# I Pit Widescreen DVD's **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 7, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582 "2005-01-07T16:07:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Roboto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@Mr.Roboto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Roboto)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/1 "2005-01-07T16:07:57Z")
Occasionally, Mrs. Roboto brings home movies to watch. Usually, of the chick variety. Being a good robot, I sit & shut up and watch the movie. Only problem is, I can’t see the movie. It seems about 40% of my T.V. is negated by this high-tech widesceen application. On a recent visit to Tower Records, I noticed Full Screen DVD’s were few and far between. My neighbor has a new “Widescreen” TV and he replies the top and bottom are still missing. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/2 "2005-01-07T16:10:56Z")
You do know that joke posts aren’t allowed in the Pit, right? I mean, no one would _really_ Pit the ability to see the entire movie instead of the partial bit that full screen aka Pan-and-Scan would show, right? Right? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/3 "2005-01-07T16:12:01Z")
> [@Mr. Roboto](#): > > he replies the top and bottom are still missing. Your neighbor is a moron. The top and bottom aren’t “missing”. Widescreen movies don’t “cut off the top and bottom” of the movie - they (for the vast majority of cases) display the film in the ratio that the director intended and released in the theaters. If your neighbor’s widescreen TV isn’t properly displaying the movies, he either has his settings wrong, or the ratio of the film doesn’t match the ratio of his screen. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/4 "2005-01-07T16:13:28Z")
> [@DeadlyAccurate](#): > > You do know that joke posts aren’t allowed in the Pit, right? I mean, no one would _really_ Pit the ability to see the entire movie instead of the partial bit that full screen aka Pan-and-Scan would show, right? Right? No kidding. Widescreen “cuts off” stuff that _doesn’t actually exist_ in the actual film. “Pan-and-scan” cuts off _actual footage_, so that you miss things happening on the left and right borders. Why would you want that, **Mr. Roboto**? Are you just aesthetically opposed to the dread “black bars” on the top and bottom of the screen? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/5 "2005-01-07T16:13:32Z")
Really, I used to like Full Screen better, too, until I slapped myself. Wide screen is better. ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/6 "2005-01-07T16:15:37Z")
If anything, I’d pit getting fullscreen DVDs over the holidays when I made a point of telling everyone to get the widescreen version. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/7 "2005-01-07T16:16:05Z")
As the TVs I owned gradually got larger, I got to like widescreen more and more. Now I make sure I buy only widescreen DVDs. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/8 "2005-01-07T16:17:24Z")
Here’s a website I found when I typed in “full screen vs. pan-and-scan” in Google: [http://my.execpc.com/~andyhil/widescreen.htm](http://my.execpc.com/~andyhil/widescreen.htm) It includes a couple of images displaying the difference. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/9 "2005-01-07T16:19:18Z")
Well I see your point anyway. My TV is not wide screen and not that big either so wide screen films look tiny and very far away. I don’t watch/ enjoy TV enough to justify buying a widescreen IMO so I guess I’ll just have to put up with this little irritation until Widescreen TVs become really cheap. As an aside though - I’ve watched _many_ a film in full screen TV version and it hasn’t hampered my enjoyment that much **Deadly Accurate**. OK it’s better to see the full thing but you know, it’s not totally _essential_. Just preferable. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/10 "2005-01-07T16:20:11Z")
Have a look at the following [comparisons](http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama2.html) and let us know which movie you’d like to be watching. This post has not been formatted to fit your screen. Screw you if you don’t like it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/11 "2005-01-07T16:25:09Z")
This _is_ a joke thread, right? Right? Damned Pan-and-Scanners… Sam ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/12 "2005-01-07T16:27:36Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > Have a look at the following [comparisons](http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama2.html) and let us know which movie you’d like to be watching. > > This post has not been formatted to fit your screen. Screw you if you don’t like it. 😃 Yes but what the ‘eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve after’. Just playing devil’s advocate here. I’d like to have a widescreen TV but right now I’ve better things to spend my money on. Did you really enjoy the _stories_ of the films you watched on TV as a kid any less? ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/13 "2005-01-07T16:31:01Z")
