Physical & Digital EST: The Future of Home Video Discussion Thread

[PenguinInfinity]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Well my local theater complex has both 21:9 and 16:9 screens.

Showing a 21:9 image on a 16:9 screen results in a 20% loss of image per frame made up of the black bars. Letterboxing is a compromise. That's all.

All Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray discs are formatted for 16:9. Regardless of the size and shape of your screen letterboxing is built into the video files. If you watch a 4K Blu-ray of a 2.40 movie the video resolution will always be 3840x1600. Whether you are watching on a 16:9 screen with black bars or a 21:9 screen with the black bars cropped out isn't going to affect the picture quality.

The only benefit to using a 21:9 screen is if the space can't accommodate the extra height of a 16:9 screen. That isn't the case in the example you posted:

[Show spoiler]

Here's a rough mock-up of the same set-up with a 16:9 screen:

[Show spoiler]

[Lee A Stewart]

Constant Image Height viewers seek to restore the original artistic intent by projecting both types of movies onto a 2.35:1 ratio screen, so that the height of the movie image remains the same, while the width varies

This is the same thing that commerical movies theaters do with curtains. They install all the screens at 21:9 then control the aspect ratio by closing the curtains to 16x9 and 4x3. This can easily be done in a home theater.

Panavision/Cinemascope movies use an anamorphic squeeze on the camera to fit a 21:9 AR into a 4x3 frame. Then the theater's projector unsqueezes it showing the desired 21:9 AR.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

But you didn't mention budget in your last post:



Do you have a 21x9 screen or just a 16x9 screen. That makes a BIG difference in getting the very best visual quality out of 2.39 AR movies which most Hollywood movies appear in. And that is a prerequesite for your definition of an "HT enthusiast" . . . the best quality.

16x9. However, I don’t think we need to be talking about getting the most out of movies when you are watching compromised A/V quality with digital.

I now subscribe to Netflix and Disney+ but I always watch them on my OLED. I only watch my discs in my HT.

[gotmule]

While certainly not necessary, this is why I have used an anamorphic lens and a 2.35:1 screen in my room for a while. While doing away with black bars, I get the benefit of an increase in resolution and brightness due to no wasted pixels. The resolution boost is especially great on non 4K content but is not needed as much with 4K discs however. Took a bit to get the boost in brightness under control as it can be too much, but messing around with the iris control on the projector took care of that.

[crutzulee]

While I don't have the budget for a panamorphic lens, I do employ a manually adjustable masking system to get the best perceived contrast ratio out of my home presentation. My room is completely painted black.
It bugs me that whenever a new Tarantino movie comes out, there is only one theatre in Toronto that will present it on film and that they don't take the same care in masking that I do at home.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Surely the best picture quality and audio tied to a HT should be a requirement for enthusiasts, no?

I have a lot of content on older media I don't watch, I don't use any subscription streaming service because the quality on all of them is not good enough. As someone that has a passion at watching films I agree with that. The point is not every one has a passion for film there is a reason the euphemism Netflix and chill exists, because the person is more interested in chilling then what is on Netflix, there is a reason the term couch potato exists because the person is more interested in sitting on the couch then what he sees in potato vision, for others it can be about being able to say "I saw it" and others about having something to talk about around the water cooler.

Some car guys are into muscle cars, luxury cars..... that does not stop me from only looking at my car as a way to go from A to B and not giving a damn about anything else about cars.

If not, you might as well just hang a tv with a sound bar over your fireplace and be done?

and most people are happy with that. That does not stop people like me from having much better audio and a projector.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Whether you are watching on a 16:9 screen with black bars or a 21:9 screen with the black bars cropped out isn't going to affect the picture quality.

Some with scope screens use V stretch (Oppo UHD BD player, Lumagen, etc.) and a anamorphic lens for a brighter picture with scope content.

I'm still using the zoom method but hope to change that soon, depends on new projectors from JVC.

[crutzulee]

I streamed VACATION FRIENDS last night. Everyone commented on how impressive it looked in 4K HDR and sounded. I forgot to check if it was native ATMOS or if my amp was employing it's DSU, but there were plenty of height and surround involvement.
While I'm sure a physical disc could eke out some perceptible improvement, a title like this simply doesn't warrant it.
Everyone in the room simply sat back, ate and drank what they pleased and enjoyed a stellar presentation of a mindlessly fulfilling comedy.... that is after I had to fiddle a bit with the masking due to a non standard aspect ratio..

