I have a Sony 46KDL-XBR2 LCD TV. Why don't Widescreen movies take up the whole screen (even Blu-Ray movies)?

Question

I have the 16:9 aspect ratio set in the settings. But some widescreen (says it right on the DVD case) still show up with top and bottom black borders. I even get the black borders with some Blu-Ray movies (The Golden Compass - most recently). Its kind of annoying to have HD movies not take up the entire screen. Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

sc

Answer 1

Unfortunately directors use a variety of widescreen aspect ratios that are not always 16:9.  You can zoom, but then you lose picture info.

If you really hate black stripes, then rent/buy only movies with a 1.78:1 ratio (they usually tell you the aspect ratio in the back)

Answer 2

Television aspect ratios are listed as whole numbers.  The most common are 4:3 and 16:9.

Film aspects are listed as decimals.  If you do the math:

4:3 = 1.33:1

16:9 = 1.78:1

On a 16:9 television, any content being displayed in it's original aspect that is less than 1.78:1 will have black bars on the left and right sides.  Any content over 1.78:1 will have borders on the top and bottom.  There are usually options to stretch the pictures horizontally without cutting off the edges, but vertically unfortunately will have to be zoomed - which cuts off the sides.

The majority of the blu-ray movies I own are filmed in 2.35:1 - so I have significant amount of black on the top and bottom of the picture - which is normal.  Other than stretching or zooming the picture using the TV controls, there is nothing that can be done to remedy this.  You will have to settle for either zooming in and cutting off the edges or dealing with black bars.

Answer 3

Movies (widescreen) are taped in panoramic view, and in order for the whole image to fit the screen it needs to be shrunken essentially.

Ways to get rid of the black bars on top, called letter boxing....Put it on full screen, wide fit, zoom 1, zoom 2, etc.  Find which one you prefer, but remember fitting full screen could distort the image by stretching it.  Personally I think it looks fine in full screen format, so try that out first.

hope that helps.