problem with black bars and Blu-Ray Disks

[rezf]

Hi all,
New to the forum and had a question I was hoping someone can answer for me.
I have a Panasonic 46 inch plasma 1080P and Sony PS3. When I play games, the picture scales perfectly with my TV with no bars showing. However, when I play BR movies, I get black bars on top and bottom of the TV in the native "full screen" mode. I can stretch it to fill the entire TV, but that cuts off portions of the movie. If it matters, the movies in question are Jumper and Enemy of the State
On the other hand, I put in the disk Planet Earth and it fills-in perfectly in "full-screen" mode
Thanks for your feedbacks
RezF

[JasonR]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=16529

[allstar780]

there are a lot of threads about this but I'll explain it anyways cuz you're new

Your TV is 16:9 or 1.78:1 aspect ratio, most movies are not filmed in this aspect ratio, and to preserve the full picture they are put onto the disc in the aspects they are filmed in. Jumper, for example, is filmed in 2.35:1, a wider aspect ratio than that of your television

[jadafa]

Please read this thread https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=16529 for all answers on movie scopes and dimensions.

The two movies you listed are filmed in a 2.35/2.4:1 and will have black bars. Having a widescreen 16:9 TV doesn't mean there will be no black bars. It just lessens them than a regular 4:3 TV. A 16:9 TV is 1.78:1 ratio. For a film that is 2.35:1 ratio to fit in a 1.78:1 normally, black bars must be encoded with the film to maintain its aspect ratio. Even most movies that are 1.85:1 ratios have very minute black bars encoded on them, but you will barely seen them since 1.85:1 is closer to 1.78:1. Most, if not all, PS3 games are 1.78:1 encoded aspect ratio. I believe the Planet Earth was filmed in a aspect ratio of 1.78:1 which is why it fills up your entire screen.

Anyway, please review that above link and please do searches on "aspect ratio" on this forum. And do some Google searches to understand as well.

[rezf]

You guys are awesome. I feel like an idiot...
So, it sounds like with all 1080p contents from the studios, we should expect black bars when viewing.
Thanks again
RezF

[allstar780]

to me black bars are a good thing... if HD satellite/cable fills the full screen movies should not, that way they look more.... cinematic

[jadafa]

Originally Posted by rezf

You guys are awesome. I feel like an idiot...
So, it sounds like with all 1080p contents from the studios, we should expect black bars when viewing.
Thanks again
RezF

Only when a movie is 2.35:1 ratio will it be more noticeable. You're not losing any picture. It was how the movie was presented in the movie theater.