> [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > Yes but what the ‘eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve after’. Wait, wait, wait. So just because you eat cold oatmeal for breakfast every day means you never get the hankering for a nice stack of pancakes or bacon and eggs? Come on. I mean, I know you said you were just playing devil’s advocate, but doesn’t everybody _know_ that full-screen versions of movies are missing something? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/14 "2005-01-07T16:32:49Z")
I accidently bought the “full-screen” version of the Star Wars Trilogy for my son this Christmas. It sucks so hard it makes me wonder why it was even released. Incredibly, they cut the ends off off the beginning of the movies when the words scroll up. You can’t read the text. What the hell is that? At the end, however, they revert to the widescreen format so you can read the credits. ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/15 "2005-01-07T16:34:05Z")
Can anyone tell me what ratio movie screens are? ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/16 "2005-01-07T16:36:25Z")
From [here](http://www.hometheaterforum.com/home/wsfaq.html) \* 1.33:1 A standard television set; roughly equivalent to 4:3. \* 1.37:1 Referred to as the academy aspect ratio. The standard for films shot before the mid-1950s. \* 1.66:1 A bit wider than a standard TV, but not by much. \* 1.78:1 The dimensions of a widescreen television set; roughly equivalent to 16:9. \* 1.85:1 Popular aspect ratio for many movies. \* 2.35: Another popular aspect ratio for movies. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/17 "2005-01-07T16:37:17Z")
> [@TastesLikeBurning](#): > > Can anyone tell me what ratio movie screens are? I think 2.35:1 Wide Screen TV’s are typicall less than that, something liek 1.77:1 IIRC. You all are being a little disingenuous, because when you put a widescreen movie on a regular TV, you get a MUCH smaller picture. I prefer widescreen, but on a 27" TV, 10 feet away, I think it’s probably about a toss-up. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/18 "2005-01-07T16:44:43Z")
> [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > Yes but what the ‘eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve after’. Just playing devil’s advocate here. That’s a nice saying, but I don’t think it applies here. Just because I can’t see the parts of the film that have been chopped out, doesn’t mean I don’t wish I could. That’s easily the most confusing sentence I’ve ever written… > [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > Did you really enjoy the _stories_ of the films you watched on TV as a kid any less? Well, I used to eat caterpillars when I was a kid. And I enjoy them _much_ less now. 😃 Film is primarily a visual medium, and the director had a specific vision for the film. Pan & Scan corrupts that vision. Granted, something like **Starship Troopers** , which has some of the worst pans I’ve ever seen, is kind of hard to corrupt _further_, but you get my drift. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/19 "2005-01-07T16:50:15Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > You all are being a little disingenuous, because when you put a widescreen movie on a regular TV, you get a MUCH smaller picture. I prefer widescreen, but on a 27" TV, 10 feet away, I think it’s probably about a toss-up. Well, I have a 25" TV, and widescreen movies look just fine to me. The size isn’t reduced enough for me to have to squint, and I get to see the _whole_ movie, the way the director (and studio, in most cases) intended it. _Lawrence of Arabia_ still looks _awesome_, even in widescreen on a 25" TV. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582/20 "2005-01-07T16:54:22Z")
> [@YoudNeverGuess](#): > > Yes but what the ‘eye doesn’t see the heart doesn’t grieve after’. Just playing devil’s advocate here. I’d like to have a widescreen TV but right now I’ve better things to spend my money on. Did you really enjoy the _stories_ of the films you watched on TV as a kid any less? Sure, but as a kid I didn’t have the aesthetic appreciation for the art of cinematography that I do now. Watching a pan’n’scan movie now is like looking at a picture of the Mona Lisa that’s been cropped off at the eyebrows. I mean, if she had eyebrows. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-widescreen-dvds/283582.md?page=2)