Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Apect ratio = wide screen TV = sister upset

This is topic Apect ratio = wide screen TV = sister upset in forum The Afterlife at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 01-01-2011, 11:06 PM:

Hi Folks:

This has been covered before on the forum but it gave me a laugh and hopefully you also.

So I was at my sisters house for Christmas day and they were having a "That 70's Show" marathon on MTV.

The picture is streched out so everyone is fat. Since I was the only one watching, I "unsqueezed" the picture so it was at the 4:3 ratio.

So then my sister comes into the room and is upset and demanding to know "what I did to the TV!". I explained that because it was an older TV show that I was watching it in the proper ratio. She mumbled something about not understanding and insisted that I change it back when I'm done watching TV!

I just sort of laughed and finished watching the episode they were on.

Mike

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 01-01-2011, 11:08 PM:

People are stupid.

Take a picture of her. (Preferably one that shows her waistline.) Stretch it out the same as that tv was doing to the 70s show. Show her both pictures and ask which she prefers.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-01-2011, 11:35 PM:

Isn't there a setting on your TV which automatically changes the display based on the aspect ration of the incoming signal?

We just bought a new TV for my mother in law. It's a Vizio LED flat screen. It has an automatic mode like that.

Whenever the program is SD or 4:3 AR it shows the picture "pillarboxed" to the correct size with black borders on the sides. If it sees a Hi-Def picture it automatically fills the screen.

The only time it gets weird is when it sees a SD/4:3 picture that's been "letterboxed" to faux widescreen inside the 4:3 frame. You'll see a small image with black borders on all four sides. It looks weird but there isn't much you can do because some genius in the production studio F-ed up the picture.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 01-02-2011, 10:29 AM:

quote: Brad Miller
Take a picture of her. (Preferably one that shows her waistline.) Stretch it out the same as that tv was doing to the 70s show. Show her both pictures and ask which she prefers.

That is GENIUS.

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-02-2011, 12:20 PM:

quote: Randy Stankey
Isn't there a setting on your TV which automatically changes the display based on the aspect ration of the incoming signal?

I think you'll find that the OP was saying "I changed it to that setting and my sister got mad."

She wanted it to be set so that the picture filled the screen, even if it made people look totally messed up.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-02-2011, 12:29 PM:

God damn I hate stupid people. They want the image filled 100% at all times because they "paid for that screen and they want it to be used". I am blown away that people don't come running out of the auditorium when a letterboxed or pillarboxed trailer comes on.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 01-02-2011, 12:33 PM:

While we're all being judgmental about it:

Aspect Ratio

NOT -- Apect Ratio (thread title)
NOT -- Aspect Ration (Randy)

[Razz]

Posted by Rick Raskin (Member # 1561) on 01-02-2011, 12:36 PM:

And there are those networks that broadcast everything 16:9 on their HD channels. [thumbsdown]

And I know people that adjust their TVs to stretch mode and actually prefer it that way.

Brad is right!

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-02-2011, 01:32 PM:

CNN is particularly bad for stretching everything, even on their web site (what the hell?)

Perhaps they ran out of their rations. [Smile]

I think that when hiring a technician to do any sort of optical work at a movie theater, one should first visit said technician's home and throw some 4:3 content up on his screen. If he stretches it, do not hire the tech and blacklist him so that he never works in the industry again. Such a tech would have no issue with filing a scope aperture plate with the lens twisted a bit.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-02-2011, 01:43 PM:

We also have a Visio and I've got mine set to "panaramic" view where it just slightly stretches out the side to fill the screen yet keeps the majority of the center image in proper proportions.

Kinda like having a diopter in an anamorphic lens to correct the squeeze distortion on closeup shots ..

-Monte

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-02-2011, 01:45 PM:

quote: Joe Redifer
I am blown away that people don't come running out of the auditorium when a letterboxed or pillarboxed trailer comes on.

I had that happen once. But he wasn't "complaining" just asking if there was something wrong because the picture wasn't all the way to the sides.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 01-02-2011, 03:03 PM:

Saw a movie at the AMC Shirlington in VA over the holidays. All of the pre-show video irratainment was in squish and stretch vision. I'm sure everyone felt right at home, or in an upscale hotel. Thankfully, the feature was on film and they had the correct lens.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 01-02-2011, 04:32 PM:

One day I arrived at the theater back when we were showing MILK to do some technical work or something. It was a flat movie sharing the screen with a scope movie. The assistant manager was running MILK with the scope lens and masking, having neglected to change either and not noticing when he started. Fortunately he walked off the job about a year ago, but what was really interesting to me is that nobody in the audience complained as they were sitting there watching everything all stretched out. Granted, there weren't that many people and it was a weeknight. Also it was still within reel 1 or 2 and I quickly switched it. I bet people would have complained before the advent of 16:9 TVs.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 01-02-2011, 05:23 PM:

Why wasn't she complaining about paying for MTV and not getting MUSIC on it 24/7?

