Wide screen DVD's - Are they ruining movie watching?
By coffeebreak
@coffeebreak (17797)
United States
December 14, 2007 3:32pm CST
I am still lagging in the 20th Century, but with the VHS going out of style, I have been looking on sale racks for DVD's of my favorite movies, that I have on VHS. But I have noticed so much that the DVD's come in wide screen, not full screen. That means that while on my "normal" TV, (not HD or anything else and about 5 years old but works great!) it shows just in the middle of the screen, with black space to the top and bottm. Not a full picture. YOu can zoom to enlarge but all that does it as it says, zooms in on the center, which make you see only the center and not much of hte background or side shots like you see in full screen. I can't stand to watch it with the narrow screen/picture, so I zoom, knowing I am missing what's going on in the background and sides of htat character.
So.... question: Are all DVD's going wide screen now? And to watch them full screen and not just in the middle, I have to get a wide screen TV?
3 people like this
9 responses
@Lightlord (378)
• Sweden
15 Dec 07
I got some DVD widescreens too. It doesn't bothers me though that there are black spaces on the top and the bottom. The picture is great quality and that is what matters the most for me.
2 people like this
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
15 Dec 07
On my DVD player you can choose how you view the movie or show.I have mine set for wide screen. It is how the director wanted you to see the film. But if you don't like it, there should be way to make the DVD player air the film in full screen. Most films are wide screen these days. Even the films on t.v. are widescreen, have you noticed?Anyway, check your owner's manual and see if your DVD player can be set to view films in full screen. Good Luck.
1 person likes this
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
16 Dec 07
I hope it works out. Keep me posted.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
15 Dec 07
Didn't know that! Thanks for mentioning - I'll check it out.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
14 Dec 07
That wide screen BS is annoying. It is so much better to get full screen. When you get wide screen you loose bits of the movie picture. When we bought Pirates 3 we HAD to get Wide Screen. That is awesome for when I watch movies on my PC, but we don't have a WS TV!
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
14 Dec 07
I bought Titanic on DVD (have the VHS) and it is wide screen and there is so much "missing" that you dont' see and get to enjoy and that add to the story and characters. I don't even enjoy watching it!
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
15 Dec 07
Yeah, they get ya commin' and goin'!!! You either conform or stay as is or do without. Oh, the options!
@unusualsuspect (2601)
• United States
14 Dec 07
VHS isn't going out of style; it's gone. I have a few tapes left, but mostly of movies that haven't come out on DVD or are too expensive for me. It's true that the picture is smaller on a regular screen, but if it's too small, I just zip back and forth between zoom levels. The nice thing is that it's so easy to go back and forth. If a scene is too small, back up, zoom in, watch it, and then go back to wide screen.
The problem is that this is a transitional period and lots of us have old TVs that are still working perfectly. Mine is about seven years old, and I hope to replace it with a widescreen TV sometime next year because I watch a lot of movies. I love DVD, even though the widescreen is sometimes a problem. DVD hasn't spoiled movie watching; it's made it better.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
14 Dec 07
Sounds like a lot of work to zoom back and forth, up and down, big and small.. I just want to sit and watch a movie and enjoy it, not have to work to make it viewable.
@nichole1983 (1187)
• Canada
15 Dec 07
yes all dvds are going widescreen... we have been lcd, plasa, wide screen for along time now... the big clunky tvs are going absolite as well... before long everything will be going bluray... good thing we got ours... as soon as new technology comes out we get it.. thats one of our fascinations...
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
15 Dec 07
Yeah, progress has a way of complicating all out budgets! I can't afford all these new fangled things! I am looking after the holidays to buy another VHS recorder to have whent he one I have breaks nad will just stick with the VHS as long as possible!! I'll buy the DVD as they come on sale for $8 or less in the meantime.
@nichole1983 (1187)
• Canada
15 Dec 07
dvd players are pretty cheap.. i see them ranging from 20 - whatever depending on what you all want with it...
1 person likes this
@simplyman2006 (1706)
• India
16 Dec 07
well i think u want the a wide screen TV . that can help u to look the movie
@sojournseeker (1244)
• United States
15 Dec 07
Ruining no not really but pressing against the industry to keep movie theatres stocked with current hot-takes, and rental stores just over 'we have too many on the shelf' is a competetive race against quality rather than quantity.
1 person likes this
@moneyandgc (3428)
• United States
15 Dec 07
My husband will only buy movies in wide screen. Though you don't get the black bars with full screen, you also don't get the full picture. This is why a full screen movie will pan back and forth. The sides of the movie get cut out of the shot with full screen.
I can usually find movies in both formats though.
