Author Topic: Topics on widescreen letterbox - anamorphic, aspect ratio, matted, etc.  (Read 23061 times)

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Offline LokeyMD

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anamorphic vs non-anamorphic transfer..... What's the difference when I read that both are widescreen transfer? If so, how do you distinguish one from the other?? TNX

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« Last Edit: Jan 30, 2003 at 12:21 PM by Kahon »

Offline moz

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Re: anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #1 on: Apr 04, 2001 at 11:00 AM »
widescreen should have an aspect ratio of 1.85 while anamorphic 2.35, although i've seen dvds that claim to be anamorphic but still is 1.85.

widescreen is done by cropping the frame, while anamorphic is done not only by cropping the frame, but by using a lens that squeezes the horizontal dimension to accomodate a wider aspect ratio, which has to be projected (film) by using an appropriate lens- otherwise, the image will be thinner than usual, such as some chinese kung-fu films, and some films squeezed to fit on your tv.
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline benny

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Re: anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #2 on: Apr 04, 2001 at 12:12 PM »
Firstly, you would not really discern a visual difference if you have a standard 4:3 TV. A widescreen transfer (as against pan and scan) will still be displayed as  "letterboxed" on a 4:3 TV set whether it is labelled  as plain "widescreen", "enhanced for widescreen TVs" , or "anamorphic widescreen."

If you have a Widescreen or 16:9 tv set, then you should always get the anamorphic dvd (labelled "enhanced for widescreen TVs", "anamorphic widescreen") and not just the plainly labelled "widescreen" dvd which may not be anamorphic.  Basically because anamorphic dvds
look better - 33% more vertical detail!!

Now why should we care to buy anamorphic dvds if we have standard 4:3 tvs?
a couple of reasons : they look better on computer monitors, there is that vertical squeeze trick on some 4:3 tvs that you can do if you're so inclined and lastly, most importantly, hey, in the future you might get a widescreen tv or they might become commonplace!  :)

Some great links:
  • World's Easiest Explanation of Anamorphic:


http://gregl.net/videophile/anamorphic.htm

  • Jim Taylor's excellent FAQs:

 
http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.5

  • another one:


http://www.dvdangle.com/dvd_tech/explanation/ar_comparison.html

[/list]
« Last Edit: Apr 13, 2004 at 02:13 AM by benny »

Offline Komikero

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Re: anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #3 on: Apr 04, 2001 at 08:46 PM »
I believe DVDs can still be 1:1.85 and can still be anamorphic. You'll know if it's anamorphic if you can stretch the image vertically in your DVD or TV.

Mystery Men is 1:1.85 and it's anamorphic. So is Baron Muchausen.

1:1.85 is simply the ratio that the director choose to use.

Offline benny

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Re: anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #4 on: Apr 05, 2001 at 01:10 AM »
I know the terms might be a little confusing especially when we talk about aspect ratios, etc...
with regard to the dvds however, the term anamorphic refers to an encoding process not an aspect ratio.  Yes, it's a bit of a misnomer.
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline bently

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #5 on: Apr 11, 2001 at 09:28 AM »
one advantage of anamorphic dvd's is when you try the "zoom in" feature of your dvd player
non-anamorphic dvds will tend to pixellate right away as compared to anamorphic dvd's when you zoom in 8)
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.·´ `·. . .·´ `·. . ><((((º> .·´ `·. . .·´ `·. . .
·. . .·´ `·. . .><((((º>.·´ `·. . .·´ `·. . .·´ `·. .

Offline moz

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #6 on: Apr 14, 2001 at 09:12 AM »
Benny: "I know the terms might be a little confusing especially when we talk about aspect ratios, etc...
with regard to the dvds however, the term anamorphic refers to an encoding process not an aspect ratio.  Yes, it's a bit of a misnomer."
-no wonder i couldn't reconcile the meanings of anamorphic and widescreen when used on film viz. dvd
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline moz

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #7 on: Apr 14, 2001 at 09:19 AM »
benny: i haven;t checked out the sites, but from what i gather, letterbox transfers would have less resolution compared to anamorphic ones, given that the aspect ratio is 2.35?
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline benny

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #8 on: Apr 14, 2001 at 12:11 PM »
First of all, I think you're referring to "Cinemascope" or "Panavision" (Anamorphic Widescreen) when you say "anamorphic ones, given that the aspect ratio is 2.35"; I would assume you mean this as "Cinemascope" really has this as its aspect ratio (2.35:1)  BUT this pertains to the way the film was shot. Using same size 35mm film, using special anamorphic lens, "squeezing" the film then "unsqueezing" it thru a projector with a similar anamorphic lens...etc  

However,in the Anamorphic DVD Process (converting film to dvd), the original aspect ratio could be "2.35:1 or 1.85:1 or some other widescreen aspect ratio ; then the image is converted to an image with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio."

