DVD: Wasted?

[MrTorso]

This guy claimed (and won) that since nothing was added to the sides it wasn't widescreen and they were ripping him (and everyone else) off

While i understand this man is an idiot, i dont understand his argument (which i realize might be related)  his argument is what?  they chop stuff off the top and bottom and not the left and right.  so the screen is technically equally wide in either version.  so he saying that it wasnt a wide enough shot? 

Yep. The MGM discs in question all were two sided releases full frame on one and wide screen on the flip side. He compared the two and saw that the only difference was the black bars covering information at the top and bottom and the same information was showing on the sides. Since the image didn't get any W  I   D   E   R   he sued. Either MGM couldn't explain the process any better or it was cheaper to cave, there was a settlement.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

did he expect widescreen to make the SCREEN wider???   thats retarded.  the SHOT is wider there is more infomation that full screen cuts off,  EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN knows that. 

[mrbasehart]

did he expect widescreen to make the SCREEN wider???   thats retarded.  the SHOT is wider there is more infomation that full screen cuts off,  EVERYONE WITH A BRAIN knows that. 

If you use widescreen, it is wider.   

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

its a wider shot but it doesnt physically make the TV any wider. 

[mrbasehart]

its a wider shot but it doesnt physically make the TV any wider. 

In a cinema it does.  With widescreen movies, the screen stretches sideways to accomodate the extra length.  (That didn't sound dirty at all!)

With widescreen TVs being quite prominent nowadays, that should be less and less of a problem at home, too.  If you watched a widescreen movie on a 4:3 TV you should still be able to see all of the picture, it should just be smaller top-to-bottom.  A full screen option on a widescreen movie usually means the movie studio has "zoomed" the picture inwards to fill the screen and I'm guessing the guy's case was that for the widescreen version of the movie, they didn't actually keep what was intended by the director, they just made it look wide by covering up the top and bottom.

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

they just made it look wide by covering up the top and bottom.

if thats what they did, then he does have a legit complaint as far as im concerned

[MrTorso]

they just made it look wide by covering up the top and bottom.

if thats what they did, then he does have a legit complaint as far as im concerned

But he doesn't. That is exactly how it was shown in theaters, on a rectangular  screen that is wider than it is taller.

[mrbasehart]

they just made it look wide by covering up the top and bottom.

if thats what they did, then he does have a legit complaint as far as im concerned

But he doesn't. That is exactly how it was shown in theaters, on a rectangular  screen that is wider than it is taller.

Hmm... Then it seems odd.  Was he complaining that the company offered a widescreen version when the movie wasn't filmed in widescreen and the whole thing was a faked extra?

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

if they cut the shot in any way that was different from the theater then he has a complaint if they didnt he doesnt.

[MrTorso]

He was complaining because he doesn't understand open matte:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_matte

[sarcasm_made_Easy]

ok then he is back to the "he is an idiot" category in my brain. 

They werent calling full screen though were they?

[mrbasehart]

He was complaining because he doesn't understand open matte:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_matte

Ah yes, the reason why, if the film isn't framed right in the projector, you can seen boom mikes, crash mats, and on one occasion, the stunt replacement.

[MrTorso]

He was complaining because he doesn't understand open matte:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_matte

Ah yes, the reason why, if the film isn't framed right in the projector, you can seen boom mikes, crash mats, and on one occasion, the stunt replacement.

Exactly. When they make the full screen version all they do is leave the mattes off. 

[gbeenie]

its a wider shot but it doesnt physically make the TV any wider. 

In a cinema it does.  With widescreen movies, the screen stretches sideways to accomodate the extra length. 

Not 100% of the time, though. Two of our smaller screens where I work are actually 1.85 normally, and matte vertically for scope movies. This is actually pretty effective for auditoriums and viewing rooms that are narrow.

[mrbasehart]

its a wider shot but it doesnt physically make the TV any wider. 

In a cinema it does.  With widescreen movies, the screen stretches sideways to accomodate the extra length. 

Not 100% of the time, though. Two of our smaller screens where I work are actually 1.85 normally, and matte vertically for scope movies. This is actually pretty effective for auditoriums and viewing rooms that are narrow.

You know, that actually happens in one of our screens too!  I'd completely forgotten about it.   

How many screens you got at your place?