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

But you didn't mention budget in your last post:

do you honestly think it would need to be stipulated that it is someone looking for the best experience they can afford?

what good would it be to spend a lot more than one can afford and then lose the house the HT is in because the person can't make the payments?

Do you have a 21x9 screen or just a 16x9 screen. That makes a BIG difference in getting the very best visual quality out of 2.39 AR movies which most Hollywood movies appear in. And that is a prerequesite for your definition of an "HT enthusiast" . . . the best quality.

two things

1) Obviously looking at a postage stamp size image from a mile away a persons eyes won't be able to see any details in the image, but if we forget about that for a second 4k/UHD is a fixed resolution so no matter how big or the aspect ratio of your screen the the resolution of the image portion will be fixed at the source (distribution image) so it is the quality of the source that only matters, not the resolution of the display or its aspect ratio.

2) that is a very TV way of thinking about things. A TV is 16x9 rectangle with an Y diagonal size and so any AR that is not 16x9 does not fill up as much space and you get a smaller image then you could if the Ar of the TV could change. When you go projector that does not need to be true any more. when I watch something in 4:3 my pic is as 5tall as the room can handle, when I watch 2:39 it is as wide as the room can handle.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Isn't the goal of home theater to duplicate the movie theater experience in your own home?

no, I don't pay a bunch of people to be in the room with me and talk or play on their phone or do other annoying things?

The reason I built myself an HT is to get the best movie watching experience possible.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

I have a lot of content on older media I don't watch, I don't use any subscription streaming service because the quality on all of them is not good enough. As someone that has a passion at watching films I agree with that. The point is not every one has a passion for film there is a reason the euphemism Netflix and chill exists, because the person is more interested in chilling then what is on Netflix, there is a reason the term couch potato exists because the person is more interested in sitting on the couch then what he sees in potato vision, for others it can be about being able to say "I saw it" and others about having something to talk about around the water cooler.

Some car guys are into muscle cars, luxury cars..... that does not stop me from only looking at my car as a way to go from A to B and not giving a damn about anything else about cars.




and most people are happy with that. That does not stop people like me from having much better audio and a projector.

Agreed but in a forum like Blu-ray.com? I mean, the very format suggests more members would be into quality over other stuff surely? I guess too many people drank the Kool aid and thought EST was going to be massive.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

Constant Image Height viewers seek to restore the original artistic intent by projecting both types of movies onto a 2.35:1 ratio screen, so that the height of the movie image remains the same, while the width varies

This is the same thing that commerical movies theaters do with curtains. They install all the screens at 21:9 then control the aspect ratio by closing the curtains to 16x9 and 4x3. This can easily be done in a home theater.

Panavision/Cinemascope movies use an anamorphic squeeze on the camera to fit a 21:9 AR into a 4x3 frame. Then the theater's projector unsqueezes it showing the desired 21:9 AR.

two things
1) commercial movie theatres go with constant height because it is cheaper and not because it is better. masking/curtains that change the height are more expensive and you will still need ones that change the width.


2) commercial theatres tend to be built for that purpose so it is easy to build the room so the AR you want (i.e. 2.39) fits it the best. for HTs that is not necessarily the same. In my home I can go taller by not limiting myself to constant height.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by PenguinInfinity

Here's a rough mock-up of the same set-up with a 16:9 screen

that HT is way too ornate for my taste and it is possible decisions where made more on the basis of form over function. But that being said it is easy to manipulate an image but it is hard from an image to say if a given height will work. We know there is at least a second row and a good HT should be built so that the bottom of the image is blocked by people/seats in front of them.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Agreed but in a forum like Blu-ray.com?

Like I said in my initial response I don't remember having to pass a test to prove films are my passion, and I am sure people ended up here for many different reasons.

I mean, the very format suggests more members would be into quality over other stuff surely?

I have been into HT for a very long time. and over the years some friends and family members have joined me into owning projectors and stuff. But even then I can't talk HT with most of them the way I do here. I think there are a lot of people here that try and get the best movie watching experience that they can, many magnitudes more than the general public. But you can't assume everyone will because the site is not exclusive in any way. there are people in the PS forum that only like to discuss games there are others in the TV forums that only like to discuss TV shows....

