Screen Aspect Ratio ... What is the ideal?

[LordoftheRings]

It's time for ultrawide 4K TVs to return and save us from black bars in movies

Is the guy from that article into something that "some hard-core cinephiles" want; 21:9 ultrawide TVs?
Shoot your thoughts freely.

In the past I mentioned "Adaptive Screen TVs" ... motorized TVs that can adapt to any film aspect ratio; just push the correct number on your remote (or speak directly to it) and bingo, your TV would automatically extend, stretch, shrink, up, down, sideways, ... to your request.
...Similar to a very very thin rolling OLED TV.

No more black bars horizontally and vertically, forever period.
And no more front projectors because those flat rollable thin panels can go up to 400 inches if you want to.
Wanna watch 'Gone With The Wind' in its proper aspect ratio? No problemo and without vertical black bars.
Wanna watch 'The Hateful Eight' in 2.76:1 aspect? No problemo; let the TV do its magical stuff.

Sure, that could take few years, but we got time.
I'm not talking 8K or 3D or holographic moving pictures here; I'm talking smart intelligent Adaptive TVs for home, including IMAX screen aspect ratio.

What do you think? Any opinion is welcome; from the most outrageous to the most down-to-earth.

How far are we ready to evolve when it comes to watching movies @ home ...
This is not for the latest smartphones with expendable screens; this is for home screens used in our home theater rooms, living rooms and computer/gaming rooms.

Lawrence of Arabia, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, All That Jazz.

• http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/th...aspect-ratios/

[Acer2010]

I have absolutely NO problem with black bars being present on 1.78:1 TVs. I'm sure that anyone who is a true film fan would agree with me. Black bars NEVER did any harm to any movie at ALL.

[Darren75]

Originally Posted by Acer2010

I have absolutely NO problem with black bars being present on 1.78:1 TVs. I'm sure that anyone who is a true film fan would agree with me. Black bars NEVER did any harm to any movie at ALL.

Agreed. I watched The Whale a few days ago and after 2 mins completely forgot it was 4:3 because I was engrossed in the film.

The thing that annoys me is films that have IMAX and are switching between 2:35 and 1:78 constantly. Why do some directors think we want to be part of the film? I don't want things flying out of the screen at me or moving seats or water being sprayed in my face or smells.

Just let me watch a movie in peace goddamnit.

Also, I just remembered this. Look at how badly the effort to remove black bars from Buffy and The Simpsons turned out. Both shows have legendarily bad HD remasters.

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by Darren75

Agreed. I watched The Whale a few days ago and after 2 mins completely forgot it was 4:3 because I was engrossed in the film.

The thing that annoys me is films that have IMAX and are switching between 2:35 and 1:78 constantly. Why do some directors think we want to be part of the film? I don't want things flying out of the screen at me or moving seats or water being sprayed in my face or smells.

Just let me watch a movie in peace goddamnit.

Also, I just remembered this. Look at how badly the effort to remove black bars from Buffy and The Simpsons turned out. Both shows have legendarily bad HD remasters.

Good points.

[Edward R. Meow]

Disagree with the article.

These sort of arguments are always built on the false idea that 2:35:1 is the "correct" aspect ratio, since most blockbusters use it. There is no ideal ratio, it's however the filmmaker wants their story framed.

Besides, of one uses ultrawide to eliminate black bars for 2:35, then you're just going to be adding black bars to 1:85:1 content, or increasing their size for other aspect ratios.

(It also fails to take into account intentional alternating aspect ratio, such as in Waves, It Comes at Night, or Barbarian, most of which have been designed with modern tv sizes in mind.)

Just look at how many people whined about Zack Snyder's Justice League being 1:33:1. The push for ultrawide would only result in larger black bars on the side for any more traditional aspect ratio.

Alternatively, you can choose to zoom in and crop an image, plently of "fill my screen" people out there, and we all know how much cropping can ruin composition. Here's ZSJL in 1:33:1 versus a cropped 2:35:1 version (used an online converter, combined with a youtube screenshot, so its not perfect).





Current TV dimensions are perfectly fine as is, no need to reinvent the wheel.

[Warm Gun]

I don't even see black bars. OLED and black fabric or black paint bedsheet behind the TV totally eliminate them. Still might be nice to have an ultra widescreen so that the wider than 16:9 movie appears as close to me as a 16:9 or narrower movie. I don't wanna have to sit closer to the letterboxed movie and have the picture appear more bulbous (since the TV is not curved like an ultra widescreen) so that it's as big as a 4:3 movie. I don't know where I would then place my front speakers, though. Not enough room in here.

[Warm Gun]

Look at how much the scope picture shrinks on a 16:9 display. The top image is 1080 pixels high. The bottom is 1920x802.

[LordoftheRings]

Here's the idea of what I'm thinking ...

■ https://www.yankodesign.com/2021/09/...aspect-ratios/

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Warm Gun

Look at how much the scope picture shrinks on a 16:9 display. The top image is 1080 pixels high. The bottom is 1920x802.

[Show spoiler]

Well right now I change my sitting/TV distance to 3/4ths to get that ^^ correct view for Scope movies (my OLED is on a heavy wheel stand). Would be nice if I didn't have to.

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

■ https://www.yankodesign.com/2021/09/...aspect-ratios/

[Warm Gun]

Originally Posted by Deciazulado

Well right now I change my sitting/TV distance to 3/4ths to get that ^^ correct view for Scope movies (my OLED is on a heavy wheel stand). Would be nice if I didn't have to.

You're not distracted by the flat image appearing more bulbous up close? Did you mark the floor for where to stop rolling the stand? I watch from a bed and have the wall at my back marked for where to place my pillow.

[Deciazulado]

Originally Posted by Warm Gun

You're not distracted by the flat image appearing more bulbous up close?

