Issue with The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc: Changing Aspect Ratios + Sound - Blu-ray Forum

boredomHD · 12-27-2009, 02:40 PM

I don't know if this issue has been posted before, but I did a search and I couldn't really find anything. When I play the Dark Knight on bedroom Blu-ray Player (Magnavox NB530MGX) the picture constantly changes from full screen to widescreen depending on the scene. This is the first movie that has done this to me, and I have watched over 50 discs on my player so far. Is this something with the coding of the movie? I've tried altering my television settings to full screen 100% of the time, but when I do this little parts of the movie are cut off. They are not cut off when the movie changes by itself. Why does the movie keep changing?

BTW: I have a 32" Sanyo DP32648 720p. It has not changed the picture size with any other movie. I do not think this is an issue with my television.

BillieCassin · 12-27-2009, 02:42 PM

This is intentional, the fuller-screen is during the IMAX sequences.

Personally, I love it that way - but I know some people don't enjoy it.

boredomHD · 12-27-2009, 02:47 PM

Thanks a lot. I thought it was something with the coding on the disc or how it was filmed. Easy enough.

bttfiii · 01-15-2010, 03:09 AM

i just watched the blu that amazon.ca shipped to me last night and was surprised at how soft the audio was! this has to be the softest blu among all blus I have!

anyone has the same experience?

SellmeyourDVD · 01-15-2010, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bttfiii

i just watched the blu that amazon.ca shipped to me last night and was surprised at how soft the audio was! this has to be the softest blu among all blus I have!

anyone has the same experience?

This disc has reference quality audio. I'm assuming you don't have a surround sound setup.

bttfiii · 01-15-2010, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SellmeyourDVD

This disc has reference quality audio. I'm assuming you don't have a surround sound setup.

what is reference quality audio?

no i do not have surround. I playback on 2.0 ch

SellmeyourDVD · 01-15-2010, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bttfiii

what is reference quality audio?

no i do not have surround. I playback on 2.0 ch

Reference quality, in other words, means this movie is top notch when it comes to audio! This whole movie ROCKS my surround sound setup!!!!!! If you ever get some extra coin, DEFINITELY invest in some surround sound!

You will also read that people refer to picture quality in some blu-rays as reference quality, which means the picture is one of the best available.

kpkelley · 01-15-2010, 03:35 PM

It defaults to a legacy track. Make sure you select the HD audio track from the audio settings.

Chester Lime · 01-15-2010, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

This is intentional, the fuller-screen is during the IMAX sequences.

Personally, I love it that way - but I know some people don't enjoy it.

I've been through this before and it has been explained to me by several. However, I still don't like it. It is distracting for the aspect ratio to change like that constantly. Did the aspect ratio change like that in the IMAX theater? I saw it on a standard screen and it was great. I don't think any of us in the theater would have liked the movie changing from wide to not as wide. IMAX is great, but lets face it, no one here has a 50 foot X 70 foot screen in our homes, so the IMAX experience is pretty much lost on our pityfull little 50 Inch screens.
I would like a BLU RAY release of THE DARK KNIGHT where we could choose which version we would like, whether it is the 2:40 or 1:78 aspect ratio or the one that goes back and forth.

MikeZ. · 01-15-2010, 03:48 PM

Funny...at 51 years old, I've gone from NO home video to full screen VHS to full screen DVDs to widescreen DVDs ( which became my passion to the point of ordering some films from Amazon UK because only full was available here in the US ) to Blu Ray which, depending on the aspect ratio, may sometimes appear as full screen...to the Dark Knight, that, when the aspect ratio changes, surprisingly DOESN'T bother me. Maybe after you've " seen it all," you're a little more open and flexible.
My " preferred " ? 2:40 Blu Ray w/DTS HD Master audio.

bttfiii · 01-15-2010, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpkelley

It defaults to a legacy track. Make sure you select the HD audio track from the audio settings.

