Widescreen vs Full Screen

camsmom · Post by **camsmom** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:07 am

I am pretty new to collecting dvd's. Is there any real reason to getting a Widescreen version vs a Full Screen version besides preference? My mom heard something about high definition tv's being better with wide screen. Of course we don't have one, but as they go down in price may one day have one.
Is this true?
Any other pros and cons?

wizzer · Post by **wizzer** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 9:31 am

if you ever get a high definition tv you will definately want widescreen dvds. and full screen is usualy a cropped version of the complete film. see the section called stop pan and scan (or something like that) on the front page. someone might have a link to explain the topic a little better. you pretty much asked a question that is the main topic of concern on upcoming dvd releases for most dvd collectors. if i was anticipating one of my favorite releases and it turned out to be a full screen pan and scan version, i would be pissed.

Post by **Luke** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:02 pm

Yes, you should always get widescreen if the option exists, since that's the ratio the film was framed for and theatrically shown in. Why would you want to pay the same amount for a version that cuts out some of the picture?

Jack · Post by **Jack** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 3:53 pm

Luke, did you ever know that you're my hero?

wizzer · Post by **wizzer** » Wed Mar 03, 2004 4:20 pm

Luke wrote:Yes, you should always get widescreen if the option exists, since that's the ratio the film was framed for and theatrically shown in. Why would you want to pay the same amount for a version that cuts out some of the picture?

and then it starts getting confusing when your talking about open matte full screen films so thats why i was trying to get you to post the link to you pan and scan page. and also, i'm starting to notice a trend that some people might not be aware of, and that is taking a film that is 2.35:1 oar and cropping it to 1.78:1 so that the animorphic image fits perfectly on someones widescreen tv with out the bars on the top and bottom. which doesn't bother most widescreen set owners scince it caters to them. but i own a projector with a very large screen that is native 4:3 so a movie that is cropped from 2.35:1 to 1.78:1 bothers me because i prefer movies that are the wider 2.35:1 aspect ratio. to me animorphic cropped 1.78:1 is almost as bad as pan and scan. hbo hd is doing this to alot of films and now i've seen the trend spill over into the dvd world.

MickeyMouseboy · Post by **MickeyMouseboy** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 8:59 am

Why would someone want a Open Matte of a movie? Widescreen still the Director's cut. Studio use this for Home Video ease oh well!

wizzer · Post by **wizzer** » Fri Mar 05, 2004 9:14 am

MickeyMouseboy wrote:Why would someone want a Open Matte of a movie? Widescreen still the Director's cut. Studio use this for Home Video ease oh well!

although i prefer widescreen, if a dvd gets released open matte fullscreen thats better than pan and scan because on my projector i can matte off the tops and bottoms of movies myself using a little thing i made myself. thus cropping off the top and bottom bringing it back to OAR. i have qiute a few dvds that are open matte. so while i wouldn't want an open matte dvd, it's better than pan and scan and i would still go get the dvd.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Sat Mar 06, 2004 2:30 pm

The only reason I can see anyone ever buying a pan & scan over a widescreen is if there TV is like 9" or less... you may see more of the picture, but you often can't afford to lose half the screen to black bars, regardless. My friend's TV is like that, and that's the argument she makes for full screen (for very small TVs only)

-Aaron

Grunches · Post by **Grunches** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 12:32 am

I usally get the widescreen. But when I Buy the Disney movies do they usally come in widescreen (antimated classics)?

buffalobill · Post by **buffalobill** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 11:01 am

Grunches wrote:I usally get the widescreen. But when I Buy the Disney movies do they usally come in widescreen (antimated classics)?

Most (if not all) of the animated classics have been released in widescreen (though some not anamorphic) except for the early ones (pre Lady & The Tramp). For those the full frame is the OAR.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:49 pm

Right. Be sure to remember that OAR is really the important thing, not widescreen or foolscreen.

-Aaron

Grunches · Post by **Grunches** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:20 pm

Why is OAR so important? What is it

Tangela · Post by **Tangela** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:24 pm

Grunches wrote:Why is OAR so important? What is it

I suppose that these people want the original film, when the produccion team format a widescreen film into full frame, it is like removing precious parts from the movie, sorta like editing, which is something I despite when they do.

Grunches · Post by **Grunches** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:52 pm

Oh so Oar and widescreen are about the same?

Tangela · Post by **Tangela** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:57 pm

Grunches wrote:Oh so Oar and widescreen are about the same?

I think so... Maybe I shouln've said anything... I'm probably wrong like usual...

Post by **Luke** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 9:11 pm

OAR is Original Aspect Ratio.

For films like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Dumbo, Fantasia, and Peter Pan, the OAR is 1.37:1 Academy Ratio, and thus the 1.33:1 'Fullscreen' DVD presentation is not only acceptable, but a must.

For more recent films, OAR is typically 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 widescreen.

Original Aspect Ratio essentially refers to the ratio a film is theatrically framed for.

Sethp · Post by **Sethp** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 3:11 pm

Here you can see a quite few examples where they compare the OAR widescreen version with the chopped full screen versions.

http://www.widescreen.org/examples.shtml

Yes all the picrures are true, you really miss out on that much information!

MickeyMousePal · Post by **MickeyMousePal** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 1:00 pm

Widescreen or Fullscreen what's the difference.

I like Fullscreen the end.

AwallaceUNC · Post by **AwallaceUNC** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 2:33 pm

MMP - that was a joke, right? I think so, but you can never be quite sure on here, so I wanted to make sure.

-Aaron

MickeyMousePal · Post by **MickeyMousePal** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 4:05 pm

awallaceunc Wrote

MMP - that was a joke, right? I think so, but you can never be quite sure on here, so I wanted to make sure.

-Aaron

Fullscreen all the way no joke!

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