So, let's just make that clear and out of the way, ok ? :)


Back to your question, yes, Anamorphic transfers would have more resolution than non-anamorphic ones. Let's not say letterbox, since letterbox is just a "presentation" of widescreen films (films with aspect ratios of say , 1.66:1, 1.85:1, and 2.35:1 , bigger than the standard tv's aspect ratio of 1.33:1) hence the black bars.


Offline weddingsingr

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #9 on: Jun 07, 2001 at 06:27 AM »
Here is my layman's explanation and differentiation.

Anamorphic - pumapayat ang mga character kasi pinilit ikasya sa screen mo ang dapat nasa wide screen.

1.85:1 - On a regular-sized TV, there are no black margins on top and bottom of the TV screen.

2.35:1 - On a regular-sized TV, there are medium-sized black margins on top and bottom of the TV screen.

Non-anamorphic - On a regular-sized TV, there are large-sized black margins on top and bottom of the TV screen.  Medyo naiinis ka na sa laki ng black margins kasi ang laki ng niliit ng palabas.


« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline gonz

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #10 on: Jun 14, 2001 at 03:21 PM »
Anamorphic, non-anamorphic, widescreen, letterboxed, panned-and-scanned...

...all of these are soon to be rendered obsolete!  Click below to learn about the new FlikFX Digital Recomposition System for widescreen film to video transfer.  This is the greatest advance in entertainment in 57 years!  This will blow all the other methods out of the water!


FlikFX Digital Recomposition System
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »
It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black.

Offline Komikero

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #11 on: Jun 14, 2001 at 05:23 PM »
Re: FlikFX.

Dude! Are these guys SERIOUS? This is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen! Is it April 1? Jeez. If it's true, then they think we're stupid to fall all over something like this.
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline gonz

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #12 on: Jun 14, 2001 at 11:23 PM »
Hi Komikero -- if you go through all the pages, especially the portion where they recompose the scene where Lawrence is holding a lighted match, I think it'll be pretty clear whether FlikFX is serious or not.  ;)

The accompanying text is pretty funny as well.
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »
It's always darkest just before it gets pitch black.

Offline lazy_maze

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #13 on: Jun 15, 2001 at 12:40 AM »
Quote

if you go through all the pages, especially the portion where they recompose the scene where Lawrence is holding a lighted match, I think it'll be pretty clear whether FlikFX is serious or not.  ;)




Ha HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ! Is that HIS nose going up in smoke ?!! HA HA HA HA HA HA !

Get your copies on April 1, 2000 !! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

The Ben Hur chariot race! is Heston pushing that face? what is the guy whipping at? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA (Im rolling on the floor!!)

Offline Komikero

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #14 on: Jun 15, 2001 at 03:44 AM »
Holy crap, I'm so gullible! Ok, I gotta go away for a while and hide my head in shame. Have fun, guys... :-X
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline lazy_maze

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Re: Anamorphic vs non-anamorphic......
« Reply #15 on: Jun 15, 2001 at 06:16 AM »

Quote

Holy crap, I'm so gullible! Ok, I gotta go away for a while and hide my head in shame. Have fun, guys... :-X


No, Komikero, you are not gullible. The fact that you said that "this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen", proves that you can not be fooled easily :D.

So, come out from where you're hiding and enjoy the crazy things that may still "evolve" from our world of film and DVD addiction! ;D
« Last Edit: Jan 01, 1970 at 08:00 AM by 1016344800 »

Offline mchammer888

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difference of Matted Wide Screen and Letterbox
« Reply #16 on: Aug 06, 2002 at 05:38 AM »
Hello peeps!

Just want to ask what is the difference of MATTED WIDE SCREEN and LETTERBOX wide screen?   anybody knows?
« Last Edit: Jan 30, 2003 at 12:20 PM by Kahon »
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Offline himura

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Re:difference of Matted Wide Screen and Letterbox
« Reply #17 on: Aug 08, 2002 at 11:22 AM »
Hi dude!!

I used to have that question myself... you'll find the answer here:

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

To my understanding, I think it's like this:

Letterbox is widescreen with the black bars on top and the bottom of the screen (this is the first thing that comes to mind when you mention the term widescreen to people).

As for matted widescreen (or soft-matted as some sites call it), it's widescreen without the blackbars. This can sometimes lead to the veiwer seeing things that were not intended (check out the URL above for some examples).


Hope that helps you out dude, and welcome to PinoyDVD. ;D

Offline mchammer888

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Re:difference of Matted Wide Screen and Letterbox
« Reply #18 on: Aug 08, 2002 at 12:12 PM »
@dante  thanks for the site!  it helps  but I don't understand what is the difference of 1:85:1 and 2:35:1  hmmm....the black bars on top and bittom there are 2 margins.....  some movies have bigger black bars and some have smaller....  what is the 1:85:1? is it the smaller blackbars or the bigger one....   thanks!
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Offline himura

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Re:difference of Matted Wide Screen and Letterbox
« Reply #19 on: Aug 08, 2002 at 02:12 PM »

@dante  thanks for the site!  it helps  but I don't understand what is the difference of 1:85:1 and 2:35:1  hmmm....the black bars on top and bittom there are 2 margins.....  some movies have bigger black bars and some have smaller....  what is the 1:85:1? is it the smaller blackbars or the bigger one....   thanks!


