weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...717c44696d.jpg
I just got a DVD and it's full screen so it has the bars on the side. There is some kind of squiggly line right by the black bar that's all through the movie and it's driving me nuts. Can anyone tell me if this is an error with the actual DVD it's self or is it the original transfer of the film that's causing this issue? I tried to google it but couldn't find anything about this occurrence.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...f685fdfec6.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...a20d3c2d78.jpg

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

If I had to guess, I'd say it is the transfer. I'm no expert however.

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

4:3 encoded DVDs were designed for 4:3 analogue televisions which cropped-out the rough outer edges of the image. When 4:3 DVDs are played on 16:9 HDTVs they show the entire "full screen" image which unmasks the rough edges sometimes including "line 21" which runs across the top of the image and holds the closed captioning content.

Some titles are worse than others, depending on the source material and the transfer. This is unfortunately part-and-parcel with watching 4:3 material on a 16:9 TV. Your HDTV should have a zoom which may help eliminate the outside edges.

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

What title is that? That usually indicates it's from an analog master. I actually like seeing this stuff.

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

Okay thanks guys, i was close to exchanging it for a new one but it would probably have it too. It's only a minor thing so i probably shouldn't let it bother me. The film is Gypsy 1993 with Bette Midler.

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

Is it an interlacing artifact?

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

I agree it looks like this DVD was probably created from an analog tape source such as BetacamSP or 1" broadcast tape which would leave those interlacing rough edges along the side.

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

does that mean it sourced the transfer from a video tape?

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

That would be my guess. I'm sure professional transfers from analogue tape sources would be digitally cleaned-up to remove those edges but it doesn't look like it in this case.

Re: weird squiggly line down going down the side of my film?
 

I haven't seen Gypsy but know it was released direct to video and was never in theaters, so even if it were shot on film it's likely the DVD was made from an analog tape source. There are some programs that will crop out artifacts like that, but I never use them- they're still part of the picture even though they weren't seen on screens of the time.

This is a good way to spot analog tape transfers of public-domain movies on those budget labels also- you'll see stuff like that or the head-switching noise at the bottom which shows it may have been transferred from VHS, which is pretty sad.