The future has no black bars! 21:9 HDTV

[dv8pdx]

http://dvice.com/archives/2009/01/philips_cinema.php

You may have noticed that when you watch a blockbuster movie on DVD — like, say, The Dark Knight — you still see black bars on the top and bottom of your widescreen TV. That's because a lot of films are shot in aspect ratios that are more "cinematic" than your typical HDTV show. If movies like this are pretty much all you watch, you'll like Philips' latest announcement: a TV with an ultra-wide shape.

The Philips Cinema 21:9 TV (it's hard to know whether to call it an HDTV) is tailor-made for epic movies. The 21:9 aspect ratio (about 2.33:1) will mean virtually no black bars for when you cue up Transformers or Casino Royale, with the picture filling the whole screen without being distorted or cut off. Awesome, though there will be bars on the sides whenever you switch to 16:9 HDTV. And huge swaths of the screen will go unused if you ever (God forbid) watch 4:3 programming.

No specs or a price yet, though Philips says the elongated LCD TV will feature Ambilight tech, a built-in backlight that matches the screen color. The 21:9 set should be available this spring.

Even though they use DVD as an example, it will still have the same cool result with Blu-ray. This tech will for the most part eliminate the black bars on big movies. But as wide as it is, I would think its main purpose would be for movie watching only, as watching 16:9 TV would be like watching 4:3 on a HDTV - it would have the black bars on the side and huge black bars on the sides when watching 4:3 movies or TV.

still... it sounds really cool!

[Oddiophile]

The future is now if you go front projection with a 2:35 screen.

[dv8pdx]

Originally Posted by Oddiophile

The future is now if you go front projection with a 2:35 screen.

sure, if your a fan of that technology!

[FIDDYPOP]

What about the images that take up the whole screen now? They are not all the same aspect ratio, or are they?

[My_Two_Cents]

Now we're up to the 4th thread in the last couple days on this:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...55#post1516155

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...42#post1510142

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=81050

Time for a merging.

[Leopold BUTTERS]

honestly, this seems too much for me. Tv shows are in 16x9, they don't need a wider aspect ratio and i wouldn't want black bars on the sides if they didn't go for a wider aspect. I like 16x9 tvs and dont mind the black bars while i watch movies.

[dv8pdx]

Originally Posted by Ricshoe

Now we're up to the 4th thread in the last couple days on this:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...55#post1516155

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...42#post1510142

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=81050

Time for a merging.

Interesting, I did a search and it resulted in nothing. Mods can close this if they need to.

[stockstar1138]

wow! now we can hear ppl b1tch about how there are black bars on the sides for 16:9 movies.
+all of your tv is now gonna have black bars. stupid invention.

[Septimus Prime]

The future's black bars will be vertical.

[Sonny]

Seems dumb to me , though I figured there would be a 21:9 HDTV sooner or later. I don't even noticed the top & bottom "black bars" anymore, & I definitely don't want "black bars" on the sides, that irritates the $h1T out of me...I'll stick with 16:9 for now.

[doctorsteve]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

wow! now we can hear ppl b1tch about how there are black bars on the sides for 16:9 movies.
+all of your tv is now gonna have black bars. stupid invention.

Some redneck will invent an Adjustable TV set with removable duct tape 'wings' that cover up the 'black bars' - regardless of aspect ratios.

Problem solved. You're welcome...

Doc

[DavePS3]

Originally Posted by stockstar1138

wow! now we can hear ppl b1tch about how there are black bars on the sides for 16:9 movies.
+all of your tv is now gonna have black bars. stupid invention.

Right on, tell 'em Stocky!!!

[[1080-p]]

Originally Posted by dv8pdx

http://dvice.com/archives/2009/01/philips_cinema.php





Even though they use DVD as an example, it will still have the same cool result with Blu-ray. This tech will for the most part eliminate the black bars on big movies. But as wide as it is, I would think its main purpose would be for movie watching only, as watching 16:9 TV would be like watching 4:3 on a HDTV - it would have the black bars on the side and huge black bars on the sides when watching 4:3 movies or TV.

still... it sounds really cool!

hope it comes wh wowvx

[[1080-p]]

Originally Posted by dv8pdx

http://dvice.com/archives/2009/01/philips_cinema.php





Even though they use DVD as an example, it will still have the same cool result with Blu-ray. This tech will for the most part eliminate the black bars on big movies. But as wide as it is, I would think its main purpose would be for movie watching only, as watching 16:9 TV would be like watching 4:3 on a HDTV - it would have the black bars on the side and huge black bars on the sides when watching 4:3 movies or TV.

still... it sounds really cool!

hope it comes wh wowvx

[Yeha-Noha]

Getting rid of letter box bars is a luxury and not a necessity. I don't mind having letter box bars. The money would be better spent on adding more BDs to my collection. I would rather buy a projector and a 100 in. screen the next time I upgrade.

[eric0923]

I would rather go back to VHS than have to watch all these movies on half a TV screen it just sucks after ive spent close to $4,000.00 dollars on my entertainment system.

[syncguy]

This is fantastic news. I was waiting for this to happen for sometime.

I am sure some people may not like 21:9, some people will love 21:9 and also some people will keep two sets one for the movies and the other for TV.

This is a goldmine for manufacturers, retailers as well as studios because it is a good opportunity to attract more people to watch movies.

This is God-given for the blackbar-haters which is a very large group.

Now it is the time for Sony, WB and BDA to fix black-bar subtitle problem which is long overdue. Sony/WB blackbar subtitles cannot be read on 21:9 sets and are counterproductive from both studio and manufacturer perspectives.

Also, there is a good case to reconsider anamorphic blu-rays to fully utilise 1080 pixel height of the future 21:9 sets.

[tron3]

I don't know of a single DVD or blu-ray player with 21:9 in the settings. I guess the TV automatically converts everything. Top and bottom bars never bothered me. Side bars bother me, so I stretch the 4:3 channel to fill the screen whenever I can. Can you imagine 4:3 stretched on this thing, let alone stretching 16:9?

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by syncguy

This is a goldmine for manufacturers, retailers as well as studios because it is a good opportunity to attract more people to watch movies.

This is God-given for the blackbar-haters which is a very large group.

I respectfully disagree. Manufacturers are going to loose their shirts if they make this any more than a niche product sold at a hefty premium. You will need a 55" Scope TV in order to get the same size 2.35:1 picture as I have on my 58" set. Unfortunately, that same scope TV will only have 16:9 picture (all HD cable/sat, etc.) the size of a 44" set. Do we really think the "black-bar haters" will spend premium $$ in order to watch a small percentage of their viewing without horizontal bars while giving up a larger picture for the majority of their viewing? I don't think so.

[rubberghost]

i've been wondering when this would happen. i love it.