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Why no option for 16:9 or 4:3 on recent TV show releases?

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Why no option for 16:9 or 4:3 on recent TV show releases?

Old 04-07-06, 04:58 PM
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Why no option for 16:9 or 4:3 on recent TV show releases?

So recently I was looking to buy the complete series of Buffy and deliberated over getting the R1 box which is all fullscreen or the R2 box which has later seasons in widescreen. I know the argument is that the fullscreen version is the true OAR, but it was still worthy considering. But I realized, how stupid is it that I have to make this decision? Why are shows that are originally shown in HDTV released on DVD in fullframe even when there is no real "official" OAR? Pretty much all of these shows are centercut from 16:9 to give us the 4:3 version. So what would be so difficult in releasing DVDs with the widescreen transfers and an option to present them in 4:3? Most widscreen DVDs come with a menu that is 16:9 on a widescreen TV and centercut for a 4:3 TV, so this is clearly an option thats just not being used. Is there a reason that studios are so clueless as to not take advantage of the format? I guess the argument can be made that maybe the creators only want the show seen a certain way, but if thats the case, why release it the other way in other regions, and why present it in widescreen at all if you dont like it?
Old 04-07-06, 05:59 PM
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Rescue Me is widescreen on DVD.
Old 04-07-06, 06:00 PM
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because OAR is the right AR?
Old 04-07-06, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by Thunderball
because OAR is the right AR?
While I generally agree with that, I don't think that's what the OP is getting at. It seems that the studios are choosing not to take advantage of some DVD functionality that would allow consumers the choice of aspect ratios when watching a DVD. I'm not sure if the video track can be encoded the way that the menu screens are--16:9 ratio but designed to display cropped on 4:3 TVs--but if so, it seems like a no-brainer decision to me. *shrug*
Old 04-07-06, 06:14 PM
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It could be done, but the quality of the 4x3 option would suffer some due to the loss of horizontal resolution.
Old 04-08-06, 01:08 AM
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Buffy wasn't filmed in HD
Old 04-08-06, 01:27 AM
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Originally Posted by critterdvd
Buffy wasn't filmed in HD
Sure it was. It wasn't shot on HD videotape, but apart from the first season it was shot on 35mm film, which has higher resolution and color fidelity than HD video. And some seasons were filmed in 16:9, but matted to 4:3.

I've seen numerous examples from the unmatted R2 release where things were visible at the edges of the 16:9 screen that weren't meant to be seen --- equipment, matte boxes, crew members, etc.

Just because the mattes can be removed, doesn't mean they shoud be.

Originally Posted by ENDContra
Pretty much all of these shows are centercut from 16:9 to give us the 4:3 version. So what would be so difficult in releasing DVDs with the widescreen transfers and an option to present them in 4:3?
And most 1.85:1 movies are "center-cut" (i.e. matted) from a 4:3 negative. They could be unmatted to fullscreen, but that doesn't mean they should be.

Add to that the expense of offering an entire TV series in both OAR and MAR, and the cost would be considerable. All the episodes would have to mastered twice --- that's a hundred and some episodes of Buffy. Why should the studio go to that expense on a TV show where the creator has made it clear which he prefers?

Widescreen isn't better just because it's widescreen. What matters is how the image was framed by the cinematographer.

Last edited by Mr. Salty; 04-08-06 at 01:30 AM.
Old 04-08-06, 07:44 AM
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^No, they only need to be mastered once, then the DVD player either displays it widescreen or does a centercut on the fly to give you 4:3. This does not require any extra work other than adding an option to a menu screen.

Originally Posted by Drexl
It could be done, but the quality of the 4x3 option would suffer some due to the loss of horizontal resolution.
How many 4:3 TVs would take advantage of this though? I imagine that if there is a difference, most people wouldnt even notice it.

As for whats the right image, although Buffy is what got me thinking about this, a show like the final season of Frasier or The King of Queens would be a perfect example of a show where the option should exist, since both were filmed in front of an audience and basically framed on the fly. Plus, the OAR to me is 16:9, since I saw both originally in widescreen.
Old 04-08-06, 09:52 AM
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No, they only need to be mastered once, then the DVD player either displays it widescreen or does a centercut on the fly to give you 4:3. This does not require any extra work other than adding an option to a menu screen.
Ok... It's been nine years since DVD was introduced, please accept this fact... Even though the option was written into the specifications, Pan & Scan on the fly isn't going to happen.

It was attempted behind the scenes, but required too much programing and didn't work properly on all players.

For all intents and purposes, it was a delusional lame duck option that was created by engineers, that never worked in the practicle world.

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Old 04-08-06, 11:04 AM
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Originally Posted by fitprod
Ok... It's been nine years since DVD was introduced, please accept this fact... Even though the option was written into the specifications, Pan & Scan on the fly isn't going to happen.
We arent talking about pan & scan....thats the reason I only brought up TV shows, not movies. Its just a matter of what the DVD player displays. You can see it on any DVD where the menu is widescreen...its 4:3 centercut on a 4:3 TV. Also, check out The Incredibles DVD...its a perfect example of how this would work. All of the 4:3 material on that disc is anamorphic...the black side bars are burned into the video, so when watching the DVD you dont have to contiuously adjust your TV if you dont like watching stretch-o-vision. On a 4:3 TV, the sidebars are cropped and its displayed fullscreen. So please dont say its not possible when it so obviously is.
Old 04-08-06, 11:12 AM
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regardless...i'm annoyed at this as well.

Law and Order is being released 4:3...and I have a feeling Will & Grace (when and IF they ever get to the HD seasons) will also be full screen. Overseas they are which surprises me.
Old 04-08-06, 04:49 PM
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I'd love to live in a fantasy world where money is no object, unfortunately my bills always blow up the world.

I've seen the supplements for Incredibles, and even Blow from New Line, which do this, it's a cool deal. But for these projects your talking about about and hour or two of material at most. What studio is going to spend money on re-transfering 10 1/2 to 70 hours (depending on how long the show has run) of programing, for a limited retrun on investment.

Should Buena Vista start releasing Scrubs with masters including the black bars on the side for HD TV? Or should they save millions of dollars recycling the same 4 X 3 masters that are used for broadcast?

Then of course we have the fools at Universal that actually re-transfered House for letterboxed 4 X 3 masters, when anamorphic HD masters already exist.

fitrpod

Last edited by fitprod; 04-09-06 at 09:30 AM.
Old 04-09-06, 03:18 AM
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I wasnt asking for retransfers and a rerelease...I was asking why they didnt do it right in the first place?
Old 04-09-06, 04:15 AM
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I was under the impression that some US distributors were beginning to withdraw widescreen DVDs in order to push HD widescreen releases as an "upmarket" product to enthusiasts.

Here is a nice little example, I compiled, of a movie shot on 35mm and released on DVD in 4:3 (faded) by Momentum Pictures UK and widescreen (solid) by Blue Underground USA. I prefer the uncropped 4:3 UK version, as the USA release has a lot of heads cropped off.

Last edited by sarah99; 04-09-06 at 04:35 AM.
Old 04-09-06, 08:09 AM
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While I appreciate any offerings in HD, some older shows that were composed for 4:3 don't look good when redone at 16:9 such as Quantum Leap on UHD. I find myself preferring the DVD versions in 4:3 SD. HOWEVER, any of the new shows that were composed for HD/16:9 should absolutely be released in widescreen format on DVD. If someone doesn't want the "black bars" on their 4:3 TV, almost every DVD player available today has some sort of zoom feature.

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