Charlotte Doyle Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 When I put the second disc of extras in my DVD player, it plays fine, no problem. But when I put the first disc in, the actual MOVIE, the movie itself looks a bit . . . well, _narrow_. The black bars at the top and bottom of the screen are very small on my television screen, but it seems to achieve this by slightly smashing the film in a bit at the sides, leaving everything looking a bit narrower than it actually should. In other words, it's like my TV or DVD player is trying to make the black bars as small as possible, and so it smushed the film in slightly to make everything "fit" on the screen. This isn't the first DVD my player (or television) has done this to -- "Shanghai Knights" had a similar thing goin'. "Pirates of the Caribbean" looked fine on my friend's TV when she played it; of course, we were watching her DVD, not mine. So my question is -- anybody know what's up for me? Could my TV or DVD player have some setting on it that tries to "compensate" for the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen, something that I fix on it if I change the setting? Could my DVD copy of PotC be defective? Any ideas? Has anyone else had this problem, particularly with PotC? (Why, oh why, can't I ever just get a movie to PLAY for me?? It seems the more I love the movie, the more difficult it's made for me to just HAVE it and play it . . . ) I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the Royaliste Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 :) 'Tis because of the wide screen format on the disc, instead of full screen..DVD's are manufactured in both formats, some companies choose not to offer both(Cheap!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Doyle Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 :) 'Tis because of the wide screen format on the disc, instead of full screen..DVD's are manufactured in both formats, some companies choose not to offer both(Cheap!) Aye, I know the way widescreen is . . . but my other widescreen DVDs don't always have that "smushed" look onscreen. This one literally looks like someone "pressed in" on both sides of the screen, leaving everything "narrow"looking. Is there nothing I can be doing about that? I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhand Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Charlotte- That "black bars" at the top and bottom are there because that is how the film was shot by the director, it's called "Widescreen", it's so the viewer can have the same viewing experience as they had at the theater. It's a misconception among the general public that it has been "stretched" or squashed. In fact when movies are "formatted" to fit TV screens they are edited and almost half of the shot is edited out, so with widescreen you are actually getting to see the entire movie instead of just some film editors idea of what you should see or will fit your tv screen. Enjoy! Redhand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhand Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Charlotte- PS, some widesceen formats are truer than others, POTC id true widescreen, there are varying ratios of widescreen, I have a copy of the 4 Musketeers at home that is supposed to be widescreen but has only a half inch at the top and bottom of the screen that is in the black, so it might as well be standard . Usually if you read the back of the dvd box it will tell you what formatt it is and what type of widescreen it's in, you can always ask your local dvd retailer to explain it to you. Redhand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Doyle Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 No, no, you are misunderstanding me. :) I know well what widescreen is, have for a long time -- some people are driven wild because of the "black bars," but it's never particularly bothered me. I like seeing _all_ the characters in a shot -- in this case, I like knowing no Jack moments to the side of the screen are going to have to be sliced off to make things fit. That's all cool. What bothers me with my PotC DVD is the fact that, black bars aside, the picture itself looks squashed. The people onscreen, the entire picture onscreen, is literally narrower than it should be. I have other DVDs, in widescreen, with the black bars at top and bottom, and the picture looks fine (it's smaller, it doesn't "fit" the whole screen; but what you do see is fine). With my PotC DVD, it looks as though Jack Sparrow (and every other bloody thing) has been pressed in and up by some unseen force -- everyone and everything _is_ squashed. Literally. I've had one other widescreen DVD do this to me, like I said, "Shanghai Knights" -- but my other widescreens work fine. They appear fine. It's just these two (naturally, since one of 'em is my favorite movie IN THE ENTIRE WORLD) that is giving me such a hard time. So I know that, to produce widescreen, the picture is never "squashed" or stretched to make it look like it's in widescreen (well, okay, once in a while that happens with a very cheap re-release of a film). On my friend's TV, her DVD version in widescreen looked fine. It's just on mine that the characters appear a bit taller and thinner than they did before . . . and I know, when I get the chance this weekend to sit down and watch PotC, it's going to drive me wild. So no one knows what's up with my ^(&!#$^% player?? Why, oh why why why, can't I just GET a movie without incident??? Sigh. :) I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Doyle Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 ....Hey, look, all my whining about my DVD has gotten me promoted to "Pyrate Captain." That's cool. ;-) On a similar whining note -- my Jack Sparrow poster came in the mail today, and it was all beat up from the shipping process! There was a steady row of creases across the left side from top to bottom. Sent it back to Allposters asking for a replacement; hope it gets here soon! :) I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Doyle Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 Disney is GOD. I love Disney. Also, Google is God, because it was their search engine that lead me to Disney DVD Technical support. Bless them both. THIS is what I was rambling unclearly about: "Why is the Widescreen version making things look too skinny? You are watching an anamorphic picture intended for display only on a widescreen TV. You need to go into the player's setup menu and tell it you have a standard 4:3 TV, not a widescreen 16:9 TV. It will then automatically letterbox the picture so you can see the full width at the proper proportions." (From The Beautiful Disney Website About Such Things) See, my DVD player was firmly set in 16:9 mode. As soon as I went in and changed it, young Elizabeth Swann immediately looked human again, instead of like some sort of male alien creature. So, yes. Problem SOLVED!!! AND I figured out how to work the zoom button, so I don't have to watch such a WIDE widescreen when I next watch PotC . . . which I guarentee I will be doing tomorrow as soon as I walk in the door from college. OH, I am so, so, SO happy. Looking forward to Jack Sparrow will make the five page paper tonight so much less painful. :) Thanks to everybody who listened to my whining and rambling here and tried to help -- I'll try not to make a habit of it. Wind to thy sails! I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhand Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Charlotte, Glad you got it worked out, most players have the feature that allows you top modify the letterbox to better fit your TV Other than that it could only be that the disk is defective.... I know I got a peter pan dvd that was supposed to be letterboxed and for the life of me I can't ever get it to play other than standard screen!! Cheers! Redhand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Doyle Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 Charlotte, Glad you got it worked out, most players have the feature that allows you top modify the letterbox to better fit your TV Other than that it could only be that the disk is defective.... I know I got a peter pan dvd that was supposed to be letterboxed and for the life of me I can't ever get it to play other than standard screen!! Cheers! Redhand Redhand, Thank ye kindly, mate, for your help and advice -- I am so very happy to have finally worked out the problem. Cannot wait for tomorrow to come and my classes (class, actually) to end so that I may sail home before the tempest comes (calling for a nice ice/snow storm 'round these parts, d'ya see) and watch Captain Jack Sparrow over a glass of grog. Sounds like a right good evenin' ta me. So far, then, the disc doesn't appear to be defective, then . . . more cause for rejoicin'. ;-) Good luck with the Peter Pan DVD; I well know the frustration of tryin' to get somethin' ta WORK! Thanks again to all! Ta, ~~Miss Charlotte I am now "Captain Charlotte Savvy." Sorry for any confusion -- I'll only be making this user-name change this once! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhand Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 Glad I could help, I've given up on the Pan dvd Enjoy the POTC dvd, ther's many hours of pleasureable viewing there...just spent the last three nights watching mine, with all the great extras they included!! Cheers! Redhand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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