Aspect Ratio Issue on my New System

[pferreira]

Hi, I just started getting into 4K and bought myself a Samsung 4K Smart TV and a Panasonic DP-UB450. I've tried every option but for the life of my I can't figure out how to get the correct aspect ratio to watch stuff. For example:

1) TNG on blu-ray was filmed in 4:3 and is presented in a window that is faithful to how it should look. However on my new TV and 4K blu-ray player only the sides have bars.

2) When I try to play a movie with a 2:35:1 aspect ratio it plays it in 1:85:1 meanwhile 1:85:1 films are presented in full screen.

I've tried a combination of options none seem to be working. I have also noticed that Auto Wide is greyed out on my display for some reason.

Can anybody help with this so I'm playing movies in the aspect ratio they were intended? Step by step instructions would be good since there's a ton of options on either piece of equipment.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by pferreira

Hi, I just started getting into 4K and bought myself a Samsung 4K Smart TV and a Panasonic DP-UB450. I've tried every option but for the life of my I can't figure out how to get the correct aspect ratio to watch stuff. For example:

1) TNG on blu-ray was filmed in 4:3 and is presented in a window that is faithful to how it should look. However on my new TV and 4K blu-ray player only the sides have bars.

2) When I try to play a movie with a 2:35:1 aspect ratio it plays it in 1:85:1 meanwhile 1:85:1 films are presented in full screen.

I've tried a combination of options none seem to be working. I have also noticed that Auto Wide is greyed out on my display for some reason.

Can anybody help with this so I'm playing movies in the aspect ratio they were intended? Step by step instructions would be good since there's a ton of options on either piece of equipment.

What is TNG? That can mean anything. A 4:3 picture which is full screen, it suppose to have the black bars on the side. A 1:85.1 OAR is not full screen, it's widescreen. As far as the other aspect ratios is concern, it sounds like your video settings on your TV and blu-ray player are not correct. Something is wrong. What are the make and model numbers of your TV and blu-ray player, and maybe I can help.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by slimdude

What is TNG? That can mean anything. A 4:3 picture which is full screen, it suppose to have the black bars on the side. A 1:85.1 OAR is not full screen, it's widescreen. As far as the other aspect ratios is concern, it sounds like your video settings on your TV and blu-ray player are not correct. Something is wrong. What are the make and model numbers of your TV and blu-ray player, and maybe I can help.

TNG as in Star Trek.

TNG is supposed to presented in a window mode of black bars on all four sides of the screen since it's 4:3. My previous non-4K player did this. As of now it just has bars on the left and right.

Panasonic UB-450 4K Player

Samsung TU7100 Crystal UHD 4K HDR Smart TV

1:85:1 of course shouldn't be full screen and should have bars at the top and bottom. 2:35:1 should be full widescreen but looks like 1:85:1 now. Not sure how to correct this?

[RodChester]

Any 4:3 content should have black bars on only the sides. Sounds like your old system wasn’t displaying it correctly.

[slimdude]

I've downloaded the manuals, and here's what I've come up with: On the 4K blu-ray player picture setup screen select:

Video Format - Automatic.

4K(50p/60p) Output - Off.

24p Output - Automatic.

HDMI(VIDEO) Output Mode - Automatic.

Dolby Vision or HDR-10+ can be turned on or off manually by the user. Choose whichever HDR that you prefer for the player to default. Since Samsung TVs doesn't have Dolby Vision, you'll have to choose HDR-10+ as the default HDR. If a movie doesn't have HDR-10+, then it will flag to standard HDR-10.

On the Samsung TV, go to the Picture Size Settings and select: Auto Wide.

[roar]

Further to Rodchester's comment, 1.85 should have very tiny bars top and bottom and may actually look like full screen if you're not paying attention because the aspect ratio of your TV is likely 1.78...so super close. Confirm your content is indeed 1.85 and look for slivers of bars at the top and bottom, 2.35 or > should of course have larger bars.

[oddbox83]

If overscan is on, you probably won't have any bars on 1.85:1 content.

[albertbj]

Originally Posted by roar

Further to Rodchester's comment, 1.85 should have very tiny bars top and bottom and may actually look like full screen if you're not paying attention because the aspect ratio of your TV is likely 1.78...so super close. Confirm your content is indeed 1.85 and look for slivers of bars at the top and bottom, 2.35 or > should of course have larger bars.

