DVDizzy Forum

When I first got a DVD player, between 2003 and 2006 I was buying Fullscreen DVDs because I thought the black bars on the top and bottom of my little 20" screen were annoying. After about a few years I decided that Widescreen was better and I learned to ignore the black bars. For Christmas I got a 32" Widescreen HDTV and now the black bars aren't an issue anymore for obvious reasons - they're not there anymore. I was considering trading in all the Fullscreen DVDs I have and buying them used in their Widescreen formats. I only have about 10 (give or take a few), and since they came out between 2003 and 2006 it won't be expensive at all. I was just wondering what everyone else thinks.

If anyone would like me to post the list of movies then that works too, I know some people will probably want to know which movies they are before deciding.

Yeah you should. It's a wise choice (but there are some acceptions).

Almost all my fullscreen DVD's are movies that haven't been re-released in widescreen (Innocent Blood, I Madman, Final Analysis, Nothing but Trouble).

If it's something you want to do. I'm very money-cautious (I already was with groceries and things, but even more so now with everything- see my long post in the Babble thread for more info. ), so if what you trade the fullscreen DVDs for covers almost the whole cost of the widescreen ones, then I'd say, sure, go for it. I have the fullscreen edition of The Princess Diaries because Circuit City had no other copies but this one and it was a good price, but I would rather the widescreen version, but it does for now- when I watch a movie, I don't focus on, "Oh, no, it's in fullscreen"...I mean, initially I might be like, ugh, it's not in its OAR, but I just get caught up in the stories, so it's not a huge deal to me.

Just use your discretion. If it's something you feel like you'd like to do and you won't feel bad spending your money on the upgrade, and you feel like it's a good investment, then go for it.

Well it can get sort of annoying because DVDs that are in Widescreen fit the TV perfectly and everything looks proportionate. But Fullscreen DVDs look so stretched out and everyone looks fat . I decided that maybe I'll only get rid of a few of the Fullscreen ones, like the movies I really like (like She's The Man, Bringing Down The House, 50 First Dates and The Simpsons Movie) and buy them in Widescreen. I saw 50 First Dates Widescreen in my Wal Mart's $5 bin so that's pretty much already taken care of. The reason I have The Simpsons Movie in Fullscreen is because I got it for Christmas and I didn't see Fullscreen on the packaging because it's so tiny and I didn't notice until I actually opened it.

I say go for it. But, don't forget you can always change the picture ratio on your TV when you play 4:3 fullscreen movies (it will give you black bars on the sides of the screen instead of top/bottom), and will squeeze everything back into shape.

Cordy_Biddle wrote:I say go for it. But, don't forget you can always change the picture ratio on your TV when you play 4:3 fullscreen movies (it will give you black bars on the sides of the screen instead of top/bottom), and will squeeze everything back into shape.

Thanks, I knew that I could do that on my TV, I just don't want to because then it looks weird and after a while the black pillars

-(yes, those things look monstrous when you're watching a fullscreen DVD on a widescreen TV)-

get on my nerves after a while!

What do you do for things that were actually filmed in fullscreen? Like Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, etc.

Not to try to tell you what to do, but since you asked for our advice, if you stretch those too, I would STRONGLY reccomend trying to get used to the pillarbox bars so you can see things in their correct shape, the way they were meant to be seen. (The same way you got used to the letterbox bars on a 4:3 TV.) You could always pretend that the bars represent the end of your tv and that you are watching these made-in-fullscreen films on a fullscreen tv - there's certainly nothing wrong with that, and to me it would be preferable than the shapes being all distorted!

For me, black bars never bother me. I watch in complete darkness like in a movie theatre so I'm not really conscious of them anyway.

Black bars (vertical or horozontal) never bothered me--even when I used to watch widescreen films on my teeny tiny old regular TV.

Definitely get rid of the full screen and get widescreen (well, assuming that widescreen is the original aspect ration )

I'm fortunate in that I learned how horrible full screen ("non-original aspect ratio" in most cases) is, and thus never had to rebuy a movie to get it in its original aspect ratio.

David S. wrote:What do you do for things that were actually filmed in fullscreen? Like Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, etc.

