List of Fullscreen 16:9 1.66-1.85 Blu-rays

[simplepinoi177]

Originally Posted by 4K2K

1.66:1 movies take up almost the whole screen too - though not as much as 1.85:1.

This is what I worked it out as - though I could be wrong:
2.39:1 is 74.38% of screen
2.35:1 is 75.65% of screen
1.66:1 is 93.375% of screen
1.85:1 is 96.095% of screen
1.78:1 is 100% of screen

So 1.66:1 takes quite close to the amount of screen space that 1.85:1 movies take up so surely 1.66:1 movies could be included too?

Thanks for that info! It reinforces my belief that 1.66:1 is close to fullscreen. I have never seen a movie in this aspect ratio so I really couldn't be too sure. From what I heard and from what little I could research, I thought that it had black bars on the sides. Thank you for clarifying. In any case, no mods changed the title anyways...

[4K2K]

Originally Posted by simplepinoi177

Thanks for that info! It reinforces my belief that 1.66:1 is close to fullscreen. I have never seen a movie in this aspect ratio so I really couldn't be too sure. From what I heard and from what little I could research, I thought that it had black bars on the sides. Thank you for clarifying. In any case, no mods changed the title anyways...

They do have small black bars on the sides (just like films on Blu-ray that are actually presented at 1.85:1 and not cropped to 1.78:1 have small black bars on the top and bottom - assuming your TV shows all pixels and doesn't overscan). But they take up a lot lower percentage of the screen than the black bars that are on the top and bottom of 2.35:1 and 2.39:1 films.

Some of the James Bond Blu-rays are in 1.66:1 aspect ratio, like Dr. No (even though, according to imdb.com, their intended aspect ratio in American cinemas was 1.85:1).

[Blu-Buddha]

Originally Posted by 4K2K

They do have small black bars on the sides (just like films on Blu-ray that are actually presented at 1.85:1 and not cropped to 1.78:1 have small black bars on the top and bottom - assuming your TV shows all pixels and doesn't overscan). But they take up a lot lower percentage of the screen than the black bars that are on the top and bottom of 2.35:1 and 2.39:1 films.

Some of the James Bond Blu-rays are in 1.66:1 aspect ratio, like Dr. No (even though, according to imdb.com, their intended aspect ratio in American cinemas was 1.85:1).

The majority of American cinemas are only set up for two ratios: 1.85:1 (Flat) and 2.35:1/2.39:1 (Scope) and Dr. No, etc. is shot with the more narrow 1.85:1 in mind. Hence the intended U.S. ratio is listed.

Art house and specialty venues are often capable of showing 1.66:1 and 1.33:1 as well. (Either by using four separate lenses w/ side masking or just two lenses -flat/scope- w/ variable top/bottom/side masking.)

I set up a specialty venue a few years ago that had a proscenium width of 40' and a maximum height of 25' (the top of the arch was curved). They showed everything from modern Scope films to the old silents (1.37:1). I used just two lenses. Scope is 17'hx40'w, 1.85:1 is 16'hx30'w, 1.66:1 is 18'hx30'w and 1.33:1 is 22.5'hx30'w. That 1.33 ratio looks just awesome and seeing the silent Phantom of the Opera with the pipe organ playing is overwhelming.

Most specialty venues have just side masking so they use 4 lenses so the height is always the same. Needless to say, the 1.33:1 image in those theaters is underwhelming.