OldBoy

do you just hang out at stores and stalk others buying DVD's?? leave them alone and let them decide for themselves!

Class316

Aren't all portable DVD players 16:9???

Also, I don't see WS TVs becoming the norm anytime soon. Not while they're still mega expensive. And they show little sign of becoming cheaper.

Frank S

Boy, you need to get out! 16x9 HDTV's can be had for under $600 these days. HDTV's have been going down in price every year with this year being the biggest drop from one year to the next since HDTV's inception.

Kal-El

This is what I asked 2 of my female co-workers a few weeks ago. One of them was complaining that she was looking for a Collateral DVD in FS for her bf all over Target and she couldn't find any so she had to buy WS. So I told her that was good. The one sitting next to her asked why as well so I explained it to them. I didn't tell them to buy WS from that point on though. I just told them that I'm giving them the info on what the difference is between the two and that they should decide for themselves what works for them in the end.

kitkat

Nah, they'll just watch 'em stretched.

Class316

Every time I'm at Best Buy I hardly see any below $2000.

Drexl

Yep. We get posts here from time to time complaining that a title is in full screen when the case said it was widescreen, and it turns out that his DVD player is set for 16x9 which causes the player to show it stretched out on his screen. I think they won't have any problem watching distorted images.

tonyc3742

ssshhh...don't say that...that'll give them an idea--regular price for FS, extra charge for widescreen, since it's a special version or something.

I agree, a lot of people don't care.

We got my folks a dvd player and a Netflix sub for Christmas last year, and of course educated them about widescreen/OAR. My dad understands it, and when looking at some screenshots, definitely can tell a difference, but it's not a big deal to him. I think he's started watching, in the case of dual versions, the WS version just because i told him to, but he wouldn't care either way. We played a couple dvd's with 'loud' scenes when they were visiting, both with just the TV speakers, then with the DD 5.1 HT setup, and both my folks recognized the difference, but they aren't 'into' it so much that they want a HT. They also still have a 4:3 tv, and probably won't get a WS or HD TV, unless/until their current tv dies.

Re: Best Buy and >2k tv's: They're there, you have to look for them. Most Best Buys have the huge big-screen tv section that draws your attention, and their smaller [and thus cheaper] tvs are over in a corner that isn't really in the path of traffic. BB.com has one right now that's 26", WS, FlatTube, HD tuner, for $650. And you can get HD RPTV's for as low as ~$900. I guess the 'average price' is probably still around 1800 or so, however.

Lovitz

we can only hope when the next dvd format comes around, Fool Screen will be eliminated once and for all.

nightmaster

Same here. Now FS is the devil

NatashaD

Eventually, all movies will become fullscreen and this problem shouldn't exist. I keep telling myself that.

natevines

I concur with the notion that people don't buy WS simply out of apathy. If not a true film connoisseur, most people simply want to see the movie, and FS 'fills the screen', and therefore must be better. A lot of the complaints I hear are, "Well, I don't have a widescreen TV...". So what? That's no justification. I don't either, but it's not worth losing the picture to fill the screen. Besides, the main player I watch my films on has a zoom function, so if ever I were inclined to watch a film on full screen, I could just zoom.

nightmaster

Agreed. I don't try to educate anyone....I buy for my own collection, and so do they.....the difference being they're buying for those 4:3 sets they own. When the TV industry gets off their ass and stops making 4:3 TVs you walk into Wallyworld and buy, then people will start grabbing the WS versions off the shelves....and have this library of FS movies sitting all around them. That is when the casual buyers are going to freak AGAIN......cos they'll have bars on the sides when they watch their FS DVDs. As long as they keep making the friggin' 4:3 sets, people won't have any desire (or need) to be educated. Me, I HATED the black bars, but have been buying WS for years, and will sinfully admit to being happy when a movie was shot in 185:1 ratio. Now I have a WS HDTV.....and there are still black bars on very wide aspect ratio films. Since I can tailor my sets' zoom or the expand to compensate for them its not so bad, but then again, I STILL don't get to see 'all' the movie. Leave the black bars on the screen and run the risk of burn in, at least for the first year or so after buying a rear projection set. You can kind of understand the casual buyer's frustration, until HDTV becomes mainstream.

BigDan

I was in Wal-Mart the other day and saw they had some good prices on widescren HDTV sets (30" models). Still more than a traditional 30" set, of course, but the prices are getting better.

cultshock

Wellll, not necessarily, but we won't get into the whole "full screen transfers are often open-matte transfers, not pan & scan" issue.

But either way, the important thing is OAR.

jessecrx

I educated a Wal Mart worker last night when he was putting out the AnchorMan and Resident Evil DVD's out on the floor. A lady came up and asked him "Sir, what do you recommend.....fullscreen or widescreen?" and right away he said "Oh I ALWAYS pick fullscreen" and I immediately interjected and asked "Why is that, Sir?"