Not to try to tell you what to do, but since you asked for our advice, if you stretch those too, I would STRONGLY reccomend trying to get used to the pillarbox bars so you can see things in their correct shape, the way they were meant to be seen. (The same way you got used to the letterbox bars on a 4:3 TV.) You could always pretend that the bars represent the end of your tv and that you are watching these made-in-fullscreen films on a fullscreen tv - there's certainly nothing wrong with that, and to me it would be preferable than the shapes being all distorted!

For me, black bars never bother me. I watch in complete darkness like in a movie theatre so I'm not really conscious of them anyway.

Well for films and TV DVDs that I own that are only in fullscreen I just make do, because I know that that's the way they were produced. When I'm watching a movie that was filmed in widescreen and has been released that way but on the fullscreen edition DVD, in the back of my mind I know it's not the way it was filmed and I just feel like something about those fullscreen presentation feels...off (maybe the fact that it's a zoomed in image and only a percentage of what was actually filmed?)

Well that's good! If the rest of your fullscreen DVDs that you are considering upgrading were filmed in widescreen, than I would definitely agree with the others and say go for the widescreen!

If any of the DVDs in question are animated films that were filmed in fullscreen but matted to widescreen in theatres and on the newer DVD releases (ie, Jungle Book, Aristocats, Robin Hood) - I would recommend getting the widescreen if you are interested in the theatrical ratio and/or filling your screen and/or better bonus features, but still hanging on to the fullscreen version to have a version that preserves the entire image as it was drawn and filmed.

Lazario wrote:Almost all my fullscreen DVD's are movies that haven't been re-released in widescreen (...Nothing but Trouble).

I've been wanting to get that, but I keep seeing the full-screen.

I was thinking that one may have been originally released on widescreen DVD, like The Last Action Hero...

Get rid of the fullscreen if there is a ws available.

I wouldn't. I'm not going to update any of my fullscreen DVDs with widescreen DVDs, but I might get a Blu-Ray of them once I eventually get a Blu-Ray player in the next few years. Used DVDs don't appeal to me due to them being more prone to being scratched up.

DisneyFreak5282 wrote:When I first got a DVD player, between 2003 and 2006 I was buying Fullscreen DVDs because I thought the black bars on the top and bottom of my little 20" screen were annoying. After about a few years I decided that Widescreen was better and I learned to ignore the black bars. For Christmas I got a 32" Widescreen HDTV and now the black bars aren't an issue anymore for obvious reasons - they're not there anymore. I was considering trading in all the Fullscreen DVDs I have and buying them used in their Widescreen formats. I only have about 10 (give or take a few), and since they came out between 2003 and 2006 it won't be expensive at all. I was just wondering what everyone else thinks.

If anyone would like me to post the list of movies then that works too, I know some people will probably want to know which movies they are before deciding.

That's not necessarily true. There are movies shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio, which is wider than your television. To be able to show that properly on a widescreen tv, there are bars added on the top and bottom. So those would still have black bars.
But since we're only talking about ten dvds here, I would do it. You're getting the preferred aspect ratio of the filmmakers that way.

I can't believe there is still a market large enough to justify paying someone to do pan and scan jobs on DVDs still. Do companies still think kids don't like "black bars"? Is there any research to back up this statement?

Almost 1/3 of US homes now have HD TVs, Widescreen laptops/computer and portable DVD players are made, Widescreen TV, even for children's programing, is made now a days. Who could possibly demand to have their 4:3 sets filled?

Flanger-Hanger wrote:Who could possibly demand to have their 4:3 sets filled?

Idiots

rexcrk wrote:

Flanger-Hanger wrote:Who could possibly demand to have their 4:3 sets filled?

Idiots

True, but just how many idiots out there still exist, given the widespread education regarding aspect ratios and films? This isn't 2000 any more.

Flanger-Hanger wrote:

rexcrk wrote: Idiots

True, but just how many idiots out there still exist, given the widespread education regarding aspect ratios and films? This isn't 2000 any more.

I don't think it will ever go away, I still see a topic about that appear on other boards too frequently. In fact, with Blu-ray it has become even worse, with a lot of people complaining about soft images or grain in the picture. They reason that if they paid a couple of hundred dollars for a television, they should get the ultra clear, screen filling picture they want apparently.