TV Narrow Screen

[Piemaster]

If we are talking about annoying visual artefacts on TV broadcasts ... I am not bothered by those black lines, but D.O.Gs (Digital On-screen Graphics) really DO irritate me. I can easily check what channel I am on, and honestly, in a climactic scene of a drama I really do NOT want something to pop up over the picture to tell me what is coming up next! They can also cause permanent 'burn-in' on certain types of TV...

Some channels (and I'm looking at you, Sky Sports) seem to want to fill every corner, and frequently a scrolling bar at the bottom, with some sort of on screen graphic graffiti. AND boost volume during ad breaks. Grrr...

 

[Nigel-YZ1]

Just don't watch the original 'How The West Was Won'.

 

[snorri]

I would prefer to stick with what the director intended!

Indeed, I'm just glad I saw it at my local Picture House long before television was invented came to my home town.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I feel your pain, but if you watch the film and try to forget about the lines top and bottom, they do "disappear", or rather your eyes and brain forget about them after a while.

This point was proved when my Uncle got a widescreen TV years ago. He bought a video and said that for the first 10 minutes there were black lines top and bottom "cutting off half the picture", but he then said he didn't take the VHS back to the shop because after 10 minutes or so the problem rectified itself.

 

[ColinJ]

Just don't watch the original 'How The West Was Won'.

Ha ha - yes - Cinerama-tastic!

 

[Fnaar]

To illustrate the issue, here is a scene from The Bridge ON the River Kwai:

View attachment 396095
A dramatic, wide image.

Here is what it would look like correctly displayed in letterbox format on a 16:9 set:

View attachment 396093
And here is a 'panned and scanned' version with the sense of space, an officer, and lots of other men lost:

View attachment 396094
I would prefer to stick with what the director intended!

Isn't that "It Ain't Half Hot, Mum" ?

 

[keithmac]

All films will be letterboxed thinner than standard 16:9 (who decided that was the best ratio in the first place?).

I honestly don't notice the bars and stretching the image just looks odd!.

If you ever watch a film in it's original aspect ratio and then again on TV channel it's amazing what gets chopped off the sides or lost.

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, FFS ... I am now experiencing simultaneous letter-boxing, pillar-boxing, a D.O.G. AND compression artefacts from inadequate bandwidth!

 

[keithmac]

Letterboxing's acceptable but compression artifacts are an instant turn it over/ off for me!.