***** Big Big Changes for HD Cinema*****ALL MOVIES in OAR all the time

[RAJH]

Okay, another month has passed since I asked this question. Where are all the OAR movies? I refuse to watch most this cropped crap.

"As of September, we show all new titles in their original aspect ratio. all new additions to the lineup will be presented as they were originally intended. Going back to the titles that have already been transferred we will make a decision since there is a big expense involved in doing this."

 

[Sean Mota]

While I understand you concern about the OAR movies. Not every movie in VOOM is cropped. Most of the movies on VOOM are 1:85:1 OAR. So these are not cropped. I am putting together a list of movies of their entire library before October and after October 2004. I really want to see what is the ratio of 1:85:1 movies shown on VOOM. Is it more than 50% or is it 80%?

How about 1:33:1, 1:37:1 & 2:35:1 movies? Yes these are the ones that can be cropped and looked very awful. I agree that you will find very few in the early stages of Voom that were OAR but it is not yet every movie but HD Cinema has been showing some in OAR. For example:

A Chorus Line - a 2:35:1 OAR was played OAR.
Places in the Heart - a 1:37:1 OAR was played OAR.
Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein - a 1:33:1 OAR was played OAR.
I Confess - a 1:37:1 OAR was played OAR.
The Omen Legacy (doc) - a 1:33:1 was played OAR.
John Carpenter (doc) - a 1:33:1 was played OAR.
Fighter (doc) -a 1:33:1 was played OAR.
American Nightmare -a 1:33:1 was played OAR.

Yes, it is understandable that the movies that fall within this AR are not all OAR but quite frankly there hasn't been too many.

How about 1:66:1 or 1:75:1?

There are a few of these and there's very little difference in showing these 1:85:1 or in its OAR? As a matter of fact, 1:85:1 does not make much a difference.

In summary, I expect more of the 1:33:1, 1:37:1 & 2:35:1 movies to be shown OAR in the future. I am not making an excuse here because I also want these OAR. When I am ready to show some numbers I expect that the number of movies with 1:85:1 AR will exceed the others by quite a substancial number and maybe the 1:33:1, 1:37:1 & 2:35:1 movies are only around 10%. That is my hypothesis and I have yet to prove it but I am getting there. So not everything is cropped in HD Cinema is what I am trying to show. The statement that everything in HD Cinema is cropped is a fallacy.

 

[voomvoom]

I've seen some of these movies recently. I thought Voom was upconverting them like the local stations do with their programming. I see I was wrong in my thinking "Voom Lies" about always HD, always 1080i for their exclusive channels. Now, I see Voom was showing them in OAR.

 

[barth2k]

What I'm unhappy about is Voom teased us with an impressive bunch of kung fu selection *in the PG* way back in Sept. Since then, they've shown like 5, and 2-3 of them not terribly compelling docs on Bruce Lee.

Oh I'm still waiting for Kurosawa's Ran.

 

[RAJH]

I agree that some are not cropped but the majority are. I will not be happy until the majority are not cropped.

Heavily cropped movies are easy to spot and usually have a claustrophobic feel to them. I often begin watching a movie in Letterbox only to have it snap to fit the screen after the credits roll. As soon as I spot a cropped movie I turn it off.

I am curious to learn what percent of movies are being cropped. My guess is at least 85%.

 

[Sean Mota]

I am curious to learn what percent of movies are being cropped. My guess is at least 85%.

Me too. This is why I am going to count them (based on what it is documented on the forum) before October 2004 and after October 2004. It will be interested to see those percentages either way.

 

[DarrellP]

This is bad, I know it's not HD, but I have to tell this story: I never watch SD programming, but tonight I was lured into watching Apocalypse Now on AMC, one of my all time favorite movies. I was thinking it would at least be shown in a widescreen format, but no, it was 4:3 and to top it off, they were playing the movie faster than normal, I guess to make up time since it's so long. I saw this movie in the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood the week it opened and I am intimately familiar with the Doors song "The End", so when it started with the choppers swooshing by and the song starting up, I could immediately tell it was fast. This is shameful programming and should not be allowed to happen. Blast you, AMC, I will NEVER watch another show on your pitiful network.

Imagine if AMC went HD and tried to pull this crap? Would you complain? I damn sure would.

On the topic of OAR, Voom recently showed a movie (sorry, don't remember the title), but for you purists, it was shown in a 4:3 format and I later read on AVSForum that it was filmed in an open matte format and that the widescreen version cropped the top off, so I guess for all intents and purposes, it was OAR even though it was 4:3.

 

[compson]

"I Confess" is on again today, in glorious black and white and glorious 4:3 OAR. My reaction to the movie may be a product of low expectations (it's considered subpar Hitchcock), but I enjoyed it. Pre-accident Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden. Good flick.

 

[Threv]

I guess that goes to show that not all old movies are 16x9 (We just think they are) Another good example of this is the Original Disney Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. OAR is 4x3 but when the DVD came out there was howling on the DVD boards about the aspect ratio!

 

[DarrellP]

Now I remember the movie, it was "Chasers" with Erika Eliniak. Voom showed it in 4:3 because it was filmed open matte. I checked the DVD and it does state that on the cover.

 

[Sean Mota]

So was it ok to show it 4:3 or not, DarrellP?

 

[DarrellP]

So was it ok to show it 4:3 or not, DarrellP?

Sure, it was the OAR of the movie and it looked very crisp. I would rather see it the way it was shot than butchered and the sharpness messed up as seems to happen when a 2.35 movie is cropped to 1.78.

 

[MNHTUG]

Anyone note OAR on Omega Man? I watched it the other night. Looked good but when the movie starts you will see 2.35:1 during the credits (small black bars above and below on my 16x9 screen) then aspect ratio moves to 1.85:1 (fills my 16x9 screen). Does this mean they did not transfer in OAR?

EDIT: I see that this has already been commented on HERE by Sean Mota. Maybe this was an early transfer? Thanks Sean

 

[Sean Mota]

Yes, that's what it means. It was not OAR.

 

[DarrellP]

I noticed that too, but it still looked very good.

 

[Bruce]

I noticed that too, but it still looked very good.

Did you see it when it was on HDNet-Movies a few months ago, looked damn good, almost how Towering Inferno looked when it was on, real super sharp and almost 3-D like, and of course OAR.

 

[DarrellP]

I missed it on HDNET Movies. They do have a great PQ and always OAR.