I know the widescreen debate is cut-and-dry for many of you here, but in my house, it's an argument that could lead to divorce. I don't mind the widescreen, but on my 50" 4:3 HDTV, I'd rather watch 1.85:1 widescreen DVD's than 2.35:1. On the other hand my wife HATES letterboxed films. She believes it's a waste of space on the TV and NOTHING I say will change her opinion of that.

Recently, I've become severely disillusioned by the packaging used for both Matrix:Reloaded and the Indiana Jones Trilogy. They've now decided "oh, it's not important to tell what aspect ratio it is, we'll just say widescreen version enhanced for widescreen TV's". Which left me standing in Best Buy last night saying what the h*ll aspect ratio is this Indiana Jones??

Could someone please fill me in on why they've decided it's no longer necessary to put the aspect ratio down? And what aspect ratio Indiana Jones is in??

Thanks

2.35:1, and if she doesn't like it she can leave the room.

Uhhhhh.....yeah.....sure

Very mature response there......hope that works well for you

She wants to watch the movies as well, not leave the room.

This probably goes without saying, but Spielberg uses the whole frame in all three movies. The pan and scan transfers look really really ridiculous and mute the action quite a bit.

Your wife is pretty much out of luck. The movies are at 2.35:1. They are also selling a fullscreen version at 1.33:1 Those are the only options. I guess your best bet would be to buy the Full Screen version and set your TV to stretch it to 1.85:1

I've refrained from including a lecture on OAR (if you post here, you've heard it a thousand times before), but feel free to tell your wife that a bunch of strangers on the internet think she's crazy.

Heh....tried this last night. Would you believe she blew it off? The nerve!

I really honestly wish they'd have just released it in widescreen only, then it would be a moot point.

Either that or put both versions on one disc. Is that really too much to ask??

I didn't even know there was such a thing. Why would an HDTV be made in 4:3 when most HD broadcasting is in 16:9?


As to the solution to your problem, consider upgrading to a 16:9 set.

aggiebg97,

Usually, you can find this out on the net. You didn't check any websites about the aspect ratio before you went to the store?

These days, you can't be too careful.

P.S. You need to remind your wife who holds the remote in your family.

heres the deal - have you shown her the difference (i.e. like at widescreen.org) to see what she is missing?

if so, does she not care - i.e. i prefer a full screen even if i miss half the action, or the way it looks?

if she doesnt care, you've lost - you married a jane six pack.

Divorce her.

Well, it's an HD ready, but not a widescreen TV. They do exist. As for your solution, oh sure....I'll just toss this 8 month old TV out the door and go shell out another $1800 for a new widescreen. No problem

Witch! Burn her! Burn her!

Indy is 2.35:1 but in the future you can look up the aspect ratio before you buy at www.imdb.com and looking under Techical specs of the movie on the menu to the left. They are usually right.

Well, the imdb shows what the original aspect ratio is. This is what the DVD's *should* be. Most of the time a widescreen movie is the OAR.

I think she already did that.

I gave you a clear and honest answer, followed by a joke. Then you insulted me. As for the maturity comment, I'm left to wonder are you a pot calling a kettle black, or a glass-house dweller with a hobby of throwing stones.

Either way, learn some respect.

A suggestion, maybe put a smiley or wink at the end so someone who doesn't know you from adam would know it was a joke. Maybe then you'd earn some respect. Just because you're Mr "DVD Talk Gold Edition" doesn't mean you automatically deserve respect, just means you spend a lot of time on this message board.

Fair point, text jokes do seem lost on the internet. Besides, me and Adam are nothing alike, he's taller.
Since when did some meaningless title become the point of an argument? You could just be nicer to people who help you out, that's all.

just hand the remote (and if your player has this feature), point to the zoom feature let her pull the image forward so the borders are gone and voila! full screen.

Paramount (Indy) and Warner Bros. (Matrix) rarely, if ever print the actual aspect ratio on the back. Fox, Universal/Dreamworks, MGM, and I believe Columbia/TriStar all do this now, but I can't think of one Warner or Paramouny title that mentions specific AR.

Just watched Raiders in all it's glory on a 57" 16:9 set. Awesome. It's a lot of fun to pick out all the specific scenes that would be totally ruined by P&S. This film is framed terrificly for 2.35:1.

Donnacha . . . aggie . . . you two stop fighting right now or I'll send you both to your rooms and take away you WS privilages for a week!

As for large screen, 3:4, HDTV sets, I've got a 61" one and, while you might not get the movie experience that you get from a WS set, until my cable service gets more than 9 HD channels (most of which only broadcast in HD about 5-10% of the time), I'll enjoy the full screen, 61" experience of college football (with commentators who end up bigger on screen than they would be in real life ). Definately worth it.

Buy her the panned and scan butched versions and get a widescreen set for yourself.

question, since you have a 50 inch 4x3 hdtv, can you watch shows broadcasted in hdtv in widescreen?

Yes you can . . . it displays it just like a WS on a 4:3 . . . black bars.

eyes wide shut? the shining? i don't have either with me now, but i recall those mentioning.

thats good to know. (i for one like black bars, dont' want to deal with burn in, or altering the oar of 1:33 movies by cropping them to fit my tv. ect.