High-Def FAQ: Why Don't the Black Bars Go Away?

[jed]

As part of his new bi-monthly column here at High-Def Digest, from time to time, Josh Zyber will be answering frequently asked questions related to High-Definition and both HD DVD and Blu-ray.

First up: Josh's illustrated answer to one of the most common questions asked by newcomers to the wonders of HDTV: Why don't the black bars go way?

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/764

[pkremer]

This is a great post! I do get very tired of hearing people complain about the black bars as though it is making them lose something. You are not losing...you are gaining the entire picture! I could understand if you were watching on a 15" TV, but there is no reason for a TV that small anymore...

I sincerely hope that the studios never start making "full screen" movies on HD-DVD and Blu-ray...

[theonlyjp]

Stellar article Josh, absolutely stellar!
I'm very glad that someone took the time to explain to the importance of the black bars to the unappreciative viewers.
Keep up the good work buddy!

[illegalprelude]

aaahhh. such a superb post. I work in computers myself but I remember somebody from either our media section or home theater section brought the phone to me with a customer on the line thinking that their "blu-ray" setup was wrong and its either the movie or their player because they got black lines, even though he had HDTV and no matter how I said, he could not get the idea that the black bars were an artistic thing and not in the fault of blu-ray

[Josh Z]

Thanks, guys.

Over the years, I've seen a lot of these "Why pan & scan is bad" articles in various sources, but the question still comes up all the time, especially now that people equate "High Definition" with 16:9. There's also the notion that 16:9 is "close enough" to 2.35:1, and cropping that much is no big deal, a belief I strongly disagree with. So I wanted to provide a clear visual illustration of just what happens to these movies when you mangle them to fill the TV screen.

One other thing I rarely see addressed in those prior articles is the nature of "Open Matte" and why that is equally harmful to the composition of a shot (other than notions of boom microphones and camera equipment being made visible, which these days would be digitally painted out anyway). That shot in Dark City made a good example. It has a dynamic 2.35:1 composition, no cropping on the sides in "full screen", and looks just awful when you open the mattes off the top and bottom.

[AllSport11]

Great article, since my Laserdisc days I have been trying to explain to people why Widescreen is better. Some people will never understand unfortunately, my girlfriend being one of them. Another great site to check out for the converted:

www.widescreen.org

[bnoreznik]

Thanks for the article. Some filmmakers, (my cinematography prof at the university here for example) swear by 2:35:1 only because it allows for easier composition when framing a shot. Yeah sometimes it's nice to have it corner to corner but not if it sacrifices the camera work someone put a lot of effort and thought into.

[Crypter]

Great article! I remember back when I first started collecting movies, on VHS, I never bought a movie unless it was letterboxed. All my friends and family that would come over to watch movies in my home theater would always whine and complain about the black bars. It was so annoying always having to explain why the black bars were better. Yet even after making a compelling argument in favor of letterboxing people still preferred to fill their TV screens, even if they knew they were losing part of the movie. I think there will always be that school of thought for less than serious movie watchers. Some people could care less about artistic expression and just want their TV filled. So be it.

Anyhow, great work! I will definetly bookmark this article and anytime someone asks the question I will link them to your article.

[FUHNAHTIK]

Nice job on a great article. I'm looking forward to future posts!

[Devil N]

Finally, a good article to refer people to when they're complaining about black bars. Thankfully there are still those who understand the concept of OAR.

[DrMaustus]

Great article.

My question is as follows:

Does anyone think the next big thing for videophile purists will be 2.35:1 TVs? Or will that cause too much of an issue with 16x9 TV?

[Invader Phlegm]

Very nice article, and as expressed above, stands as a great source to refer the uninitiated back to, to help them understand what is going on and why it is a necessity, and not the bogeyman. If this is how this column is going to start out, then I most certainly look forward to future editions - too bad they will not come about more often.

Originally Posted by DrMaustus

Great article.

My question is as follows:

Does anyone think the next big thing for videophile purists will be 2.35:1 TVs? Or will that cause too much of an issue with 16x9 TV?

You know, I have been asking that question more and more often in recent years. I do find that more and more recent films that I purchase are increasingly shot in the 2.35:1 ratio. It's almost as if in response to the fact that TV has now finally gone to 16:9, more movie directors feel they need to go to 2.35:1 as a way to continue to distinguish film from home video - basically, to put more butts in seats at the box office. Fine by me, I'm always at the cinema anyway and see most films in their native environment. But it does leave one wondering if there should be a newer, "hardcore" or "enthusiasts only" tier of HDTV that offers home video enthusiasts the 2.35:1 option as the native resolution; no know, something like a 2538x1080p native res TV screen?

I will say this. Ever since I started screening my films on a digital projector in my home a few years back, I have heard fewer complaints from the uninitiated over the "black bars". In the dark, or semi-dark, a nice, big 16:9 vinyl screen tends to make most "black bars" seem to "fade away" for not only most casual viewers, but also for the more hardcore viewer as well. But then of course, using a projector in your home, you are getting more back to how the film was supposed to be viewed in the first place. And let's face facts, when was the last time you went to a movie theater and heard people complaining about "the black bars"

Even so, with a projector, letter-boxing and pillar-boxing present another set of technical problems when you come across them. The black areas of the boxes are actually non-lit pixels from your projector, which means you are not getting the full lumen capacity out of your projector when you have to display 2.35:1 films or 4:3 video. The picture is not as bright on screen and depending on your lighting situation, the quality of your projector and the quality of your screen, can cause real issues like the picture being harder to see or your blacks being over saturated, or even the pillea/letter boxes imaging up as a very noticeable dark gray. When that occurs, then you really do have a problem. So you find yourself really having to do your homework to balance out your home theater to prevent any of these from cropping up. And for the most part if you are diligent, you will not see or notice any real issues. However, you still find the rare individual who will complain about the letter-boxing or pillar-boxing when the appropriate film is displayed on your projy setup I was over at Projector Central recently and discovered the closest thing to a definitive solution. Of course the damned thing will cost you as much out of pocket as a digital projector itself.

[scumbag78]

Great article Josh. I also had these same questions when I first jumped into HD. I was bummed out at first about the black bars then I was educated by posters on this forum. Once I learned that they were to perserve the aspect ratio of the film and it had nothing to do with high def I decieded to just by a huge tv and forget the whole issue. Problem solved.

I was just wondering if you have any advice on some mid range to high end video scalers. I have read of a few, most starting at around $1500.00 up to $8000.00. Will these scalers keep a high def picture at its native resolution?

[John32]

Great article. Letterboxing has been around for a long time and I'm used to it but, I must admit that this "pillar boxing" thing is new to me. I was annoyed at first but, now I understand its purpose in both classic film and TV shows.

[TheJoker]

Great article.
Ive still seen tons of people complain about those black bars.

But ive been converted since my uncle told me about it and I never went back to full screen again...