Also, some studios often format 1.85 movies in 1.78 on Blu-ray, which would completely fill the screen on a 16:9 TV. WB, Paramount, and Disney are especially guilty of this.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by slimdude

On the Samsung TV, go to the Picture Size Settings and select: Auto Wide.

Ah well this is another problem. Auto Wide is greyed out as is the option below it. What do I need to activate or deactivate to get that selectable?

Originally Posted by albertbj

Also, some studios often format 1.85 movies in 1.78 on Blu-ray, which would completely fill the screen on a 16:9 TV. WB, Paramount, and Disney are especially guilty of this.

The example I used was Paramount's Clue DVD which is 1:85:1. It should have small widescreen bars top and bottom.

For testing this is what I've used:

Star Trek TNG Remastered (1080): should be boxed 4:3 but presents in 4:3 with bars left and right

Clue (DVD): should be 1:85:1 with bars top and bottom but shows full screen

Ghostbusters (4K): should be 2:35:1 but presents in 1:85:1

Dark Crystal (4K): should be 2:35:1 but presents in 1:85:1

Krull (1080 - corrected disc): should be 2:35:1 but presents in 1:85:1

Krull (DVD): should be 2:35:1 but presents in 1:85:1

I'm guessing if I try a Doctor Who DVD from the original series it will appear correct in 4:3 but not much to anything I've got that's in widescreen.

I have my Samsung TV set to 16:9 but as you can see this is the result. Changing to 4:3 of course makes everything unwatchable is I leave that option alone.

Originally Posted by RodChester

Any 4:3 content should have black bars on only the sides. Sounds like your old system wasn’t displaying it correctly.

I'm pretty sure it was as 1:85:1 movies were showing with small black bars and 2:85:1 was showing in full wide screen with thick black bars top and bottom.I don't have Back to the Future on me but that's 1:85:1 and I'm predicting if I try that it will end up full screen.

On the first Panasonic blu-ray player I ever bought I had it setup the same way and when watching Star Trek TOS remastered on blu-ray it was boxed. On my previous Panasonic player TNG remastered was boxed as well.

Originally Posted by oddbox83

If overscan is on, you probably won't have any bars on 1.85:1 content.

What does overscan do? Maybe that might be forcing widescreen aspect ratios one step towards 4:3.

[roar]

How are you determining it is presenting in 1:85? I think you need to share a picture of this.

The 4:3 content presenting with bars on the left and right is correct.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by roar

How are you determining it is presenting in 1:85? I think you need to share a picture of this.

The 4:3 content presenting with bars on the left and right is correct.

Well if it's 2:35:1 like Ghostbusters the black bars should be thick right? Back to the Future is 1:85:1 so it should have black bars but thinner ones. On my previous TV and blu-ray player that's how the movies were presented. For TNG Remastered blu-ray however it should be presented in a 4:3 window, not with just black bars on the sides.

A thought popped into my head:

https://www.support.com/how-to/how-t...levision-13092

My previous Samsung TV was 40 inches. My new TV is 43 inches. Is it possible the TV is working the way it should and that the lack of black bars is due to the bigger the screen the thinner the black bars you get? Why do you guys think?

[slimdude]

Is there button on your TV remote control to change the aspect ratio?

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by slimdude

Is there button on your TV remote control to change the aspect ratio?

There is no button on either my player remote or TV remote that directly changes the aspect ratio.

Just tried Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure standard blu-ray, a 2:35:1 movie that now displays in what looks like 1:85:1. Also tried 4K ET and that being 1:85:1 is now in full screen. Having said that I have noticed the very tiny little black bars at the top and bottom 1:85:1 movies so maybe that article link I provided might be what's happening?

If so that's still quite a shock to go from normal display on a 40 inch to the stretched displays on a 43 inch. I mean with the TV it's 3 inches more. The screen size I wouldn't have thought would go that stretched.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by pferreira

There is no button on either my player remote or TV remote that directly changes the aspect ratio.

Just tried Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure standard blu-ray, a 2:35:1 movie that now displays in what looks like 1:85:1. Also tried 4K ET and that being 1:85:1 is now in full screen. Having said that I have noticed the very tiny little black bars at the top and bottom 1:85:1 movies so maybe that article link I provided might be what's happening?

