Can someone explain this cropping vs. OAR issue?

[sjpvt]

Hi,
I am an HDTV newbie (in fact, my new HDTV is arriving Monday ). Anyway, I have seen quite a bit of dicsussion on here regarding VOOM cropping some HD movies, as opposed to showing them in OAR. Does OAR stand for "original aspect ratio?" I am not sure if I understand the point of cropping these movies. Aren't these movies in an aspect ratio when shown in theaters that is essentially the same as HD format (16:9)? What does Starz accomplish by cropping?

 

[CAJUNCLICKER]

Depending on how the film was shot, the aspect ratio could be wider than 16:9. If you ever see a DVD that states "Enhanced for Widescreen" that means that they cropped the movie to fit. If you also look at the back of a DVD you'll see the actual ratio in relation to 1. 16:9 is = 1.78 Some movies are above 2.0

 

[sjpvt]

Ah....I see. Then if a movie has an original ratio of 2, in order to avoid cropping it on a 16:9 HD display, they would have to have black stripes on top and bottom. Is that correct?

 

[Sean Mota]

Yes