Your Introduction To Letterboxing/Widescreen Presentations

[Member-222782]

Hi All

Today I can't watch a movie on TV or Home Video unless it's in the Original Aspect Ratio. It's something we've come to expect and, even demand, from content producers and TV programmers everywhere. But this love affair with screen width had to have a beginning - we weren't watching Sesame Street in 1.85 on TV in 1982. What was your first letterboxed "experience" and how did you react to it?

I grew up during the 80's when LaserDisc was the best way to watch movies at home. The broadcast networks were beginning to show movies on TV letterboxed. At first, it was just the credit sequences at the start and ending, then gradually entire films were shown in widescreen. I was curious about the black bars and at the same time fascinated by them - I thought it was the coolest thing but I HAD NO IDEA what it was about because I had no grasp of the concept of letterboxing. It wasn't until DVD hit the market about 10 years later when I realized that those black bars on TV (some were "decorative", with patterns on them!) were the result of movies being shown in their OAR. I never got into LaserDisc but we can thank the format for introducing us to the world of widescreen. Without it we would still be watching LAWRNCE OF ARABIA and many other wide films in pan in scan today.

My first-ever widescreen TV was a Goldstar 19" color TV - got it in 1987. Had to make a few adjustments to convert it to widescreen: I cut two pieces of cardboard and painted them black, then taped one each to the top and bottom of the screen, voila! Instant 16:9!