Need info on movies reformatted to 16 x 9
02-01-06, 12:49 AM
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Need info on movies reformatted to 16 x 9
Hey, I am taking a magazine writing class. I am not majoring in journalism, but it's an elective that fit a necessary spot in my schedule.
Anyways, I am writing a short article on DVDs being reformatted to 16x9 widescreen formats, essentially making "widescreen" the new fullscreen.
Does anyone have any good sites or whatnot that could help out with this?
Anyways, I am writing a short article on DVDs being reformatted to 16x9 widescreen formats, essentially making "widescreen" the new fullscreen.
Does anyone have any good sites or whatnot that could help out with this?
02-01-06, 02:48 AM
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Originally Posted by slavetotherave
essentially making "widescreen" the new fullscreen.
What do you mean by that? 16x9 is not fullscreen, as a movie on dvd that is 16x9 (anamorphically enhanced) is shown in its original aspect ratio, and while it will fill the whole of a widescreen display, this is not the same thing as fullscreen. Fullscreen is, by definition, the same thing as pan-and-scan, where part of the original frame is removed so the image will fill a 4:3, or traditional, TV. You have your terms confused.
02-01-06, 06:07 AM
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Yes, 16x9 can indeed be fullscreen, if the screen happens to be 16x9. Considering that there will probably always be people who want their screen filled no matter what its shape is, I think we will see more of this happening as more widescreen TVs are sold.
From what I've read on the forum, it seems to be much more common on HDTV channels than on DVDs. I've even read about 4:3 versions of films stretched to fill the screen.
There are only a few DVDs that I know of that have been reformatted for 16x9. Lord of War, The Recruit, and Stephen King's It (which was made for TV with a 4:3 aspect ratio but the DVD is cropped) are the only ones I can think of.
Also for your article you could refer to the UMDs for the PSP. Many 2.35:1 movies are reformatted to fit the PSP's 1.78:1 screen, although some people don't mind since the screen is small.
From what I've read on the forum, it seems to be much more common on HDTV channels than on DVDs. I've even read about 4:3 versions of films stretched to fill the screen.
There are only a few DVDs that I know of that have been reformatted for 16x9. Lord of War, The Recruit, and Stephen King's It (which was made for TV with a 4:3 aspect ratio but the DVD is cropped) are the only ones I can think of.
Also for your article you could refer to the UMDs for the PSP. Many 2.35:1 movies are reformatted to fit the PSP's 1.78:1 screen, although some people don't mind since the screen is small.
02-01-06, 06:50 AM
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The R1 DVDs of Creep and Stage Beauty have also been modified to 1.78:1 from their OAR of 2.35:1. Both of these films and Lord of War were released by Lions Gate, which seems to be the "pioneer" in this field.
Some people have complained about the upcoming Saw II DVD modifying the image from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, although the original Saw DVDs also had this change with nobody noticing or caring. In fact, aspect ratio changes from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1 on DVD have been happening since the beginning of DVD, and is a minor enough change most people aren't concerned about it.
Drexl mentioned that this is much more prevelant on HDTV channels like HBO-HD than on DVD as of yet.
One interesting note is that at least one film series, the LOTR films, had all of its digital effects printed out at 1.78:1, which was then cropped for the 2.35:1 theatrical release. This seemed to be in anticipation of such "full-widesceen" releases in the future, whether on TV or some home video format.
Some people have complained about the upcoming Saw II DVD modifying the image from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, although the original Saw DVDs also had this change with nobody noticing or caring. In fact, aspect ratio changes from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1 on DVD have been happening since the beginning of DVD, and is a minor enough change most people aren't concerned about it.
Drexl mentioned that this is much more prevelant on HDTV channels like HBO-HD than on DVD as of yet.
One interesting note is that at least one film series, the LOTR films, had all of its digital effects printed out at 1.78:1, which was then cropped for the 2.35:1 theatrical release. This seemed to be in anticipation of such "full-widesceen" releases in the future, whether on TV or some home video format.
