I just picked up a Sanyo Widescreen HDTV HT30744, and I have a question reguarding veiwing widescreen movies. I have several movies in widescreen, but when I watch any of them on my new TV, there are still black bars at the top and bottom. I thought if you have a widescreen TV playing a movie in widescreen format, there would be no need for any black bars at the top of bottom of the screen. I notice on the menu screens and such there are no bars, either horizontal of vertical. They only appear when I watch the movie. Any advice on this issue, becase I will be quite dissapointed if this is the way it has to be. I'd be better off watching movies on my old ''32 analog TV if there is no difference. Thank you.
Jimbo in Dallas
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Posted on
Unfortunately, DVD widescreen movies seldom match the 16:9 aspect ratio on your HDTV. For example, looking at the DVD case, you will see aspect ratios like 2.35:1 which will result in black bars at the top and bottom.
But, make sure your DVD Player is set for a 16:9 TV. Sometimes that is overlooked. Also, you should have a zoom feature either on the DVD Player or TV that will help. I share your disappointment, it was not something I anticipated either. :-)
Why does my widescreen toshiba tv still show dvd widescreen movies with black bars top and bottom in all pictures modes?
Still Learning
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Posted on
Some "Widescreen" DVD's have top and bottom bars and some don't. Some that do, say it right on the package. It has nothing to do with the DVD player's ratio setting or the TV's ratio setting, which both should be set to 16.9 for widescreen. It's just the way it is. I'm still trying to figure out all these different "Anomophoric Widescreen" ratios I see on the back of DVD's. For instance, "The Legend of Bagger Vance" has a 1.85:1 ratio and fills the widescreen fully while "The Bourne Supremacy" has a 2.35:1 ratio and has top and bottom bars. Some DVD's don't offer ratio information on the package while others will state that top and bottom bars are "normal" on the widescreen version. Go figure! You could use a zoom setting, but I tried it and didn't care for it. Sort of defeats the purpose, if you ask me.