# Letterbox eliminator: sign of the apocalypse. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 4, 2004, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118 "2004-04-04T00:52:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2004, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/101 "2004-04-10T05:53:52Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I find your comparing a fine work of art to the trash currently displayed as movies rather disturbing. Who says it has to be fine art? 🙂 The point is that any artistic work is created in a particular way by the artist. Modifying it does in some way compromise the artistic vision. This may not be a bad thing in some cases – anything that lets me see less of **Battlefield Earth** , for example, would be a Very Good Thing – but it’s certainly cause for concern. ---
**Author:** ![TastesLikeBurning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@TastesLikeBurning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TastesLikeBurning)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/102 "2004-07-09T05:18:15Z")
Okay, maybe I’ve missed the answer to this question somewhere already in this thread, but here goes anyway… Why, when you have a widescreen tv, do dvds still show in the letterbox format? This really pisses me off because I bought a widescreen tv with the expectation that I wouldn’t have to put up with this exact thing happening!! ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/103 "2004-07-09T06:01:19Z")
> [@Brainiac4](#): > > The battle is being lost. ☹ Huh? I live in a small town outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. There are three places to rent movies from within a 10 mile radius of my house. NONE of them - even the Blockbuster - carries movies in 4:3 any more. _OT: Can I tell you how refreshing it is to be able to walk in to a movie rental place and pick up any DVD and not have to worry about it being foolscreen - unless, of course, the only release of the movie is 4:3._ There is also [this article](http://slate.msn.com/id/2101354) on Slate about how widescreen has “already won” then format war with regards to purchasing by chain buyers - even “Target and Wal-Mart, which handle much of the DVD sell-through business, have begun to [buy widescreen only DVDs]”. And - as others have said - it’s amazing to go into stores on release day for a blockbuster film and see all the widescreen ones almost sold out and the foolscreen ones sitting there gathering dust. Like \*_Gangster Octopus_ I too went to a Best Buy to get the Indiana Jones set - and while my local store wasn’t sold out of widescreen, they almost were by noon on release day. It sure made me happy to see the huge display of widescreen sets almost empty! Hell, even my local Wal-Mart had a 2:1 ratio (or better) of widescreen: foolscreen the day _Master and Commander_ came out! The war is being won… by the good guys! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![urban1a](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e47c2d/32.png) [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/104 "2004-07-09T16:48:48Z")
> [@TastesLikeBurning](#): > > Okay, maybe I’ve missed the answer to this question somewhere already in this thread, but here goes anyway… > > Why, when you have a widescreen tv, do dvds still show in the letterbox format? > > This really pisses me off because I bought a widescreen tv with the expectation that I wouldn’t have to put up with this exact thing happening!! Look for movies that state that they are ‘enhanced for 16x9’ screens. these will show the movies properly on your widescreen. Other movies will show them in the aspect ratio in which they were originally released and show the black bars. Bob ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/105 "2004-07-09T16:51:16Z")
> [@TastesLikeBurning](#): > > Okay, maybe I’ve missed the answer to this question somewhere already in this thread, but here goes anyway… > > Why, when you have a widescreen tv, do dvds still show in the letterbox format? > > This really pisses me off because I bought a widescreen tv with the expectation that I wouldn’t have to put up with this exact thing happening!! Simple answer? Cause not all widescreen ratios are the same. Check out your DVD collection and look at the back of the boxes and see what it says the movies ratio is. They vary greatly and a lot are wider than your 16:9 widescreen set. If they made a tv that fit the widest format out there, then you’d run into the problem of black bars on the “sides” of your screen when you got a movie not as wide. (while you still may get black bottom and top bars when watching letterbox on your widescreen, they are not as thick as you’d find on your 4:3 set.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/106 "2004-07-09T17:14:55Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > (while you still may get black bottom and top bars when watching letterbox on your widescreen, they are not as thick as you’d find on your 4:3 set.) \*Remember Patrick Henry in that speech, a famous speech Cried, “Give me, give me Liberty or black bottom!” You all heard yesterday What did President Coolidge say? “Voh doh dee oh voh doh doh dee oh doh!”\* ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/107 "2004-07-09T19:54:14Z")
> [@Rex Fenestrarum](#): > > And - as others have said - it’s amazing to go into stores on release day for a blockbuster film and see all the widescreen ones almost sold out and the foolscreen ones sitting there gathering dust. Like \*_Gangster Octopus_ I too went to a Best Buy to get the Indiana Jones set - and while my local store wasn’t sold out of widescreen, they almost were by noon on release day. It sure made me happy to see the huge display of widescreen sets almost empty! Hell, even my local Wal-Mart had a 2:1 ratio (or better) of widescreen: foolscreen the day _Master and Commander_ came out! > > The war is being won… by the good guys! 🙂 So what do you black-bar loving pussies keep bitching about, then? It’s always “I hate fullscreen. I hate fullscreen. Waaaaah!” If you’re winning the war, then shut the fuck up and quit bumping 2 month old threads. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/108 "2004-07-09T19:56:22Z")
Correction: THREE months old. ---
**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:** [July 9, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/109 "2004-07-09T20:17:39Z")
Correction: Rex didn’t bump the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118/110 "2004-07-09T20:57:24Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > If you’re winning the war, then shut the fuck up… Because the increased appreciation for original aspect ratio videos was brought about by stoic silence on the part of movie-lovers, right? As for the bump, **TastesLikeBurning** followed a link from [another thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=265436) and most likely didn’t realize it was an old thread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/letterbox-eliminator-sign-of-the-apocalypse/238118.md?page=5)