[JohnAV]

Box Office: ‘Candyman’ Slashes Its Way to $22M Opening - Hollywood Reporter 8/29

'Free Guy' took the second-place spot for an impressive third-weekend performance of $12.7 million.

This weekend’s box office is marked by an impressive pandemic performance with MGM/Universal’s Candyman and the holding power of 20th Century/Disney’s Free Guy.

Candyman has earned $22.37 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend at 3,569 theaters, surpassing expectations despite the continuing surge of the delta variant and yet another tropical storm, Ida, affecting East Coast moviegoing.

Directed by Nia DaCosta, who is currently helming Marvel’s Captain Marvel 2, and produced by MGM and Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw, Candyman is the spiritual sequel to the 1992 horror of the same name led by Yahya Abdul Mateen II. The movie, which has a budget of $25 million, holds an R-rating and attracted an audience that was over half male and 69 percent of which were in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket. (Males aged 18 to 34 have traditionally been the demographic most likely the head to the box office during in the pandemic.)

But the movie did not fare as well internationally, with Candyman opening in 51 international markets to an expected to gross $5.2 million for a worldwide cume of $27.6 million.

The Ryan Reynolds-starer Fee Guy came in at the No. 2 spot in its third weekend in release. The movie earned $12.7 million over its three-day period, falling only 31 percent. (Last weekend, the movie fell only 34 percent.) Free Guy has earned $78 million at the domestic box office to date and is set for a 45-day exclusive theatrical window before it transitions to home viewing on VOD and streaming. Like Candyman, the movie has attracted males aged 18 to 34.

Coming in third is Paramount’s children’s animation PAW Patrol in its second weekend, taking in $6.6 million over three days for a current domestic cume of $24 million. The movie, which had a day-and-date release and is available free in-home to Paramount+ subscribers, had a dip of 50 percent from its opening weekend.

Elsewhere, Jungle Cruise held the weekend’s fourth spot with $5 million from 3,370 locations, passing $100 million at the domestic box office. The movie, which was released simultaneously in theaters and Disney+’s Premier Access tier, is in its fifth week has earned $187 million at the global box office. No. 5 at the domestic box office is Sony’s horror sequel Don’t Breathe 2 earning $2.8 million for a domestic box office of $24.5 million.

Next up is MGM and UAR’s Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, fell 40 percent in its third weekend $2.2 million for a domestic total of $19.7 million, followed by Warner Bros.’ day-and-date release The Suicidie Squad at seventh, with $2 million weekend gross and a domestic cume of $52 million.

In talking THR ahead of this week’s CinemaCon in Las Vegas, John Fithian, the chief of the National Association of Theatre Owners, offered his thoughts on what a recovery at the box office will look like. Fithian said, “I don’t think there’s a yes or no answer to what is a full recovery. To consistently be grossing every weekend the same kind of box office take we grossed in 2019, I guess, would be kind of a full recovery. We’re not going to get there in 2021, that’s for sure, but maybe in 2022.”

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Lee A Stewart

[Show spoiler]

Does your HT look like this one? No? Then your not an enthusiast.

Probably the most click bait post you done in awhile. Most play games on a ultra wide display not watch movies. But you had your fun getting some riled up.


Any HT fellow that watches content for hours on a ultra wide display will end up being like this.

[Lee A Stewart]

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Probably the most click bait post you done in awhile. Most play games on a ultra wide display not watch movies. But you had your fun getting some riled up.


Any HT fellow that watches content for hours on a ultra wide display will end up being like this.

That’s most of his posts plus throw constant praise of Disney+ into the mix.

[Steedeel]

Anyone been in touch with Vilya. I tried today but no reply. Hope he is ok.

[alchav21]

Yes we haven't heard from Vilya in a while, hope he is okay. Anyway getting back to Hardwired, I hope most of you guys that Stream have changed over to this type of connection. Here is a Video from Vincent Teoh that talks about speeding up your Ethernet connection to your UHD TV, and we do need Gigabit Ports!

How to Turbo-Boost Your TV's Internet Connection Speed (Works on LG & Sony TVs) - YouTube