# You wanna know how to watch that DVD? Shove it up your widescreen ass. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 9, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213 "2004-04-09T19:38:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/81 "2004-04-12T01:37:11Z")
> [@spectrum](#): > > Comedy is just as valid an art form as any other form of cinematic endeavor. And Ghostbusters is a film that is badly maimed when viewed in foolscreen. Rietman composed some beautiful shots in that film, and they are utterly ruined by the hatched job done by the Pan & Scan makers so that the unwashed morons of the world don’t have black bars on their TVs. hmm “the unwashed morons of the world” seem happy with not having those black bars and upset when they’re present. Does it matter that they don’t watch it in wipe-screen? Do you go out to buy movies or do you have them deliviered to your ivory tower? ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/82 "2004-04-12T03:53:18Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > hmm “the unwashed morons of the world” seem happy with not having those black bars and upset when they’re present. Does it matter that they don’t watch it in wipe-screen? Do you go out to buy movies or do you have them deliviered to your ivory tower? I don’t know. I don’t get the impression that widescreen fanatics are trying to be holier-than-thou for their preference. When companies like Blockbuster order their movies in fullscreen-only, or (even worse) movies are only released in pan-and-scan, you’re not seeing the film as the filmmaker intended. I think the fanaticism comes from the love of seeing the product as it was intended, instead of how the studio thinks it should look. And there really needs to be the voice that prevents studios from releasing films in one format over the other. I’d be really pissed if I had to see every film in fullscreen, just like some people are really pissed that some movies are only released in widescreen. I’m all about offering choices. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/83 "2004-04-12T07:51:04Z")
> [@Chastain86](#): > > I don’t know. I don’t get the impression that widescreen fanatics are trying to be holier-than-thou for their preference. No, I’m sure Spectrum meant “unwashed morons” in a _good_ way.:rolleyes: ---
**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:** [April 12, 2004, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/84 "2004-04-12T08:12:33Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > hmm “the unwashed morons of the world” seem happy with not having those black bars and upset when they’re present. Does it matter that they don’t watch it in wipe-screen? Do you go out to buy movies or do you have them deliviered to your ivory tower? Yes, we do. Mine are delivered by unicorn, because I’m that much more special. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/85 "2004-04-12T11:10:19Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] I’m just not the type to sit still long enough. **So, getting one’s panties in bunch over ‘art’** (when it’s cookie cutter entertainment) is foreign to me. Since I opened the thread yesterday, I finished work, went to dinner with my wife and kids, **went to a Flyers game** , cut my grass this morning, worked on my neighbor’s boat, hit the bike trail, bought some more wood, started to build some furniture, finsihed off my daughter’s doll house, cleaned my truck, painted easter eggs, hid the eggs, spent some Q.T. with my wife, **watched some more Flyers playoff action** … [QUOTE] You’re thumbing your nose at people who care about cinematic artistic expression (which is not all “cookie cutter entertainment”) and YOU WATCH SPORTS?? (_snort_) I think you’re the very definition of “Joe Six Pack,” whether you drink or not. At least HD-DVDs are on the way. By the time J6Ps get around to thinking about buying them, widescreen TVs will be the standard and they won’t be able to screw it up for the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/86 "2004-04-12T11:12:04Z")
Damn damn damn, I hate it when I don’t preview. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/87 "2004-04-12T11:41:12Z")
Okay, here’s a post that everybody may agree with. Of course I’ll get flamed from the Full Screeners and the Wide Screeners… I really don’t care whether the movie is wide screen _or_ full screen. As long as I enjoy the story and acting, I don’t care if I’m not getting something in the background off to the side. Conversely, I don’t care whether I _do_ get it. I have several movies that I have the option for either letterbox or full screen… I choose what I want at the moment. Some I’ve watched full screen, some letterbox… some I’ve watched more than once and seen it both ways. I don’t see the big deal of this argument. Art or director’s vision bedamned, I watch a movie for entertainment… not just because it’s art and I don’t worry if I don’t get the entire director’s vision. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/88 "2004-04-12T11:43:24Z")
Damn, the first sentence is supposed to say that everybody will be agreement with the fact that I’m a neandertal… with a 20 year younger wife… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/89 "2004-04-12T11:53:35Z")
> [@Mockingbird](#): > > They decided at the video store I patronize to only get Full Frame(Pan & Scan) copies of ‘Down With Love’ because it was so much cheaper. They didn’t mark that on the racks. I saw _Down with Love_ in full-frame as an in-flight movie back in the summer. Luckily I’d already seen it at the theater so I knew what it was supposed to look like, because it really suffers when cropped. The whole split-screen “sex scene” was deleted, probably because it was considered too racy for airplane audiences, but it was just as well because I’m sure it would have looked ridiculous in pan & scan. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/90 "2004-04-12T12:34:30Z")
Just to agree with spectrum here on Ghostbusters, the pan & scan version is ridiculous. Some of the scenes are fairly close up, filled with the characters faces and them talking to each other. What you end up with is the frame sliding from side to side so you can actually see the characters lips moving. There’s something about the way it pans that is completely noticable and jarring. Maybe movie makers don’t normally pan from side to side to show you different people talking, maybe the panning just looks different, but damn it’s noticable. Ghostbusters is the only pan & scan movie I can think of offhand where it really looks awful. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/91 "2004-04-12T15:41:10Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Ghostbusters is the only pan & scan movie I can think of offhand where it really looks awful. _A League of Their Own_ (and probably most sports movies, but this is the one I’ve seen most often on TV) really suffers because of that sliiiide necessary to keep up with characters as they run across the baseball field. It looks cheap and jerky. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/92 "2004-04-12T17:28:50Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > Okay, here’s a post that everybody may agree with. Of course I’ll get flamed from the Full Screeners and the Wide Screeners… Nah, full-screeners aren’t gonna flame you for that. It’s the WIDE-screeners who think their shit don’t smell. In fact, I think I’ll adopt the moniker “pro-choice”, to be used from now on. I think the consumer should get to decide which version he wants, and not have his choice dictated to him by snobs. 😉 ---
