Questions for CIH System Owners

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by JamesN

I am aware of the issues facing CIH system owners regarding subtitle placement. However, I rarely see anyone discuss menu issues, which (it seems to me) can be at least as big an issue.

For those folks with 2.35:1 setups: how do you handle interacting with 16:9 menus? For example, when you first start up a disc, I assume you project at 16:9 so that you can see and access all of the main menu options. Once you've selected your options (audio settings, etc.) and selected play, I assume you switch to 2.35:1 mode as the feature starts.

A good number of the menus on BD work fine in 2.35:1. For those that don't, I just temporarily switch back to 16:9, or just switch off the v-stretch function on the projector temporarily-- you end up with a horizontally stretched image, but it's just for the menu settings until you re-engage v-stretch for the main feature. This is assuming you use the "lens method" of CIH, which I do.

But isn't there a lag time in switching over, causing you to miss a few seconds of the opening of the film (albeit, likely just the studio logos)? And if so, is it enough of an annoyance to get in the way of enjoying a truly "cinematic" experience (which is really the whole point of a CIH setup in the first place, is it not)?

Nope. At least not with using a sled mounted lens for CIH. I would guess that it takes about 2 seconds to switch from one AR to another. I usually flip over to 2.35:1 once I start up the main feature, or right after the FBI warnings. I'll try to get a video of this to demonstrate...

Also, how do you deal with popup menus? Aren't they cut off in 2.35:1 mode for many discs?

They are cut off for some titles, although they do work sometimes in scope. If I have any problems, I either switch back to 16:9 or turn off v-stretch to use the popup menu, and then switch back to scope or flip v-stretch on when done.

Lastly, how do you deal with titles with quirky aspect ratios such as Dark Knight or the SmileBox version of How The West Was Won? I would imagine that both of those titles would have to be projected at 16:9, thus diminishing their "theatrical impact" on a 2:35:1 screen.

For TDK, I tried watching it with switching aspect ratios and with leaving it in scope. I found that leaving it in scope was of no detriment to the viewing presentation-- in fact, in doing it this way, it is hard to identify where those AR switches occur if you did not know beforehand or did not focus on the slight change in framing and picture quality. At no point did I feel that the IMAX footage was being "cut off" when viewing in scope.

I have HTWWW, but haven't screened it yet. I would presume that there would be slight black bars seen even in scope viewing, which still would be better than the much bigger black bars in 1.78:1

Hope this helps!