Not sure if this has been posted before. I think I know the anwser but i got in a debate with a "know all about everything" today and want to reasure myself.

Thx

~LP

Yes it does and so does "enhanced for widescreen televisions."

TY! That's what I thought.

~LP

That Mulholland Drive was a really good movie, no?

Actually 16x9 = 144... but thanks for asking

The term "16x9" can mean any of the following:

16x9 = Anamorphic Transfer on a DVD
16x9 = Widescreen Television
16x9 = 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

Deckard.....Yeah, that's what I thought as well. But others I've contacted seem to disagree.

Many seem to claim that the mere mentioning of 16x9 (or 16:9) indicates NOTHING OTHER than that the disc within has an anamorphic transfer.

I have a problem with this, because if the packaging simply says 16:9 (and NOT "enhanced" or "anamorphic" as well), I always wonder to myself, "I wonder if that 16:9 indicates anam., or simply that the film is in Widescreen?"

A good case for this confusion arises out of HBO's release of the film 61*, which states on the box: "Aspect Ratio: 16:9". But nothing about "anamorphic".

This is particularly confusing here, since they put the words "Aspect Ratio" preceeeding the "16:9". That could easily make the purchaser think that the "16:9" simply means that the film is not FF, but WS. (Although, technically, this would still be slightly inaccurate....because the film is really a 1.85 AR, and not 1.78.)

I, personally, like to see it SPELLED OUT, "anamorphic" or "enhanced for 16x9", which *is* the way it's done on 97.75% of all DVD packages.

So....Deckard, be prepared to be second-guessed and raked over DVD-Talk's proverbial hot coals for your assessment of your three-fold meaning of 16x9.

16x9 just means whatever the package designer thought it meant. The only way to KNOW what's on the disc is by reading a bunch of reviews, then drawing your own conclusions, then buying the disc. This is the world we live in.

I agree. The term 16x9 as seen on a DVD package should indicate anamorphic. However, 16x9 is also the term used to describe the 1.78:1 aspect ratio used by HDTV widescreen televisions.

The following link is to a .PDF file on the FCC website. This file describes the ATSC Digial Television Standard.

www.fcc.gov

I agree with the following. its just an umbrella term for widescreen televisions

......

So enhanced for 16x9 does = anamorphic?

~LP

...I've never seen that phrase used, but the answer is YES...

. . . ;o . . .

So, on a somewhat related note: If the back of a DVD does NOT say anamorphic, is it safe to assume it's not? E.g., it only says "widescreen version" on the back, but does not say "anamorphic" or "enhanced for widescreen TVs" anywhere.
It seems like this is the case but I'm never quite sure.

Nope. Columbia Tristar is notorious for making their transfer enhanced for 16x9 tvs, and not putting it on the back. This caused many, many flame wars in the past regarding the original The Fifth Element transfer. (It's 16x9 btw).
If I'm not mistaken, they might have started putting "Digitally Mastered Audio and Anamorphic Video" in the special features box, so that's one way of telling.
And for the record, Columbia Tristar is pretty darned good about 16x9 transfers.

Yes, unless its on the back cover of Good Will Hunting.