**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:** [April 12, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/93 "2004-04-12T20:04:04Z")
> [@Who\_me?](#): > > I don’t see the big deal of this argument. Actually, I think the crux of the argument _at first_ was that people say “I want to see the whole movie, so I won’t watch widescreen.” Then, when you explain how widescreen **is** actually the whole movie, they wave you away and continue on saying “Nope, nope, nope, still want to see the whole movie.” That’s what’s frustrating. However, if someone understands the difference between widescreen and fullscreen and wants to watch fullscreen, well then, that’s their right[sup]1[/sup]. I always wonder how many fullscreeners, if at a theatre, would sit placidly by if the curtains didn’t retract all the way and only gave them a 4x3 view of the screen… [sup]1[/sup]For the record, it is very very wrong of them to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/94 "2004-04-12T21:37:36Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > _A League of Their Own_ (and probably most sports movies, but this is the one I’ve seen most often on TV) really suffers because of that sliiiide necessary to keep up with characters as they run across the baseball field. It looks cheap and jerky. Before i understood that there were different viewing formats (I’d never really thought about it), _I saw My Best Friend’s Wedding_ in Fullscreen and i swear to God, there were moments that nearly made my eyes bleed. And not on account of the actors either. Pan and Scan makes gives me a headache, so I avoid it. And I don’t own any freakishly large tvs, and I would hardly consider myself a serious fan of cinema in general, though I do enjoy a good flick. Of course, the sorts of movies I really enjoy- space, fantasy, epics, etc. all lend themselves to Widescreen naturally, so take my prejudices with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/95 "2004-04-12T22:10:21Z")
I guess I’m a pretty visual person by nature, so I get annoyed when somebody takes a carefully compositioned shot, intended for movie screen ratio and then hacks it down to 4:3. I also get annoyed when I look at newspapers and magazines, and see the occasional image which is just godawfully cropped down (or not cropped enough), by some overworked or careless photo editor. These things are blatantly obvious to me, and pan-and-scan drives me me batty when I can tell there’s some important visual information going on in the far sides of the screen, but I can’t see it. Or when the composition of the image looks clearly unbalanced because something is left off the screen. Perhaps certain people are more attuned to it than others, but I think if you sat down a full-screen fanatic and showed them the same movie side-by-side with the widescreen edition, so they can see the difference, at least some of them would gain an understanding of what we’re on about. Artistic integrity is part of it, but my main complaint is simply that the cropping makes the movie look bloody awful. ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/96 "2004-04-19T05:05:57Z")
> [@JDeMobray](#): > > Especially since if he does, you’re looking at it right now. At the risk of adding to a thread that really doesn’t deserve to be any longer (oh well, too late now), isn’t that not actually true? Couldn’t he just turn his back to the screen? And by the way, if you were looking at an infinitely large screen, wouldn’t each pixel also be infinitely large? Sorry for the interruption; now please return to your ignorance-fighting. ---
**Author:** ![High\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8797f3/32.png) [@High\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/High_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/97 "2004-04-19T05:18:17Z")
[QUOTE=gobear] > [@](#): > > No, it means a television screen built for widescreen films and 5.1 means 5 directional speakers with a subwoofer to give the extra LFE oomph to explosions and space battles. Sigh…You take all the fun out of sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![High\_Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8797f3/32.png) [@High\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/High_Cheese)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/98 "2004-04-19T05:23:54Z")
Personally, I’m glad they format the movies to fit my television screen. I’d hate to stare at Harrison Ford’s ankles for the better part of **Indiana Jones**. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Serpentine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3be4f8/32.png) [@Silver\_Serpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Serpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/99 "2004-04-19T06:24:18Z")
Y’know . . . There are very few movies I watch for artistic merit. American Beauty, Requim For A Dream, Jan Svankmajer stuff, a couple other foreign or indie films. Arsty crap movies, y’know? 😉 Other than that, I don’t see many movies as Great Works of Art. I don’t really care about the artistic merits of Ace Ventura. I don’t get movies like that to watch art, I get them to be amused, and I don’t care what they look like on my screen, as long as it’s decent quality, and I can hear it. I also watch all movies with either closed captioning or subtitles on. ALL movies. And TV. This sems to piss some people off to no end - “I can’t read and watch the movie at the same time!” Why not? Maybe this is just a skill I got when I saw a bunch of Slavic movies with my mom every week at UT, I don’t know. You know what does annoy me to no end? Movies with uneven soundtracks. I saw the Hulk the other day, and the action scenes were REALLY LOUD, but I couldn’t hear any dialouge. I hate that. ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-wanna-know-how-to-watch-that-dvd-shove-it-up-your-widescreen-ass/239213/100 "2004-04-19T07:27:14Z")
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