the only english track that gives me decent volume is the 3rd one which I think is for blind people (they have narratives for motions)

bummer... the terminator salvation blu i have plays on my 2.0 ch perfectly

same goes for my matrix and spiderman blus... audio is soft

ClaytonMG · 01-15-2010, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bttfiii

the only english track that gives me decent volume is the 3rd one which I think is for blind people (they have narratives for motions)

bummer... the terminator salvation blu i have plays on my 2.0 ch perfectly

same goes for my matrix and spiderman blus... audio is soft

Since this is a Warner disc, the title is actually dialnormed (turned down 4db) so you have to turn it up a bit more. Another thing to look into is if DRC is enabled or not.

kpkelley · 01-15-2010, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chester Lime

I've been through this before and it has been explained to me by several. However, I still don't like it. It is distracting for the aspect ratio to change like that constantly. Did the aspect ratio change like that in the IMAX theater? I saw it on a standard screen and it was great. I don't think any of us in the theater would have liked the movie changing from wide to not as wide.

Yes, that is how it was projected at IMAX theatres. It doesn't go from wide to not as wide, the image gets taller for the IMAX sequences, the width is constant.

I saw it in IMAX with some friends and none of them even noticed that the aspect ratio had changed throughout the film.

The IMAX sequences on the Blu-ray are cropped slightly from their IMAX presentation because the IMAX ratio is much closer to 1.4:1 than 1.78:1. Nolan decided to crop it for the blu-ray so that it would fill a television screen during those sequences to mimic the transition as it was in IMAX theatres.

bttfiii · 01-15-2010, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClaytonMG

Since this is a Warner disc, the title is actually dialnormed (turned down 4db) so you have to turn it up a bit more. Another thing to look into is if DRC is enabled or not.

hmmm.. sorry for being a noob but what is dialnormed and DRC?

ClaytonMG · 01-15-2010, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bttfiii

hmmm.. sorry for being a noob but what is dialnormed and DRC?

It's no problem. Basically dialnorm is supposed to keep the track from destroying people's speakers if they don't have the greatest set up. I think it's original purpose was for TV though to keep different content from varrying in sound so much.

DRC stands for Dynamic Range Control. It's almost like a "night mode". It evens out the soundtrack to make dialogue easier to hear. Normally you do not want this enabled. But if you're actually having trouble making out dialogue, maybe give it a shot.

RocShemp · 01-28-2010, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClaytonMG

Since this is a Warner disc, the title is actually dialnormed (turned down 4db) so you have to turn it up a bit more. Another thing to look into is if DRC is enabled or not.

It's not dialnormed at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Which is pretty unusual for a WB release.

davidxiphoid · 01-28-2010, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chester Lime

I've been through this before and it has been explained to me by several. However, I still don't like it. It is distracting for the aspect ratio to change like that constantly. Did the aspect ratio change like that in the IMAX theater? I saw it on a standard screen and it was great. I don't think any of us in the theater would have liked the movie changing from wide to not as wide. IMAX is great, but lets face it, no one here has a 50 foot X 70 foot screen in our homes, so the IMAX experience is pretty much lost on our pityfull little 50 Inch screens.
I would like a BLU RAY release of THE DARK KNIGHT where we could choose which version we would like, whether it is the 2:40 or 1:78 aspect ratio or the one that goes back and forth.

The only thing I find distracting about the switched ratios is how GORGEOUS the IMAX footage looks. Makes me wish every movie was shot with that technology.

The whole movie looks amazing but the IMAX shot footage takes it to a whole different level. I read a rumor that Nolan actually wants to shoot the next Batman film (god willing he actually does it now) completely in IMAX. That would be amazing...

RocShemp · 01-28-2010, 08:37 PM

That's true. Nolan wants the third movie to be in full IMAX and he claimed he was going to invest in them developing lighter IMAX cameras so he can accomplish that task. Here's hoping it comes to pass.

ClaytonMG · 01-28-2010, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RocShemp

It's not dialnormed at all.

Which is pretty unusual for a WB release.

