Why are some DVD aspect ratios out of whack? - Blu-ray Forum

St.ylo · 09-28-2014, 03:39 AM

I just watched The Pink Panther, which is 2.35:1 Scope, and I noticed there was a small black line on the left, and a larger chunk of one on the right.

The Shield season one, which is supposed to be 1.78:1, aka filling a 16:9 screen, has a small black bar on the right and a larger one on the left.

I know some DVDs of TV shows have overscan areas for "garbage" that would get cut off on old TVs, but this seems different. Shows like X-Files and Community have tiiiny lines that change color with the background but they're easily ignorable.

Note that when I say black bars, they're nowhere NEAR the size of those you get with a 4:3 program; they're rather different. Different widths on each end and seem to be part of the different DVDs as they vary. Weirdly, they're not pixel-perfect, either. I swear one of the lines/bars had a slant to it, and on one movie, a small circular chunk of it was NOT black. I'm aware that DVD aren't as precise compared to 1:1 pixel Blurays, but I would have thought they could get the framing right.

I know I can put my TV on 16x9 mode, but zooming in like that will inevitably lose a bit of quality and a bit of vertical picture, however slight.

Blu-21 · 09-28-2014, 06:21 AM

I've seen what your describing with general TV broadcasting as well which include HD channels.

Suntory_Times · 09-28-2014, 10:44 AM

Can't be certain but I would say poor authoring. So just bad transfers, hell we still get some bad transfers for films with $100 million budgets released this year.

figrin_dan · 09-28-2014, 11:13 AM

I noticed the same thing on my Jackie Brown Blu-ray and had to watch in 16:9. There's no way I would see the difference in quality but would spend the whole film thinking about that damned black line!

Letterboxing and pillarboxing don't bother me as they are intentional and unavoidable but mistakes like this do. Windowboxing in Life of Pi and Budapest Hotel bothered me too!

St.ylo · 09-28-2014, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by figrin_dan

I noticed the same thing on my Jackie Brown Blu-ray and had to watch in 16:9. There's no way I would see the difference in quality but would spend the whole film thinking about that damned black line!

Letterboxing and pillarboxing don't bother me as they are intentional and unavoidable but mistakes like this do. Windowboxing in Life of Pi and Budapest Hotel bothered me too!

Hmm, that's odd. I didn't notice anything like that on my Jackie Brown blu-ray (or any blu-ray for that matter, just DVDs).

St.ylo · 10-08-2014, 05:46 PM

Yeah, the A Shot in the Dark DVD is essentially window boxed with two small black lines on the left and right.

I don't get why DVDs couldn't get this right or why there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. If I'm not mistaken, modern DVDs seem to have this issue less (eg. 16x9 DVDs totally filling the screen).

09-28-2014, 03:39 AM	#1
St.ylo Active Member Member since:Oct 2013 Location:Canada Blu-ray collection:60 Trading Score:2	Why are some DVD aspect ratios out of whack? I just watched The Pink Panther, which is 2.35:1 Scope, and I noticed there was a small black line on the left, and a larger chunk of one on the right. The Shield season one, which is supposed to be 1.78:1, aka filling a 16:9 screen, has a small black bar on the right and a larger one on the left. I know some DVDs of TV shows have overscan areas for "garbage" that would get cut off on old TVs, but this seems different. Shows like X-Files and Community have tiiiny lines that change color with the background but they're easily ignorable. Note that when I say black bars, they're nowhere NEAR the size of those you get with a 4:3 program; they're rather different. Different widths on each end and seem to be part of the different DVDs as they vary. Weirdly, they're not pixel-perfect, either. I swear one of the lines/bars had a slant to it, and on one movie, a small circular chunk of it was NOT black. I'm aware that DVD aren't as precise compared to 1:1 pixel Blurays, but I would have thought they could get the framing right. I know I can put my TV on 16x9 mode, but zooming in like that will inevitably lose a bit of quality and a bit of vertical picture, however slight. Last edited by St.ylo; 09-28-2014 at 06:08 AM.

09-28-2014, 06:21 AM	#2
Blu-21 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jun 2012 Location:Australia Blu-ray collection:67 Blu-ray reviews:1	I've seen what your describing with general TV broadcasting as well which include HD channels.

09-28-2014, 10:44 AM	#3
Suntory_Times Blu-ray Champion Member since:Mar 2008 Location:The Grid Blu-ray reviews:16 Trading Score:23	Can't be certain but I would say poor authoring. So just bad transfers, hell we still get some bad transfers for films with $100 million budgets released this year.

09-28-2014, 11:13 AM	#4
figrin_dan Power Member Top contributor Member since:Sep 2011 Location:UK 4K collection:30 Blu-ray collection:687 DVD collection:84	I noticed the same thing on my Jackie Brown Blu-ray and had to watch in 16:9. There's no way I would see the difference in quality but would spend the whole film thinking about that damned black line! Letterboxing and pillarboxing don't bother me as they are intentional and unavoidable but mistakes like this do. Windowboxing in Life of Pi and Budapest Hotel bothered me too!

10-08-2014, 05:46 PM	#6
St.ylo Active Member Member since:Oct 2013 Location:Canada Blu-ray collection:60 Trading Score:2	Yeah, the A Shot in the Dark DVD is essentially window boxed with two small black lines on the left and right. I don't get why DVDs couldn't get this right or why there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. If I'm not mistaken, modern DVDs seem to have this issue less (eg. 16x9 DVDs totally filling the screen).

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