1 will have more pronounced black bars on the top and bottom. Non-widescreen material (such as 1.33:1) will have bars on the sides instead of the top and bottom.