It is a big loss of picture size for 2.35:1 movies. The size is about 21.6" x 9.2" (23.5" diagonal)

For a 16:9 movie (1.78:1) the numbers are 21.6" x 12.2" (24.8" diagonal)

And the 4:3 picture (1.33:1) is 21.6" x 16.2" (27" diagonal)

A 2.35:1 movie looks pretty small on a 27" TV and a good viewing distance is about three feet. (So, pull up a chair, turn out the lights, and enjoy! That's what I did when I used a 27" TV.)

I have a friend who has a 27" TV and a viewing distance of about 8-9 feet. Sitting closer isn't an option for her living room and her eyesight is poor. She prefers "fullscreen" so that's what I buy for her even though I have managed to eradicate the last non-OAR DVD from my own collection.

Not everyone can have a big widesceen TV, nor sit close enough to really appreciate a 2.35:1 movie on a tiny screen. But 16:9 movies and TV programs aren't too bad on a 27" TV even if one is sitting too far away.

You said it. These threads get to be weird after awhile.

I work for best buy in the DVD section...let me tell you! I HATE people that buy full screen! I have to carry a color picture WS/FS comparison chart with me at all times just to try to teach the dumb people of today! The reason we sell out is simply easy though...Best Buy is not stupid enough to purchase that many copies of full screen as oppsed to widescreen...so we run out faster becuase there is much less stock on full screen. I pray for the day in the near future where full screen is outlawed!

My beef with fullscreen dvds is that I'm absent minded and I'm afraid I'll accidentally buy one someday. I grabbed a fullscreen copy of Vanity Fair a couple weeks ago and didn't notice till I got to the checkout stand that I had the wrong movie.

People are going to buy FS for as long as it's available to them and they have 4:3 TV sets. Why don't people accept it? They don't like black bars. I don't BLAME them for not liking black bars. It's the fault of the greedy movie companies and the TV makers still producing 4:3 output. When they take this junk off the market then the hold out consumers will start making the change as their TV sets become either obsolete or break down. To make things worse for the last few years TV manufacturers have been coming out with these hybrid widescreen wannabe sets, wider than tall but still not widescreen nor HD capable. Nice picture, flat screen, more content to see, but still not what the consumer needs for OAR movie watching. They have been used to having a full screen to watch their programming since birth till just the last few years, but now the powers that be tell them that's the wrong way to watch their movies.......is it any wonder they don't agree, even if they do understand the premise of OAR? Calling them stupid for wanting their screen filled with content is elitist garbage.
Yes, I own a widescreen HDTV and buy only OAR as long as whatever I'm wanting to buy is released as such, which amounts to probably 98 percent of the movies released these days. I want my screen filled with OAR content when possible, and have been buying WS all along prior to investing in a new set, but it's difficult for me to fault people who have invested in 4:3 sets that don't like seeing a third of that screen real estate not in use. If the manufacturers were concerned about more than every nickel they can squeeze out of the public they'd stop making the things altogether and everyone would have no other option than to buy WS sets- THEN they'd be clamoring for OAR DVDs because they certainly won't like bars on the sides with FS discs.

There are worse things to worry about. I was in my local Family Video store a few days ago and the lady behind the checkout was on the phone, assuring a customer that a mistake had been make and they would be getting something in within the next few days. I asked what was so in demand....she said, "We didn't get any copies of Motorcycle Diaries on VHS and we've had all kinds of complaints!". I think we should worry about getting THOSE things off the market taking up space in retail stores and on rental shelves rather than educating people on OAR.

After a hiatus of three and a half years, I visited Magnolia Hi-Fi in Bellevue, WA. And in sharp contrast to 2001, when most of their offerings were 4:3, the display area of the popular Seattle-area electronics store were covered with a seeminly endless array of 16x9 sets of every shape and size; only a few 4:3 units could be found, tucked away in one small corner.

On-topic: I buy full-screen if it's OAR, but I detest MAR and try to avoid such wherever possible.

I also worked in the media department, and if we received 1000 copies of a movie in widescreen, we'd usually get about 600 in full screen with some variance depending on releases. I also think demographics come into play as well. I obviously will not mention any particular race/sex/age group but I have noticed clearly that some groups buy fullscreen more than others. I will go so far as saying that the 18-49 white male range almost always goes to checkout with widescreen in my store.

I'm having flashbacks to commentary on the democratic election efforts of last year after it all ended. For the most part this is true, but not always. In particular, I am still kind of upset about last years The Last Unicorn release.

The artless studio hackery I'm still hoping for in widescreen are;
Arthur
Bridges of Madison County
Forever Young
Karate Kid
Kindergarten Cop
Grumpy Old Men
The Paper

The DVD Fairy Godmother has granted your wish. Get thee to your local DVD shop.

DJ

I haven't seen it other than in the four pack. Not really interested in the sequels.

Well, you only said you were hoping for it in widescreen...

DJ

Apparently that's not enough.