02-01-06, 07:03 AM
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My post above focuses largely on widescreen films modified to a "full-widescreen" format, but I've thought of some 4:3 films and shows which have also gone under modification to 16:9.
On the most recent R1 DVD of the movie Ninja Scroll, Manga decided to include a 16:9 version that is a cropped image of the original 4:3 OAV movie.
El Mariachi is shown on DVD in WS, despite originally being filmed in 4:3.
Somewhat more controversial is the reformat of Evil Dead that Anchor Bay did for their Book of the Dead version. In a sense, the 16:9 version could be considered OAR, since the film was originally released in theaters in widescreen. However, the film existed for so long in a director-approved 4:3 version showing the full image that some are less that enthusiastic about the cropped image.
Some TV shows have also gone under the transformation. Later seasons of the X-Files were released on DVD in 16:9, despite most people having seen them on TV in 4:3. This is a bit different than the other examples though in that the 16:9 version is an open-matte transfer, as the show was shot on 3-perf Super35, which has an aspect ratio of 16:9, then center cropped for the 4:3 version. Some have pointed out numerous errors the 16:9 versions expose as reasoning that the show was originally framed for the 4:3 image.
Also, in other regions the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer was released in open-matte 16:9, despite the show's creator stating that the show was always intended to be shown in 4:3.
On the most recent R1 DVD of the movie Ninja Scroll, Manga decided to include a 16:9 version that is a cropped image of the original 4:3 OAV movie.
El Mariachi is shown on DVD in WS, despite originally being filmed in 4:3.
Somewhat more controversial is the reformat of Evil Dead that Anchor Bay did for their Book of the Dead version. In a sense, the 16:9 version could be considered OAR, since the film was originally released in theaters in widescreen. However, the film existed for so long in a director-approved 4:3 version showing the full image that some are less that enthusiastic about the cropped image.
Some TV shows have also gone under the transformation. Later seasons of the X-Files were released on DVD in 16:9, despite most people having seen them on TV in 4:3. This is a bit different than the other examples though in that the 16:9 version is an open-matte transfer, as the show was shot on 3-perf Super35, which has an aspect ratio of 16:9, then center cropped for the 4:3 version. Some have pointed out numerous errors the 16:9 versions expose as reasoning that the show was originally framed for the 4:3 image.
Also, in other regions the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer was released in open-matte 16:9, despite the show's creator stating that the show was always intended to be shown in 4:3.
02-01-06, 10:22 AM
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Yeah, exactly. I also think I read somewhere on these forums that the older Disney movies that were originally 4:3 were cropped to look widescreen.
All this info is wonderful, but I was also wondering if anybody knew of any specific sites or articles and such that talk about this so I can site them in my article. Or perhaps a site that shows what all the movies' OARs are suppoded to be.
All this info is wonderful, but I was also wondering if anybody knew of any specific sites or articles and such that talk about this so I can site them in my article. Or perhaps a site that shows what all the movies' OARs are suppoded to be.
02-01-06, 05:07 PM
#8
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www.imdb.com would be the most readily available resource for things like theatrical aspect ratio, although it's not always correct.
This review mentions the matting of the Aladdin 3 video sequel, along with pics:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/aladdinsequels.html
There's also this article about various aspect ratio issues with Disney DVDs. There's some mention of matting to widescreen on some DVDs:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/oar.htm
Also thought of the TV shows Kung Fu and Hogan's Heroes, which have been cropped to 1.66:1 recently. With Kung Fu, the season 1 DVD showed this cropping, while Hogan's Heroes is shown on HDNet in this aspect ratio. While not filling a widescreen TV, it does fill it more than the full image 1.33:1 versions do.
