So I DVR "Die Hard"

[Chinatown]

on HBO.............Figuring it will be in the proper aspect ratio ( 2.35/1).

Go to watch it and lo and behold...............its filled to fit my screen?.

Is this just a singular instance, or is this what they always do?



I welcome your responses...............

 

[NightRyder]

on HBO.............Figuring it will be in the proper aspect ratio ( 2.35/1).

Go to watch it and lo and behold...............its filled to fit my screen?.

Is this just a singular instance, or is this what they always do?



I welcome your responses...............

Pretty much SOP for HBO-HD.

NightRyder

 

[Sammy033]

Pretty much SOP for HBO-HD.

NightRyder

Dont they occasionally do OAR for certain movies? Perhaps I am thinking of another channel.

 

[tempVAdish]

I bought the trilogy on dvd last year for about $15. But I guess you're like me, I still watch 'em on TV just because they're there

 

[NightRyder]

Dont they occasionally do OAR for certain movies? Perhaps I am thinking of another channel.

Once in a while but they are the exception.

NightRyder

 

[ripnbigc]

About the only movies I've seen in OAR on HBO are the Star Wars movies.

 

[JohnL]

About the only movies I've seen in OAR on HBO are the Star Wars movies.

Rip,

Correct and probably only because Lucas required the HD airing to be OAR.

George Lucas usually gets what he wants.

I grow more and more annoyed at the Anti-OAR people. I don't need my screen filled to the top and bottom of the screen.

I, as well as most TRUE movie lovers want to the see that Film as it was shot, not some lame Pan and Scan format. There are thousands of movies where the PAN and SCAN version ruins a Films original scope and or understanding of those scene(s). Three Prime Examples of Pan and Scan ruining a movie, Road to Perdition, Blade Runner, Apocalypse Now.

There are Thousands of other movies ruined by Pan and Scan as well. If the Pan and Scan removes or alters the meaning of the film then the Directors vision and that Movies experience is RUINED for the viewer.

Whats annoying is that most newer Digital TV's have the ability to allow a viewer to crop the movie to fill the screen, since that is the case then why not show the Movie or Show in its Original Aspect Ratio for the those that like it they get what they want and the others that can't stand the "Black Bars" they can use their STB or Television to zoom or crop the image to fill their screen. Viola, Everybody is happy.

The bottomline is that without broadcasting in OAR you cut all those fans of OAR out of the equation.

 

[ripnbigc]

I agree totally. Even when I had a 4:3 tv and VHS, I always bought the OAR versions of movies. Pan and Scan ranks right up there with colorization.

 

[Sammy033]

Whats annoying is that most newer Digital TV's have the ability to allow a viewer to crop the movie to fill the screen, since that is the case then why not show the Movie or Show in its Original Aspect Ratio for the those that like it they get what they want and the others that can't stand the "Black Bars" they can use their STB or Television to zoom or crop the image to fill their screen. Viola, Everybody is happy.

Thats the part that bugs me. Let the people decide what they want to do. I can only think that the stations that dont do OAR think that the majority of people are too stupid to know how to do it. Unfortunately, maybe in some ways they are right.

 

[skottey]

I agree totally. Even when I had a 4:3 tv and VHS, I always bought the OAR versions of movies. Pan and Scan ranks right up there with colorization.

Growing up in the 80's and early 90's, I rented a lot of VHS tapes from the non-chain movie store (no Blockbuster in my small town). I used to record the movies in LP or SLP mode on my own blank tapes, fitting two to four movies on a 4-6 hour tape. It seemed like everything was pan and scan, and even as a child born in the 70's and 10 years old in 1985, I knew the black bars meant the movie was special, and the way the makers intended it. I remember renting my first widescreen movie on VHS, "Innerspace." I was in love with the true aspect ratio. Like I said, I'd record these movies, 2-4 to a tape, and get the grainy lines and all. Having that true aspect ratio meant so much more to me than even the quality of the recording at the time.

Ahh... the memories... momma used to be out at the bar and I was 12 years old home alone watching all the R rated movies I wanted, building my own library that I would rent out to my friends in middle school.

Having that said, I too don't need my screen filled. I prefer the OAR as well. Currently, I subscribe to HBO, and as I type this I have Blood Diamond (crappy movie as I expected with Leo's horribly phony accent) on in the background on HBO HD that is cropped to fit 16x9. HBO is horrible about pan and scan. They just assume that their viewers want the screen filled. I can't even watch the 14 or so multichannels of HBO (not to mention Cinemax) that are standard def with the black bars on the sides but not the top. If I paid anymore than $10/month for HBO and Cinemax, I'd probably drop them over this P&S crap.

Showtime is better about this. Even on their standard def channels like Showtime Beyond, they air many things in the OAR.

I think all of these channels should maintain the proper aspect ratio, especially the HD variations. This pan and scan crap is getting so old!

 

[Hall]

Thats the part that bugs me. Let the people decide what they want to do. I can only think that the stations that dont do OAR think that the majority of people are too stupid to know how to do it. Unfortunately, maybe in some ways they are right.

The problem is, too many viewers are idiots. Remember, 50+% of HDTV owners hook their new TVs up to analog cable and completely believe that they've got HD. If they read their TV's owners manual, they'd know that they're not. Since they don't read their manual, they don't know what the majority of the buttons on their remote do. All they know is Power On/Off, Chan Up/Down, Vol Up/Down and a few more.