Holy moly... that's weird... I had to turn it up 4db like every other WB title (at least I'm 99.99999% sure I did, it's been a while since I've watched it though). Is it possible it wasn't flagged properly?

Atreyu · 01-28-2010, 10:35 PM

Thought I might have had a problem with the varying aspect ratio of The Dark Knight. as I did in the deluxe standard dvd of Ray(the extra footage was not enhanced for widescreen TVs) but I didn't, wasn't bothersome at all in The Dark Knight, as I was still totally caught up in the film.

12-27-2009, 02:40 PM	#1
boredomHD Member Member since:Dec 2009 Blu-ray collection:153	Issue with The Dark Knight Blu-ray disc: Changing Aspect Ratios + Sound I don't know if this issue has been posted before, but I did a search and I couldn't really find anything. When I play the Dark Knight on bedroom Blu-ray Player (Magnavox NB530MGX) the picture constantly changes from full screen to widescreen depending on the scene. This is the first movie that has done this to me, and I have watched over 50 discs on my player so far. Is this something with the coding of the movie? I've tried altering my television settings to full screen 100% of the time, but when I do this little parts of the movie are cut off. They are not cut off when the movie changes by itself. Why does the movie keep changing? BTW: I have a 32" Sanyo DP32648 720p. It has not changed the picture size with any other movie. I do not think this is an issue with my television.

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12-27-2009, 02:42 PM	#2
BillieCassin Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Nov 2009 Blu-ray collection:- Trading Score:34	This is intentional, the fuller-screen is during the IMAX sequences. Personally, I love it that way - but I know some people don't enjoy it.

12-27-2009, 02:47 PM	#3
boredomHD Member Member since:Dec 2009 Blu-ray collection:153	Thanks a lot. I thought it was something with the coding on the disc or how it was filmed. Easy enough.

01-15-2010, 03:09 AM	#4
bttfiii Senior Member Member since:Dec 2009 Blu-ray reviews:10	i just watched the blu that amazon.ca shipped to me last night and was surprised at how soft the audio was! this has to be the softest blu among all blus I have! anyone has the same experience?

01-15-2010, 03:35 PM	#8
kpkelley Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2007 Location:Framingham, MA 4K collection:385 Blu-ray collection:2478 Digital collection:113 Blu-ray reviews: 152	It defaults to a legacy track. Make sure you select the HD audio track from the audio settings.

01-15-2010, 03:48 PM	#10
MikeZ. Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Oct 2009 Location:Hendersonville, Tennessee 4K collection:3 Blu-ray collection:1182 DVD collection:730 Blu-ray reviews: 82 Trading Score:11	Funny...at 51 years old, I've gone from NO home video to full screen VHS to full screen DVDs to widescreen DVDs ( which became my passion to the point of ordering some films from Amazon UK because only full was available here in the US ) to Blu Ray which, depending on the aspect ratio, may sometimes appear as full screen...to the Dark Knight, that, when the aspect ratio changes, surprisingly DOESN'T bother me. Maybe after you've " seen it all," you're a little more open and flexible. My " preferred " ? 2:40 Blu Ray w/DTS HD Master audio.

01-28-2010, 08:37 PM	#18
RocShemp Blu-ray Ninja Member since:Jul 2009 Blu-ray reviews:2	That's true. Nolan wants the third movie to be in full IMAX and he claimed he was going to invest in them developing lighter IMAX cameras so he can accomplish that task. Here's hoping it comes to pass.

01-28-2010, 10:35 PM	#20
Atreyu Blu-ray Knight Member since:Dec 2008 Location:North Carolina 4K collection:370 Blu-ray collection:1876 DVD collection:619 Digital collection:1 Blu-ray reviews: 293 Trading Score:4	Thought I might have had a problem with the varying aspect ratio of The Dark Knight. as I did in the deluxe standard dvd of Ray(the extra footage was not enhanced for widescreen TVs) but I didn't, wasn't bothersome at all in The Dark Knight, as I was still totally caught up in the film.

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