My OLED is curved so the image doesn't look bulbous, it looks encompassing .

For measuring and sitting at the correct distance I use a rule of thumb I carry always with my hand which I use anywhere I go (theaters, home, friend's homes, overseas, etc). Is very handy. I can't lose it unless I fight with Vader.

Using it also discovered that we normally sit in cars at the approximately same vertical visual field for the (coincidentally Scope shaped) windshields, and many house windows, etc.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...7&postcount=98

[SpazeBlue]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

It's time for ultrawide 4K TVs to return and save us from black bars in movies

Damn. It lost me on the first line.

Impressive.

[LordoftheRings]

Originally Posted by SpazeBlue

Damn. It lost me on the first line.

Impressive.

It's worth exploring and reevaluating.
With technical advancements in the TV/monitor department it is possible to kill all the black bars horizontally and vertically, and permanently. ...Ten years from now.

Some smartphones use a 21:9 screen aspect ratio.
Sony launched the Xperia 1 flagship in 2019, with the world's first 21:9 ultra-wide 4K HDR-enabled OLED (6.5") display in a smartphone.
□ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/21:9_aspect_ratio

[SpazeBlue]

Originally Posted by LordoftheRings

It's worth exploring and reevaluating.
With technical advancements in the TV/monitor department it is possible to kill all the black bars horizontally and vertically, and permanently. ...Ten years from now.

Some smartphones use a 21:9 screen aspect ratio.
Sony launched the Xperia 1 flagship in 2019, with the world's first 21:9 ultra-wide 4K HDR-enabled OLED (6.5") display in a smartphone.
□ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/21:9_aspect_ratio

I'm okay with the idea of an adjustable screen. It would be interesting. I'm talking about the whole zooming thing. "But I want to fill muh screen..."

[crutzulee]

I recently updated my HT to accommodate a projector (JVC) and screen (acoustically transparent) upgrade. Due to my imprecise calculations, I ended up with a 2.20:1 screen. This has turned out to be a very happy accident for me as it has actually allowed me to have a roughly 130" diagonal screen for both 1:85:1 and 2.35:1 presentations.

Black bars have NEVER bothered me...Grey or "almost" black bars have driven me crazy since the days of 4:3 TVs when I always sought out OAR presentations on LASERDISC and DVD...so much so, that I have been using a masking system of some sort (simple construction paper, drapery,panels) for more than 3 decades throughout the upgrades in TV ratios and front projector panel sizes...

My son has recently upgraded his gaming rig to include a 21:9 monitor and the results truly are glorious! I'm not a gamer and not a fan of any back-lit technology for movie presentation, but if I were, I'd probably go this route.

As it stands, I absolutely love what I currently have in my HT. My JVC has more memory slots than I have preset buttons on my HARMONY remote. At the touch of a button, I can switch between 16:9 ,1.85:1, 2:1 (increasingly becoming more and more popular) and my much loved 2.35:1 aspect ratio. I still use a couple of DIY side panels to perfectly frame each presentation, but honestly, the JVC'S reputation for blacks is well earned and this step is really more of of habit than necessity. The only "compromise" I have is some very thin black bars on 2.35:1 presentations on the 2.20:1 screen. I would never consider the 3% negligible zoom and, as I stated, the black levels on the JVC mean that there's no need for thin horizontal masks.

[Synchg]

im willing to bet more theater screens are fitted with a "1:85" ratio screen and 2:35 movies just get projected on them anyways, making the argument moot. is there like a database to verify this? i dont go to theaters much but the screen is always "1:85"

bringing back premium curved TV's to re-create the theater experience is a higher and welcomed priority

[grahams76]

That article is written by an idiot. What's the difference between having black bars at the top and bottom (or sides) and the wall behind the TV? At some point there'll always be a cut-off. And that's before you factor in that films come in many different ratios. Wally.

[LordoftheRings]

The guy behind that article is reading this thread.

[CatBus]

IMO this is just the CIH projection argument, modified for non-projection screens. The main issue, as I see it, is still simply image height. People don't like it when these wide aspect ratio movies that are supposed to be so immersive look smaller than an episode of Sanford and Son on the same display. That's a valid concern, although frankly it was a much bigger and more relatable concern when displays were 4:3. 16:9 makes the issue seem a lot more "meh" to most people, although the image height thing is definitely still there.

Black bars are a red herring. Nobody cares. Turn off the lights and it blends into the background, problem solved. Maybe black bars are the everyman terminology for complaining about image height, but if so, it's inaccurate and unhelpful.

A 21:9 screen or an extendable screen would interest me, depending on how it's implemented, because only a tiny fraction of what I watch is 16:9 anyway, so I'm not particularly tied to that aspect ratio. But I also know that most video, regardless of aspect ratio, is encoded at 16:9 and things like subtitles assume a 16:9 frame, and any way to algorithmically expand the image to a 21:9 frame would need to be pretty smart and pretty foolproof, or it probably won't be worth the effort. I'm fully willing to believe that 16:9 is good enough. My projection screen is 16:9 too -- I never bothered to go CIH there either, and there's a longer history of supporting CIH with those, but it's not without problems, or expense.

[Geoff D]

The utter silliness of the article notwithstanding, I had one of those Philips 21:9 TVs several years ago and as an ardent movie-watcher it was great. The TV itself had very sluggish black level response so it smeared like a bastard and I didn't keep it for long, but day to day watching was fine. 1.85 or 1.78 with borders on the sides wasn't a problem and even 4:3 stuff was fine, I can still remember watching Stalag 17 on it and being unperturbed by the giant borders on the sides. As with most borders, especially if watching in a darkened room and not fookin daytime (which I suspect is what the dilbert in the article does), they just disappear once you get engrossed in the movie.