[wsbizwsa]

ffs, not another format

It has been out for quite some time and there are thousands of films shot with that aspect ratio.

[Adimondin]

I think 16:9 works just fine. At the end of the day there are tonnes of formats and 16:9 just seems like a good middle ground. The problem is that there is no standardised aspect ratio used in the movie industry, so it's up to the film maker to decide whether they go 2.35:1, 1.78:, 1.85:1 etc. The only way to show all these on a 16:9 screen is by adding black bars to keep the movie in the correct aspect ratio. Yes, you can zoom or stretch to fill the screen but i would rather this be the choice of the consumer (as it currently is) than to have all DVDs, Blu-rays come cropped and zoomed. I always watch things in the OAR.

You also have to remember that widescreen television programmes (including HD) have adopted 16:9 as their standard as well. Then you can add console games, which are all now designed for 16:9 screens too. It would be stupid for everyone to then go and adopt 2:35 screens now and completely screw all of the home viewing standards.

A bit of advice i gave all my friends when they were looking at buying new TVs, was to consider the fact that there wont be as much viewing area when watching most movies. This caused all of them to therefore go for larger screens than they originally planned on after realising they might be a bit small for 2.35:1 content.

[10traistintarry]

Nope it converts it to full screen.

Using highly advanced formatting technology, regular 16:9 content from sources such as TV broadcasts and games consoles is also adapted to fill the 21:9 screen. Which means it has to be stretched horizontally or cut off vertically, or a combination of both, regardless of how advanced the formatting technology is.

I personally prefer black bars over any form of stretching or image cut off. I'll always watch a 4:3 programme at 4:3 on a 16:9 screen for example.

[Diwokfkq]

There's one damned commercial that's like 5x louder than all the others.

Oh this is pissing me off so much! I hate it when you watch a movie and all of a sudden the commercials are like 10 times louder! Why do they do that?

What I also hate about (some) TV stations is, they show some movies in 4:3, even though they were filmed in widescreen, but the stupid commercials are shown in 16:9! WTF!!!! [cursing]

[Turbo-ip]

Maybe because the picture is bigger overall?

Anyway, I get the impression some people spend more time looking at the TV's apect ratio than actually watching the film. Even The Dark Knight's aspect ratio switching wasn't disruptive to my viewing, as I was too busy enjoying the film.

First, what?
Second, I just make sure I have 16:9 then I enjoy the movie. What's wrong with that?

[Adimondin]

Oh this is pissing me off so much! I hate it when you watch a movie and all of a sudden the commercials are like 10 times louder! Why do they do that?

To get your attention. The advert is bascally shouting at you incase you left the room to get a drink during the break.

[nithhysfusy]

To get your attention. The advert is bascally shouting at you incase you left the room to get a drink during the break.

I liken these commercials to telemarketers calling me during dinner. If you piss me off, I'm not buying your stuff.

[hablyShappY]

To get your attention. The advert is bascally shouting at you incase you left the room to get a drink during the break.

Actually, most ads are not louder than the feature programs... the smart cookies that produce the audio for these ads often use and accentuate frequency ranges which are more audible to the human ear, thus making them seem louder. This is becuase in many places it is actually illegal or against broadcast rules to have ads louder than the feature presentations. Films and TV shows may not seem as loud becuase they take a more realistic approach when re-producing real-world sound, and use a much wider variety of sounds which may or may not fall within the optimum hearing ranges.

[wsbizwsa]

Actually, most ads are not louder than the feature programs... the smart cookies that produce the audio for these ads often use and accentuate frequency ranges which are more audible to the human ear, thus making them seem louder. This is becuase in many places it is actually illegal or against broadcast rules to have ads louder than the feature presentations. Films and TV shows may not seem as loud becuase they take a more realistic approach when re-producing real-world sound, and use a much wider variety of sounds which may or may not fall within the optimum hearing ranges.

It actually boils down to the dialnorm metadata, or lack thereof. The commercials are pressed to the ceiling with dynamic range compression but on standard definition commercials they aren't required to have that information embedded. That information is read by the TV or audio processor to help normalize the levels between content. Which is why the most drastic difference in audio levels typically occurs when you are watching a HD show and then a local commercial comes blaring through.

[10traistintarry]

First, what?
Second, I just make sure I have 16:9 then I enjoy the movie. What's wrong with that?

First, I meant that when watching a 16:9 movie, as opposed to 2.35:1, the overall picture is bigger on a 16:9 TV (due to there being no black bars), so maybe that accounts for it "coming out of the screen". There is no other magical occurence that could make it do that better than a 2.35:1 picture.

Second, I'm not sure what you mean when you say you make sure you have 16:9, but I didn't say there was anything wrong with anything, but I was simply was pointing out that I think some people worry to much about the aspect ratio of what they're watching, rather than the actual content of the programme or film.

[nithhysfusy]

Actually, most ads are not louder than the feature programs... the smart cookies that produce the audio for these ads often use and accentuate frequency ranges which are more audible to the human ear, thus making them seem louder. This is becuase in many places it is actually illegal or against broadcast rules to have ads louder than the feature presentations. Films and TV shows may not seem as loud becuase they take a more realistic approach when re-producing real-world sound, and use a much wider variety of sounds which may or may not fall within the optimum hearing ranges.

Nah, its just this one damned commercial. I don't even remember what it's for, but I'll be in the kitchen grabbing some cracker n cheese and all the sudden I hear them screaming at me to buy something.

Sounds like exactly what mute said. The commercial is clearly an SD commercial upscaled to something resembling a puddle of vomit, and then its labeled as "HD".