This review mentions the matting of the Aladdin 3 video sequel, along with pics:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/aladdinsequels.html
There's also this article about various aspect ratio issues with Disney DVDs. There's some mention of matting to widescreen on some DVDs:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/oar.htm
Also thought of the TV shows Kung Fu and Hogan's Heroes, which have been cropped to 1.66:1 recently. With Kung Fu, the season 1 DVD showed this cropping, while Hogan's Heroes is shown on HDNet in this aspect ratio. While not filling a widescreen TV, it does fill it more than the full image 1.33:1 versions do.
02-01-06, 06:01 PM
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Both "Kung Fu" Season 1 and "Dark Shadows" (1991) were released on DVD in "widescreen" versions, which crop the top and bottom of the original 4X3 image.
Universal HD routinely shows cropped fake widescreen versions of "Knight Rider". This same network also shows versions of 2:35 to 1 movies cropped to 1:78 to 1.
It's only the beginning, people. Soon all those who wanted everything to fit their 4X3 sets will be demanding everything, old or new, be cropped to fill their entire 16 X 9 set. Some people just don't care how awful it looks as long as there is no dead space on their set.
Universal HD routinely shows cropped fake widescreen versions of "Knight Rider". This same network also shows versions of 2:35 to 1 movies cropped to 1:78 to 1.
It's only the beginning, people. Soon all those who wanted everything to fit their 4X3 sets will be demanding everything, old or new, be cropped to fill their entire 16 X 9 set. Some people just don't care how awful it looks as long as there is no dead space on their set.
02-01-06, 06:15 PM
#10
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Found an article about Kung Fu's cropping:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=896
Article about Joss Whedon's reasoning for the R1 Buffy DVDs:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/buffy.../28/4092.shtml
As well as original letter from the Digital Bits (4/23/03), and a screenshot from Buffy showing the differences (4/25/03)
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa72.html
An interesting note is that regarding Buffy, a lot of fans wanted the altered 16:9 image, as it showed more. This next article shows comparison shots, with the author heavily pushing the WS version:
http://www.r2-dvd.org/article.jsp?se...articleId=3924
Not an article, but I wrote a message where I compared shots of the originally broadcast 4:3 version of The X-Files with the same shots from the WS DVDs:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...e5e403ea4e3cff (2nd half of post)
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=896
Article about Joss Whedon's reasoning for the R1 Buffy DVDs:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/buffy.../28/4092.shtml
As well as original letter from the Digital Bits (4/23/03), and a screenshot from Buffy showing the differences (4/25/03)
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa72.html
An interesting note is that regarding Buffy, a lot of fans wanted the altered 16:9 image, as it showed more. This next article shows comparison shots, with the author heavily pushing the WS version:
http://www.r2-dvd.org/article.jsp?se...articleId=3924
Not an article, but I wrote a message where I compared shots of the originally broadcast 4:3 version of The X-Files with the same shots from the WS DVDs:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.a...e5e403ea4e3cff (2nd half of post)
Last edited by Jay G.; 02-01-06 at 06:40 PM.
02-01-06, 06:48 PM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Just found an article talking about the aspect ratio of the upcoming Beast Machines DVD set:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=4927
Another thing to note is that a lot of shows are now simultaneously broadcast in both 4:3 on standard TV, and 16:9 on HDTV, so the question of which is OAR is kind of up in the air. In a sense, both versions are OAR. However, it seems that when these shows are released on DVD, the majority of them are released in 16:9, even though the majority of viewers saw it in 4:3. Some examples are Firefly, Wonderfalls, Lost, House, and Arrested Development.
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=4927
Another thing to note is that a lot of shows are now simultaneously broadcast in both 4:3 on standard TV, and 16:9 on HDTV, so the question of which is OAR is kind of up in the air. In a sense, both versions are OAR. However, it seems that when these shows are released on DVD, the majority of them are released in 16:9, even though the majority of viewers saw it in 4:3. Some examples are Firefly, Wonderfalls, Lost, House, and Arrested Development.
