question regarding widescreen vs full screen

[starbury1]

Hey guys. Im new to the board and this probably sounds like a rookie question. I am fairly new to blu ray in general and have just purchased a 40" 1080p 650 blu ray lcd it defaults to medium 120 hz but the image is seems a little too surreal for me. ive lowered the 120 hz to low and its more movie like but i have a question regarding some of the blus i own.

I am messing with the features on the tv and playing the discs on a ps3. I have two lionsgate films. One is crash and the other is devils rejects. on the back of both it mentions that they are WS 16:9 yet they both play in different ratios when i insert them. This happens to me often and ive never really bothered to question it until now. Now that i have a lcd 1080p tv shouldnt all of these movies take up my entire screen. I presumed they defaulted to black bars due to the fact that they i use to watch them on a 720 television. now im getting of mix of both...any insight?

also for anyone who owns a samsung 650 120 hz tv...what are the best specs to watch them at in your opinion. i feel its making the movie seem like a Wizard of Oz type of deal..the sky and background in many scenes seems plastered on if you know what i mean

thanks in advance

[donaldheil]

First of all, make sure that your player is set to "widescreen" or "16:9" in "TV type", somewhere in the SET-UP features of the PS 3.

If that's already done, the ASPECT RATIO of each movie differs, and NO, not necessarily will fill the whole screen, because it depends on the ratio in which it was filmed or released. The aspect ratio is always in the back of the box.

The 1:85:1 ratio is normally the only one that will perfectly fill your screen. Apart from it, there are many many variations, so the black bars up and down will be normal, and the main thing is that you're not watching the image stretched or shrinked.

[starbury1]

hey thanks alot bud. Apologize for the rookie post and I jut read the article right above me..guess i should have read before posting...now that we have that clear, is there a way of adjusting it so they all default to Wide Screen. As strange as it sounds I enjoy the black bars more

[donaldheil]

Once your player is set to "widescreen" or "16:9" in "TV type", somewhere in the SET-UP features of the PS 3, there's nothing else to do. The movie will be presented automatically in its original aspect. If it fills the screen of leave bars up and down it's because that's the way it's meant to be, and any alteration (that could be achieved by a "zoom" control on the TV or even in the player) will alter the way the movie is meant to be watched.

[witheygull]

Originally Posted by starbury1

is there a way of adjusting it so they all default to Wide Screen. As strange as it sounds I enjoy the black bars more

You could lie to your PS3 and tell it that you have a 4:3 display. This should give you black bars on the top, bottom, and both sides of the movie image (also known as windowboxing).

Other than that, I would suggest just keeping an eye out for discs presented in an aspect ratio wider than 1.85:1 (2.35:1 or 2.39:1 being the most common).

The most important thing (in my opinion) is that you are watching the program in the original aspect ratio just as the director and cinematographer intended.

[Clark Kent]

Blu-rays can come in all types of aspect ratios that don't exactly fill your 16x9 screen. Scope movies that are in a 2.35:1 ratio will still have significant black bars on a standard 16x9 widescreen display.

[My_Two_Cents]

Originally Posted by starbury1

hey thanks alot bud. Apologize for the rookie post and I jut read the article right above me..guess i should have read before posting...now that we have that clear, is there a way of adjusting it so they all default to Wide Screen. As strange as it sounds I enjoy the black bars more

Good job finding the aspect ratio sticky above...and without any smarta$$ comments from the peanut gallery about how the "search" function is your friend, etc.....

As to your question, follow the earlier directions to properly output the signal from the PS3. Then, someone familiar with your set will need to advise what setting your set will need to be on (full, just, theater-wide, whatever).

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by starbury1

hey thanks alot bud. Apologize for the rookie post and I jut read the article right above me..guess i should have read before posting...now that we have that clear, is there a way of adjusting it so they all default to Wide Screen. As strange as it sounds I enjoy the black bars more

We're not black bar haters around here. We embrace the Original Aspect Ratio.

Couple things- I don't have your set but see if there's an "unscaled" setting on it. This will make sure it displays what is passed to it. "Full" or "widescreen" settings could potentially stretch or push the picture around, and you don't want that.

As mentioned, make sure your PS3 is set to 16:9. When you say that the movie says it's 16:9, don't pay attention to that- it just means it's formatted in 16:9 anamorphic, or widescreen. What you want to pay attention to is the aspect ratio- usually 2.39:1, 1.85:1, or 1.78:1. This will tell you what kind of image it'll display- 1.85:1 will take up the full display, for example.

Finally, sounds like you don't like motionflow. Nothing wrong with that- a lot of people don't. There are still some great advantages to 120hz sets- namely less blurring in fast motion and less 3:2 pulldown judder. Turn motionflow to OFF and see if you prefer it. Many feel it takes away from the cinematic nature of film.

Enjoy!

[jeabombers]

I've got the Samsung 650 w/ 120, and I personally love it. I think the problem you have is a combination of the super-high 50000:1 contrast ration and the motionflow. My grandma complains (vaguely) about how the characters on the screen "pop" out too much. Oh well. Can't please everyone.