I cant see the need for a Pan and Scan format on HD DVD's. Do you think we have finally seen the end of them ?

Also do all Plasma and LCD screens offer stretch modes so we will be able to fill the full screen of them for 1.33 format shows ?

Im kinda curious how 1.33 shows will be handled. Hopefully the studios wont matte them for a widescreen format.

Ah, the irony.

"I want OAR, except when I don't, so I'll stretch the picture out of shape so I don't get them black bars on the sides."

Probably the same way it's handled now: Pillarboxed with unused space on the sides of the screen.

Why don't you see a need for it? All you're doing is trading one shape for another. It doesn't change the fact that there are different aspect ratios.

There are already people with widescreen TVs upset that 2.35:1 and 1.33:1 movies don't fill the screen. Then again, if they're fine with stretching the image, maybe we really won't need separate "fullscreen" versions of those films.

These two comments show you have no interest in OAR.

But to answer your question, I'm sure there'll be 2.35:1 films that are cropped to fill your screen, and 1.33:1 films as well. But I doubt there will be as big of an outrage as there was for "full screen" releases in the old DVD format.

Sounds to me like he doesn't want to bars burned into the sides of his screen if he is unable to stretch a fullscreen image and he also doesn't want the picture messed up by having studios matte it to widescreen format.

A little care is all that's necessary to avoid burn-in.

Most, if not all, offer a stretch mode for standard definition material. Some (like my Panasonic plasma) lock into widescreen mode when fed high-definition material, pillarboxed 1.33:1 or no.

Not that I have ever used the feature, but isn't anamorphic widescreen used to completely fill a widescreen television on films w/ an aspect ratio greater than 1.85:1? If so, will that same feature be carried over to HD-DVD/Blu-Ray?

(Forgive my ignorance - but I have never been interested in the anamorphic feature, so I never read up on it, nor have I read up on the new technology that we are about to be blessed w/.)

I'm sure Disney and Columbia/TriStar will find some excuse to include some of the 'Family' films in fool (oops, I mean) full screen.

(guilty pleasure: I sure love a widescreen version of 'Matilda')

No. Unsqueezed anamorphic widescreen video has a fixed aspect ratio of 1.78:1. If it's shorter or taller, bars will have to be present on the top/bottom/sides of the 1.78:1 image.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray don't use this 'squeeze' trick.

Interesting - I never really understood the point of the feature.

but why are the majority of 1.85 films cropped to 1.78 when presented anamorphically on non 4:3 monitors/tv's?

1) Overscan -- a factor of your TV, not the DVD

2) Some studios (Paramount, for one) present their 1.85:1 films at 1.78:1 (without that very slight matting), although they're almost without exception opened slightly rather than cropped

Otherwise, you're throwing away a third of the resolution on capable displays.

It was just a question. I wasnt saying I will use a strech mode, was just curious how to handle it.