He said "Well, I like to see the entire picture.....widescreen DVD's have the top and bottoms chopped off"

I knew there was work to be done so I kinda smiled and said "Sir, You have NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE MISSING"

I broke it down to him like gospel! I asked him "Do you go to the theater?"

He said "Yeah of course! I love going to movies" and I asked "This may sound silly but what shape are the screens when you go to a theater?"

"Rectangular" he said.....

"CORRECTAMUNDO! (I took my pen and drew a square on one of their cardboard boxes) Now imagine trying to fit that EXACT same theater screen shape INTO your TV....(I drew a rectangle inside the square)....so you see in order to keep the entire image you have to have those bars to fill in the unused space since your TV isn't widscreen like the theaters. Both of their eyes opened up and were VERY surprised.

But then they asked "But wait a sec....what happens to the picture when we watch fullscreen??"

I said "Have you ever gone to a video store and seen the words PAN n SCAN on the spine?? Ok well that means that they PAN in on the image like a zoom in camera and PAN around to try and catch most of the action.....but you end up losing up to 50% of the picture in some cases."

I told them that I know how hard it is to get used to watching widescreen movies on a regular tv but I insisted that he rent a widescreen version of one of his favorite movies and see for himself.

To top it off I even told them that if and when they do buy a widescreen TV that all of the Fullscreen dvd's they have now will appear stretched and distorted if they try to fill the screen up.....and in order to watch it without being distorted is to have BARS ON THE SIDES! I think that really clenched them to join the widescreen cause.

They both thanked me for educating them and that nobody had ever taken the time to break it down to them like that before.

I walked out with a smile on my face

Snowmaker

You sound like a Full Screener.

Leave me alone and let me decide to help or not for myself.

Snowmaker

BEAUTIFUL story! It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This should be printed out and posted in all Wal-Marts.

Groucho

jessecrx,

You incorrectly assume that widescreen shows more of the picture. What about open matte films?

Instead of educating people that widescreen is better, we should educate people that OAR is better. Quite a few people on this very forum could stand to learn that lesson.

jessecrx

Well, considering that it was Wal Mart and it's either a Widescreen or Fullscreen choice I used that as a starting example....These two folks were just your average people who were unaware of the differences between FS and WS that's all. I didn't wanna bombard them with all the technical mumbo jumbo....they have to start somewhere.....FIRST LEARN STAND! THEN LEARN FLY! - Mr. Miyagi

Think of it as starting them off on the right path. That's how I started off.....first WS then learning about OAR for different films. Usually between WS and FS I think it's safe to assume that WS will more than likely be the OAR for a movie being offered at Wal Mart.

Mike Lowrey

Tell me about it...makes my little 6" look puney....oh nevemind.

But anyway....when the first release of Last of the Mohicans (1992) came out on VHS, the only version was WS. This I think was the first WS tape I had. I didn't like it at first...even went around asking rental store clerks if they had a version that wasn't (ie. P&S). But then, after a while, I figured it out. Didn't take too long...maybe a few viewings and I got it. Then a few years later, I got Lawrence of Arabia and it too only came in WS. And then I believe John Wayne's Alamo. All these mind you were on VHS. And this is before the WS VHS craze of the mid-'90s hit. By then I began buying nothing but WS VHS. If I couldn't find a particular movie in WS, I wouldn't buy it, even if I really wanted it.

In fact the demise of WS VHS is what finally got me to switch to DVD 3 years ago. The only WS VHS tapes that I haven't converted to DVD yet are the James Bond films and a few others that don't have anamorphic transfers yet. I'm waiting for the Lowry Digital remasters rumored to come out later this year (2005).


But back to how to educate the Foolscreen "Fooled"... I'd say the easiest way to explain WS to the average layman is to have them picture the shape of the theater screen and then compare that to their home TV. If they can't comprehend that, then there's no hope. They're lazy and stubborn and don't want to shake their ignorance...hey...like most liberals...

Mountain Biker

Tell me about it, sheesh!

Mike Lowrey

Well from what I heard from a store clerk at a local Appliance store that sells nothing buy WS TVs, that RP TVs will be discontinued in the very near future. The new norm wil be LCD or Plasma. They had a 42" Sony LCD for $2499. Great picture.

BigDan

Is this one of the same clerks that says widescreen movies chop off the top and bottom of the picture?

Mike Lowrey

You referring to my post?

No, this clerk, or more specifically, this sales person is very well versed in HT set-ups and WS video sources. They have Voom HD running through their WS TVs. This store also does auto stereo installations too. As well has pitch you a good deal on a set of clothes washer and dryers.