If so that's still quite a shock to go from normal display on a 40 inch to the stretched displays on a 43 inch. I mean with the TV it's 3 inches more. The screen size I wouldn't have thought would go that stretched.

Nothing should be stretched with a larger screen, images should be proportionally larger or smaller as you go up and down in screen size.

It sounds like you have overscan (and possibly some kind of zoom) turned on. Picture Size Settings>Picture Size>16:9 Standard and enable Fit to Screen.

I'll post some examples of what each ratio should look like if displayed correctly.

[chip75]

1.34:1 (almost 4:3)



1.67:1



1.78:1 (16:9)



1.85:1



2.39:1



2.75:1

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by pferreira

There is no button on either my player remote or TV remote that directly changes the aspect ratio.

Just tried Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure standard blu-ray, a 2:35:1 movie that now displays in what looks like 1:85:1. Also tried 4K ET and that being 1:85:1 is now in full screen. Having said that I have noticed the very tiny little black bars at the top and bottom 1:85:1 movies so maybe that article link I provided might be what's happening?

If so that's still quite a shock to go from normal display on a 40 inch to the stretched displays on a 43 inch. I mean with the TV it's 3 inches more. The screen size I wouldn't have thought would go that stretched.

It's not the size of the screen is the issue, something else is going on, but we'll get to the bottom of it. The tiny black bars on the top and bottom of a 1:85.1 image is normal. That's the way it's suppose to be.

[PUsokrJosh305]

Does your TV have a Home Mode vs. Store Mode on it?? I know when things are in store mode, they are greyed out on TVs.

Honestly, I would just listen to Chip and set it to 16:9 Standard and Screen Fit turned "On." That seems to be the settings that I have put for my parents' Samsung TV and it's a few years old. Samsung has actually used "Screen Fit" for many years now.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by chip75

[B][I][CENTER]1.34:1 (almost 4:3)

Well that's amazing because my viewing experience has never looked like that on standard blu-ray. I notice Robocop even though it's a 1:85:1 movie shows no noticeable black bars for a movie of that ratio, just the same tiny, almost undetectable black strips on the top and bottom like on my new TV and player. Same with ET.

On my old player setup this is what TNG blu-ray looked like:



I always watched it windowed. Same goes for blu-rays of TOS, The Incredible Hulk and The A-Team.

Another example:



This is what I get when I watch Doctor Who DVDs, Sliders DVDs and any 80s cartoons on DVD. However not all 4:3 TV show DVDs go into pillarbox. Episodes of Street Hawk on DVD all take up the entire screen.

Another example:



This I would use as an example of 1:85:1. Stuff like Back to the Future, ET, Clue etc. Those films now display without hardly any black bars apart from very tiny black strips on the top and bottom. 2:35:1 movies or cinemascope movies now look closer to the above example. In fact when HMV messed up the aspect ratio of Krull THIS is what it looked like before it finally got corrected.

[pferreira]

Originally Posted by slimdude

It's not the size of the screen is the issue, something else is going on, but we'll get to the bottom of it. The tiny black bars on the top and bottom of a 1:85.1 image is normal. That's the way it's suppose to be.

I packed up my player to send back as it's budget and a more expensive one has certain features I need like a more premium remote and a LCD display. It of course won't help with the aspect ratio problem I have but weird but they don't bother to include an LCD display on every model. Not sure how I'm supposed to tell if it's loading or not.

You might be right about how it's supposed to look:

https://www.cnet.com/news/widescreen...aspect-ratios/

It's possible my TV output to my old blu-ray player wasn't 1:78:1. Having a new TV with a 4K player now it's possible this output is just the way it's supposed to look as I'm now beginning to use 4K for my discs.

Originally Posted by PUsokrJosh305

Does your TV have a Home Mode vs. Store Mode on it?? I know when things are in store mode, they are greyed out on TVs.

It's not on Store mode although I should get around to trying that setting.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by pferreira

Well that's amazing because my viewing experience has never looked like that on standard blu-ray. I notice Robocop even though it's a 1:85:1 movie shows no noticeable black bars for a movie of that ratio, just the same tiny, almost undetectable black strips on the top and bottom like on my new TV and player. Same with ET.

Your player settings were all screwed up, I'd guess that they were set for a 4:3 TV and you may have had some kind of stretch with the TV's settings.

Use the settings posted earlier in the thread for your TV, I doubt you'll have to mess to far away from the Auto settings when you get your new player.