# Why do we still have the rubber band with Smart TVs? {letterboxing} **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 3, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523 "2025-01-03T15:34:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/1 "2025-01-03T15:34:02Z")
I’m watching Twisters released in 2024 on a 2 year old Vizo smart tv. I see… Black bars top and bottom. The classic rubber band look. I thought that was why Tv screens changed 20 years ago? The old ratio was 4:3 for tv and films were converted to pan & scan or looked like rubber bands. The rubber band is not as ridiculously thin now. But, I have the black bars top and bottom. It’s not just Twisters. I see the rubber band on a lot of movies . It’s more disappointing that a movie released in 2024 still has that problem. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/2 "2025-01-03T15:38:11Z")
I believe the normal term for rubber band is “letterboxed”. Basically, some films are shot at a greater ratio than even Hi-Def TVs use, thus letterboxing is required to show the full image. > **[Letterboxing (filming)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterboxing_(filming))** > > Letter-boxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting video-graphic image has mattes of empty space above and below it; these mattes are part of each frame of the video signal. > The term refers to the shape of a letter-box, a slot in a wall or door through which mail is delivered, being rectangular and wider than it is high. > The first use of letter-boxing in consumer ... * * * I’ll append your title to reflect rubber band = letterbox. ETA: It is not a problem, it is a feature, especially with 65" and 75" TVs now being pretty standard for new sets. Though it does stink at times on a small screen. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/3 "2025-01-03T15:40:15Z")
I’ve heard rubber band used often. Especially with extreme letterboxing on a vintage tv. The black bars were wider than the video. It’s not as bad now on modern tvs. But the bars are still there. I have a 42" screen. My room is too small for anything bigger. You need more distance from your sofa to the tv on huge screens. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/4 "2025-01-03T15:45:42Z")
Why? Because if you wanted to watch Lawrence of Arabia with no letterboxing, you would need a TV that looked like this: [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91g-Y1B09EL.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91g-Y1B09EL.jpg) (Even that might not be wide enough). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/5 "2025-01-03T15:47:30Z")
And you’ve had your answer: the aspect ratio of some modern movies is still wider (relative to height) than the aspect ratio of your modern TV. This is not the fault of the TV, blame the film’s producer and/or director and/or studio executives for their choice to use the wider aspect ratio. If you want TVs to have a wider aspect ratio, then you would end up with black bars on the sides of some movies, where the aspect ratio is not as wide as the TV. Wider aspect ratio can be more effective for some kinds of films in some theaters. I guess the film makers value that more than the home viewing experience. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/6 "2025-01-03T15:47:50Z")
TVs these days are typically 16:9 (1.77:1). Movies can be wider (LOTR was 2.39:1) Brian ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/7 "2025-01-03T15:49:09Z")
Ok. I can live with letterboxing. I mistakenly believed letterboxing was temporary while the public gradually transitioned from the vintage tvs to modern. Heck, I’m sure there are still vintage late 1990’s tvs in use right now. Using a analog to digital converter box. I guess they wanted wider shots for the outdoor scenes when the weather goes bad. From [imdb for Twisters](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt12584954/technical/) Aspect ratio - 1.78 : 1(Kate’s vlogs, Tornado Wrangler livestreams and Lily’s drone footage) - 2.39 : 1 ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/8 "2025-01-03T15:56:03Z")
It’s not just movies. Many TV shows are letterboxed. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/9 "2025-01-03T15:59:46Z")
Many DVDs had options for with or without letterboxing, but DVDs are not the primary way to see movies for quite a while now. Streaming rarely has such options. > [@sciurophobic](#): > > It’s not just movies. Many TV shows are letterboxed. _Wandavision_ used various amount of letterboxing or [Pillarboxing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillarbox) to indicate what time period the show was more or less in. The “Real World” was letterboxed, the early 60s & 70s worlds went from Black & White Pillarbox to Color Pillarbox and then eventually Hi-Def 16:9. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/10 "2025-01-03T16:10:19Z")
I watch a lot of retro TV shows, the channels for which typically have either the image slightly wider than the display or pillarboxed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/11 "2025-01-03T16:14:05Z")
I watch Kojak and Rockford Files on Prime. They look really nice. Much better than the old vhs tapes I watched 30 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/12 "2025-01-03T16:22:24Z")
I’m pretty sure most TV sets have a setting that will eliminate the black bars and give you a full screen image, but they do this by trimming the picture on the left and right sides. So it’s up to you whether you hate the black bars so much that you’re willing to lose part of the picture. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/13 "2025-01-03T16:24:01Z")
Most do, but that is often brutal to watching the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/14 "2025-01-03T16:53:06Z")
A few years ago, I was watching some old _Simpsons_ reruns on FXX. These were episodes that were made in the old 4:3 aspect ratio. Rather than pillarboxing, FXX decided to cut off the top and bottom of the picture. There were many sight gags that were incomplete or totally lost. 😡 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/15 "2025-01-03T16:59:23Z")
Yeah, in cases where the source material doesn’t exactly match the proportions of the TV screen, there are only three things that can happen: - Parts of the screen are left blank (as in letterboxing), or possibly filled in with some other sort of filler - Parts of the image are cut off, so you can’t see them - The image is stretched in one direction to fit the screen, distorting the proportions. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/16 "2025-01-03T17:02:35Z")
Notably, the “three types of Duff” gag: [![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/The-Simpsons-cropped-Duff-joke.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5) ](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/The-Simpsons-cropped-Duff-joke.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1.5) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/17 "2025-01-03T17:17:28Z")
One thing you sometimes see is what’s called “pan and scan”, where they cut off part of the picture, but which part varies. This is often used for conversations between two people, where they’ll show each person (cutting off the other) while that person is talking. > [@aceplace57](#): > > From [imdb for Twisters](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt12584954/technical/) > Aspect ratio > > - 1.78 : 1(Kate’s vlogs, Tornado Wrangler livestreams and Lily’s drone footage) > - 2.39 : 1 I imagine they did that by just making vertical black bars at the side be part of the image, for the vlogs etc. If that’s so, then a viewer watching on a 1.78:1 screen would see black margins on all four sides. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/18 "2025-01-03T17:40:26Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > A few years ago, I was watching some old _Simpsons_ reruns on FXX. These were episodes that were made in the old 4:3 aspect ratio. Rather than pillarboxing, FXX decided to cut off the top and bottom of the picture. Disney+ is currently offering the _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ series in this format. It’s borderline unwatchable because losing the top and bottom turns what were previously ordinary medium-close shots of faces into uncomfortably claustrophobic extreme close-ups. (I should say, the first season looks like this at least. I can’t say what they did with the later seasons because I got frustrated and quit watching. Clearly they think their viewers are morons who can’t handle pillarbox format. I don’t know, maybe they’re right. But I’m not a moron and I won’t watch something that sucks.) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/19 "2025-01-03T19:47:17Z")
1. “rubber band” is not a thing. 2. You are watching something that is wider than your TV… 🤷 ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2025, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523/20 "2025-01-03T19:59:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I imagine they did that by just making vertical black bars at the side be part of the image, for the vlogs etc. If that’s so, then a viewer watching on a 1.78:1 screen would see black margins on all four sides. They can definitely make the aspect ratio change without add bars on the side (unless it’s to an even squarer format like 4:3). It’s getting more and more common these days. One of my favorites [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-still-have-the-rubber-band-with-smart-tvs-letterboxing/1012523.md?page=2)