I bet the next thread is: "why do stupid morons buy 4-packs?"

There's nothing wrong with this example at all. I thought we were talking about the intelligence issue of buying foolscreen vs whinescreen??

Although, in fairness, the DaVinci image here is 2.92:1, so even on a HUGE set it may not be good for the argument -- imagine those black bars!!

Even though I am a HUGE advocate of OAR, I think this thread has become silly and circular. As long as I can get my OAR and it isn't stopped being produced because there's so many 4:3 DVDs being purchased, I'll be happy.

And "the artless studio hackery" I am looking for in OAR is Colossus: The Forbin Project. So I don't buy the argument that "fullscreen" DVDs have no impact on those of us who prefer OAR.

just like the widescreen people want their whole screen filled up with widescreen dvds, the fullscreen people want the same with fullscreen dvds - when they buy new widescreen tvs, they'll buy what takes up the whole screen.

for some people, black bars are more annoying than others - it's all about how annoying they are for you - and if it is too annoying, people will buy the bigger picture even though some background will be cut out - it's preference - nothing is wrong with people who choose fullscreen or widescreen. unless of course you have a big widescreen tv, and you're still using fullscreen..thatd be weird.

On a large portion of my DVDs (2.35:1) there are still black bars on widescreens, even bigger if the DVD is not anamorphic. I used to buy widescreen VHS in the '90s to watch on my 19 inch TV in the living room and 13" in the bedroom. I LIKE the black bars.

I just love generalizations like these. Who says that people with 16:9 TVs want their screens filled? In fact in annoys me that some HD stations such as HBOHD zoom in on films greater that 1.78:1 in order to fill the screen. Zooming in crops part of the image and causes a loss in resolution that takes away from it being in HD to begin with.

Many of us bought WS TVs because the HD standard is WS and we watch many WS DVDs. Anyone who takes the time to learn anything about aspect ratios quickly learns that no TV screen will accommodate all of the various ARs being used. That seems to be the point of many of the pro WS posts that call pro full screen people ignorant. Many times pro full screen people are ignoring that fact that it's not about filling the screen but is about watching in the correct, intended and original aspect ratio.

My brother converted me into widescreen by showing me examples of Star Wars in full and wide. It really was amazing what the difference was. But personally I don't care for comedies, etc.; I don't care to see what's happening on the side. But I do buy widescreen without exception because I like it better.

My brother, however, has now switched back to fullscreen because he has a 3-yr old son. On his modestly-sized TVs, I guess it's nice to have the image take up the whole screen. A 3-yr old doesn't succomb to "you're an idiot" or "that's incorrect" or "you're missing HALF the image" (that is just ridiculous).

I imagine many of the WALMART people that so many of you hate do the same thing. They're buying movies for their families to watch on their non-Widescreen TVs.

The fact of the matter is, the majority of DVD buyers are not DVD and home entertainment enthusiasts. They don't have the time nor the desire to sit around on a DVD forum and bitch back and forth. They work at jobs where that's unacceptable; or they work at jobs where they're not in front of a computer all day long. They probably don't even realize what the difference is. And to be honest, I didn't either at first. When I first rented a WS VHS tape from Blockbuster 10 years ago and it had black bars on top and bottom, my family was like "what the fuck is this!?" If you don't have a non-WS to compare it to, the average person can't tell a difference.

So while their ignorance is bliss to them --- indeed, they just don't fucking care --- their ignorance to some of you is horrifying.

I think the number of fills available in fullscreen only is pretty minimal considering the number of total DVDs available. To be fair, you should also post the number of DVD available in widescreen only. I would be willing to bet this computer that there are more widescreen-only DVDs than fullscreen-only DVDs.

That will dispel the argument that "fullscreen is killing DVDs" very quickly. But I can also bet that no one will post it.

im sure if they stopped selling widescreen for some odd reason and only fullscreen was available, you wouldnt like your screen not being filled - and you dont have to zoom in, i dont know why they do that sometimes - but still, it fills up most of the screen unlike 4:3

if you like black bars on smaller 4:3 tvs, good for you - a lot of people dont - they dont feel like moving their chairs directly in front of their tv to see it well - why should they suffer watching a small picture on a tv not fit for widescreen format? - they want to upgrade to bigscreen - not downgrade just to see the edges of the screen - either way, you're losing out - they choose to lose background instead of losing size.

That is a classic.

For obvious reasons, I prefer widescreen to fullscreen. Given the choice between the two, I will ALWAYS take widescreen. However, I don't give a damn if complete strangers buy fullscreen. I don't lose any sleep at night worrying about it. While some buy it out of ignorance, not all do. Some actually prefer fullscreen for whatever reasons. Let them have their fullscreen.

A better would question is why do people buy garbage like Taxi, Alien Vs Predator, etc. Oh wait, it's because they like and want to. Same with fullscreen.

is this thread on repeat? its going in circles.

Ironically, that has been said many times too.