Why do some 1:85 movies still show black bars?

[tbenson81]

Almost all the 1:85 movies I watch takes up the entire screen on my 16x9 tv. and there are black bars on 2:35 movies. I understand that its because the movie is wider than the tv

However, in the past week - I rented 2 movies that are 1:85 and there are black bars on the top and bottom of the movie much like 2:35 movies.

The 2 movies are gross pointe blank and jersey girl. The one says enhanced for 16x9 tvs so I thought there shouldnt be a problem but there is. Anyone know the reason for this? It has been driving me crazy.

All my settings on the tv and dvd player are correct and like I said - its just a couple movies that have this problem.

[Ratman]

As long as your TV's overscan settings are correct:

1.78:1 will fill a 16:9 (widescreen TV)
1.85:1 small black bars on top and bottom
2.35:1 large black bars on top and bottom.

DVD's with a AR of 1.85:1 may differ slightly from disc to disc.

[tbenson81]

Thanks Ratman,

Thats how it usually is - but with these 2 DVD's - for some reason that is not the case and I am trying to figure out why.

[Matt27]

Are the DVD's non-anamorphic?

That could be the issue..i own a few that are non-anamorphic DVD's that are 1:85:1 such as: Mortal Kombat, fist of Legend, Commando, What About Bob?.. just to name a few.

[tbenson81]

I believe that they are non-anamorphic.

I just went to deepdiscountdvd and looked up Mortal Kombat, What about Bob and Gross Pointe Blank and they all say letterboxed - 1:85

So I guess that is indeed the problem since they all not anamporhic.

Are almost all dvd's anamorphic these days?

Thanks again!

[Matt27]

Yes..

The non-anamorphic releases are still out there though but they are a rarety.

I beleive ZOOM is the proper stretchmode to use for non-anamorphic DVD's to be displayed correctly.

[Ratman]

More info the FAQ's:
http://www.hdtvoice.com/voice/showthread.php?t=1052

[tbenson81]

DVD players have a menu for selecting "widescreen or 16:9" TVs. This should be set to 16:9 or widescreen when watching DVDs on a widescreen TV, or on a 4:3 TV with "vertical compression". Some DVD players have even more settings available. Make sure that you choose the right one depending on your TV and DVD player (read the manuals)....."CORRECT"

1.85:1 Enhanced for Widescreen (Anamorphic) DVDs

These DVDs are the correct aspect ratio to fill a widescreen TV. You will need to set the TV to it's "horizontal only stretch mode" -FALSE to properly see this type of movie. There should be no black bars. If you use the vertical and horizontal stretch mode by mistake, everyone will be tall and skinny.

Tony- The poster is saying to set your tv to "horizontal only stretch mode" to watch this on a 16:9 tv? That doesnt make sense. Why would you stretch the picture? I just tried that and it looks 10x worse. I tested with an anamorphic 1:85 DVD. You shouldnt have to adjust any settings on the TV - the tv should be on standard - not stretch. All you should have to do is set the DVD player to 16x9 and it should be perfect.

[Ratman]

Here's info to support post #2:
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/learningcenter/home/aspect_ratio.html

[tbenson81]

Thanks Ratman - thats a very nice link! Good, clear info there!

[57U]

If you read the FAQ properly, here's the section on non-anamorphic DVDs. It is NOT false! That FAQ has been up for years and it has answered these questions 16,000 times. The FAQ even mentions picture degredation, since the DVD is non-anamorphic.
1.85:1 "Standard" DVDs (Not Enhanced for Widescreen)

These DVDs are the correct aspect ratio to fill a widescreen TV. You will need to set the TV to it's "horizontal and vertical stretch mode" to properly see this type of movie. There should be no black bars. Same holds for most SD widescreen programming, although the PQ may suffer.If you read the companion piece on WS Stretch modes, it's also explained there.

See also the HDTV FAQ on "Anamorphic/Enhanced".