I've been to restaurants that had widescreen TVs on stretch mode- I never leave a tip when they do that [Wink]

Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 01-02-2011, 06:31 PM:

Was at one of my relative’s house over Christmas. Soon after settling down to watch Christmas Eve TV soon became obvious that something was up. Her TV was on some setting called 'Cinema 1'. What this did was take the 16:9 image and zoom it equally on both the top and sides. So you are watching a 16:9 image (from a 16:9 broadcast) but you are missing some of both the width and height of the original image. Changing the TV over to the 'Wide' setting restored it to normality. Wonder what function this 'Cinema 1' setting is supposed to have?

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 01-02-2011, 09:25 PM:

That's probably for when a 16x9 station shows a 4x3 program with black side bars- the TV crops that to 4x3 then stretches it out. Isn't that ingenious?

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 01-03-2011, 09:33 PM:

Folks:

Glad you're enjoying the thread.

Mike

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 01-03-2011, 10:08 PM:

Mike,

It's a fabulous thread. Well done!!! Do you have any more?

Posted by Aaron Garman (Member # 1653) on 01-03-2011, 10:37 PM:

quote:
I was actually told by a video chain spokesman that widescreen (''letterboxed'') versions were not stocked in some stores because some customers complained, and the clerks did not have sufficient knowledge to explain the logic of letterboxing. My opinion is that (a) anyone who actually works in a video store and does not understand letterboxing has given up on life, and (b) any customer who prefers to have the sides of a movie hacked off should not be licensed to operate a video player.

Roger Ebert

AJG

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 01-03-2011, 10:43 PM:

I'm just waiting for all these kids, who are watching sesame street today, to grow up not knowing the difference between a square and a rectangle, or a circle and an oval.

It's gonna be great! [thumbsup]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 01-03-2011, 10:59 PM:

While lots of people these days get a poor education, people not understanding differences of geometric figures is definitely not a new phenomenon. For instance, lots of people my age (I'm 30 btw), older, and younger have no idea that a square is a rectangle.

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 01-06-2011, 06:59 PM:

A few months ago, I set up a new flatscreen for my 95 year old neighbor. I've kept her in TV's for years.

She just sat there watching me work, and when it was over, she was flipping channels, and landed on I Love Lucy, and immediately noticed how WIDE the Ricardo living room looked on this wide screen TV. Her son, not the brightest bulb in the box, said he couldn't see any difference. So, I set up the set for automatic screen ratio, and other than the black borders on the sides of the screen, she was thoroughly happy with this new set. She understands how 4x3 TV worked, as compared to 16x9.

I wish other folks would let me adjust their sets. I hate seeing stretched images!

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 01-07-2011, 11:03 PM:

quote: Monte L Fullmer
We also have a Visio and I've got mine set to "panaramic" view where it just slightly stretches out the side to fill the screen yet keeps the majority of the center image in proper proportions.

My friend has a set that does that -- it's passable until something moves or the camera pans, then it looks like that barrel distortion that early CinemaScope anamorphics had. I remember there is a train shot in ANASTASIA (Brynner & Bergman - 1955?) and it is framed so it passes cross the screen; it looks like you are looking at it in a circus funny mirror. Much worse though is when a talking head news anchor is in the middle of the screen and the camera shifts over so they can insert a graphic on the side, and his (her -- they are mostly women now) head gets wildly stretched and not even linearly, but the side closest to the screen edge looks like it got run over by a bulldoser. Very funny, actually.

quote: Joe Redifer
God damn I hate stupid people. They want the image filled 100% at all times because they "paid for that screen and they want it to be used

OK Joe, but those are civilians -- they have an excuse. What's much more scary is when the people in the industry who should know better do it. Like House of the Rodent -- when they released FANTASIA in the 50s, they took an Academy ratio original and stretched it to fill the new CinemaScope screen (they used SuperScope instead of CinemaScope so they could screw Zanuck out of Fox's royalty). So there's not a circle to be found. Can you imagine? All those oval bubbles in Dance of the Hours and the oval sun in Rite of Spring. At least they didn't stretch the live action -- just the two hours of animation ruined by this idiotic penchant to REALLY EEF THINGS UP for everyone else. So stupid is an equal opportunity A-hole.