The 1:85:1 has smaller black bars compared to 2:35:1 (standard letterboxed, I think).

Offline Kaiser Soze

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Re:difference of Matted Wide Screen and Letterbox
« Reply #20 on: Aug 08, 2002 at 05:38 PM »


@dante  thanks for the site!  it helps  but I don't understand what is the difference of 1:85:1 and 2:35:1  hmmm....the black bars on top and bittom there are 2 margins.....  some movies have bigger black bars and some have smaller....  what is the 1:85:1? is it the smaller blackbars or the bigger one....   thanks!


The 1:85:1 has smaller black bars compared to 2:35:1 (standard letterboxed, I think).


It's actually quite simple to estimate aspect ratios. First you need to express the aspect ratios in the right manner to avoid confusion. It is not 1:85:1 or 2:35:1, but 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 as in 1.85 is to 1, and 2.35 is to 1. The first number represents the horizontal ratio, while the second one represents the vertical ratio. So if you say that a movie is presented in 1.85:1, this means that if the horizontal size of the screen is 1.85 inches in size, then the vertical size should be 1 inch. If the horizontal size of a 1.85:1 movie on your 30 inch TV is 30 inches, then the vertical size of the movie should be 16.216 inches (30 is 1.85 of 16.216). Same goes for 2.35:1. In 2.35:1, if the horizontal size of the screen is 2.35 inches, then the vertical size is 1 inch. On a 30 inch TV, a 2.35:1 movie will have a 30 inch horizontal size and a 12.766 inch vertical size (30 is 2.35 of 12.766). This also explains why 2.35:1 movies display larger black bars on a conventional 4:3 TV.

Offline sgc_wdi

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How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #21 on: Nov 20, 2002 at 01:58 PM »
How can you tell if a DVD video is anamorphic or not, besides from looking at the back of the DVD case? The reason I ask this is because I want to know if the features/extras of certain DVDs are anamorphic.

I think there's a technique, where you set your DVD player to 16:9 or widescreen and test on your 4:3 TV if the picture looks squished or not, but in my case, I'm already using a 16:9 TV, so it won't look squished.

Any other way I can find out if it's anamorphic?

Offline Kahon

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #22 on: Nov 20, 2002 at 04:16 PM »
If you're using a 16:9 TV, if it's not anamorphic, then there will be black bars on the side of the picture (if the TV is not in zoom mode).

The Ultimate Guide to Anamorphic Widescreen DVD (for Dummies!)

Offline sgc_wdi

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #23 on: Nov 21, 2002 at 11:54 AM »
Thanks Kahon,

but what do u mean by black bars at the side of the picture? The black bars are at the top and bottom of letterboxed non-anamorphic videos right?

someone suggested to look in at 4:3 mode of the 16:9 TV, and if the video looks squished, then it's anamorphic, if not, then it's non-anamorphic.

Offline Kahon

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #24 on: Nov 21, 2002 at 06:03 PM »
Non-anamorphic video as it appears on a 16:9 TV (non-zoomed mode):



Depending on the TV, the bars on the side of the picture may be configured to a certain color (not necessarily black).

If this were anamorphic, the picture would run from side to side.

Offline sgc_wdi

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #25 on: Nov 21, 2002 at 08:02 PM »
I just tested at home, anamorphic video (jurassic park 3) and switched to 4:3 mode, there was the same bars on the left and right side of the picture.... I then tested a non-anamorphic video, same thing...

hmmm, maybe the 4:3 mode is different from the non-zoomed mode? My Pioneer RPTV doesn't have a mode specifically called non-zoomed, only Natural Wide, Cinema Wide, Zoom, 4:3, and Full Mode.

Offline Kahon

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #26 on: Nov 22, 2002 at 07:06 AM »
4:3 mode means that your 16:9 TV is acting like a conventional TV, so that means always get the bars at the side of the TV no matter what signal you throw at it.


Offline sgc_wdi

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #27 on: Nov 22, 2002 at 11:26 AM »
yes... I don't think I have a non-zoomed mode, or something like that. My TV has either the 4:3 mode, or other modes that basically stretches the video...

so any idea how I would know if a video is anamorphic?

Offline Kahon

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #28 on: Nov 22, 2002 at 03:30 PM »
Your video is anamorphic if you put your TV  in wide mode and the picture fills up the entire width of the screen.

Offline sgc_wdi

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Re:How to know if DVD is Anamorphic?
« Reply #29 on: Nov 22, 2002 at 03:57 PM »
hmm, the problem is, all my videos actually (including non-anamorphic) takes up the entire width of the screen... in whatever mode... except the 4:3 mode.