Gone with the Wind Aspect ratio ???????
 

I rented Gone with the wind. I have a 16:9 set. The DVD default filled my screen but it was as if it were 4:3 in stretch mode, everyone looked like obese munchkins.

To remedy this I had to tell my TV and DVD player that they are 4:3 ratio.

I no longer had full screen, it looked like I was watching a 4:3 film on a 16:9 screen. No longer distorted but had those black bars on the sides.

I never had to "pretend" or lie to my hardware, that my TV is 4:3 to view anything, TV or DVD.

Am I alone in this case? has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks

Well, the film is indeed 4x3. If you have a 16x9 set, to properly watch it, it should look "like [you're] watching a 4:3 film on a 16:9 screen."

DJ

Thanks for your response, I have watched 4:3 films/DVD's on this set and they default to the 4:3 ratio without me modifying anything. This defaulted to streeeeetttttched 4:3 and the only way I could view this was to tell my DVD player that it being played on and my TV that it IS a 4:3 screen/TV. Have you heard of this before?

It would help for you to tell us the brand and model numbers of your DVD player and TV.

I haven't had this experience with this disc, as I own a 4x3 set. However, I have had the reverse experience of a transfer that should be 16x9 showing up as a stretched out 4x3 image. This is usually the result of an incorrect flag being set in the disc's video encoding. When producing a DVD, a flag can be set to inform your player whether the video should be shown 16x9 or 4x3. GWTW may have this kind of error.

Also, in addition to what Mr. Salty asks above, did you rent the new 4-disc set, or is this the older release?

DJ

wow, i must have a really old player, or i don't know how to yet, but for my dvd player (samsung dvd-v100) when you play a 4x3 disc, it automatically stretches, and for a 16x9 disc, it looks normal. Also on my tv SON KP-57WS520 for 4x3 dvd's if i put it in standard mode, i get grey bars that are starining on the eye, so i normally watch it in "wide/zoom" mode.

The DVD's were from Netflix. 2 Discs 1 to intermission, on to end of film.
Had 5.1 Digital and Mono option.

I always have the TV set to 16:9, I never had to change it to 4:3 till this movie and not since.

Options on tv are Full, Pamoramic, 4:3, 16:9
Options on DVD player are 4:3 and 16:9

TV model: Olevia LT32HVM
DVD player: JVC XV-THA35

Your DVD player offers a pillarbox mode for 4:3 material. If the disc is properly flagged, the player will center it in the middle of the wide screen. It sounds like this disc is not properly flagged as 4:3, so the player doesn't engage the pillarbox function. You should not have to change settings on both the DVD player and the TV to correct this, just one or the other. I don't know the controls on that particular DVD player, but I'd recommend using the TV.

In fact, I would recommend always using the TV's aspect ratio control, because the pillarbox function on DVD players throws out 25% of the horizontal resolution available on the disc.

Thanks

:up: on Josh-Z's comment. I use my TV's aspect control... and yes, the OAR is 4x3.

Sounds like Netflix took the first 2 discs from the 4-disc set (or they got a special 2-disc version from Warner for rental purposes). The original release was a single 2-sided disc.

DJ

I dont know if I'd call it a defect, not knowing you TV settings, but it sounds that your set is not reading, or not getting the signal to change. My 16x9 auto adjusts but sometimes it wont switch. So I just tell it to go 4x3.

I cant remember this ever happening with Gone with the Wind though.

Im sure the OAR on the disc is OK, but there is either some incompatibility (GWTW has been out for a long time) with your set, or some setting adjustment required. Probably the former....

Jim

PS as stated earlier, 4x3 is the proper OAR of Gone with the wind.