Page 1 of Widescreen DVDs.

If I bought a Widescreen version of a movie on DVD, but played it on a regular TV, what would the picture be like?
Would it be squashy? Or would it be like a letterbox version?
Any Help would be appreciated.
Cheers, Rob Lawton.
notwal.r[at]moc.tenretnitb

depending upon the ratio, but yes it will appear letterbox (depending upon how the dvd player menus are set up)
if its set for 4:3 Pan Scan or just 4:3 it will appear as letterbox with really big black bars top and bottom
if its set for 16:9 the black bars will be smaller, however the picture will appear squashed and actors faces will appear thinner.
I have a normal 4:3 tv but prefer to use the 16:9 setting as opposed to the 4:3 Pan Scan setting , as I prefer to see more of the picture rather than seeing those huge black bars top and bottom, ultimately DVD is really at its best on a widescreen television :-)
(even though most of us can`t afford them)

So basically, If i have a 4:3 tv, and a widescreen dvd, it is best to set the player for 16:9.
because loads of DVDs are Widescreen only.
Thanks for you help torch!
Rob,

No, you need to tell your DVD player what TV you have, whether its 4:3 or 16:9, then it will output widescreen films appropriately. If you don`t things look a little squashed. ;-)

Aaaah, so my 28`` regular TV should do fine for watching 1.85:1 movies? and the like.
I am just thinking coz i better start saving if i need to splash out for a Widescreen, as my 28`` cost enough.
Thanks
Rob

As you only have a regular tv for now put your player in 4:3 Letterbox mode (4:3 Pan & Scam is a waste of time as most discs prevent it and it degrades the picture quaility)

You only use 16:9 mode if you have a widescreen tv or a regular tv with 16:9 mode.

I use this on my TV but sometimes I have noticed that round objects & peoples faces look elongated. Why is this?

anamorphic video is recorded to dvd vertically stretched,
a widescreen tv automatically adjusts the image by streching it horizontally to fill the screen.


non-anamoprhic video is recorded unstrectched,
a widescreen tv has to stretch the image vertically and horizontally to fill the screen (thats why it has a lower resolution than anamorphic video)


Some 4:3 tvs with anamorphic (16:9 mode) don`t squash the anamorphic image to the correct ratio.

Set the player to:

For a widescreen tv use 16:9 (Anamorphic)
For a 4:3 TV use 4:3 Letterbox (Pan&Scam is useless as most discs prevent it)
For a 4:3 TV with anamorphic mode use 16:9 (anamorphic) if the tv squashes the image to the correct ratio, then when watching anamorphic films you need to set the tv to anamorphic mode manually. Otherwise use 4:3 Letterbox and don`t use anamorphic mode if you tv squashes to the incorrect ratio.

How do i set my tv manually to anarmorphic?