How big does your tv set have to be to view widescreen movies on dvd?

Question

How big does your tv set have to be to view widescreen movies on dvd? If I put in a widescreen dvd to view ..?
...would there be thick black bars on the top and bottom of my tv set therefore making the picture smaller than if I had bought the fullscreen format? Please only answer if you actually are sure of the answer.

I'm asking as I ordered these movies online in the wrong format accidentally and it will take a long time to send them back and get a replacement. So I'm wondering if it can work and be just as good.

Answer 1

You can view widescreen formats on any size tv. The bigger the better, but don't be fooled by wide screened televisions. There is no way to lose the black bars. I found a web page that will give you a full definition of all of this. The basic reason your tv shows black bars is because tvs were never intended for the 2.35 aspect ratio of many of the films today. Look at http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama.html

Answer 2

widescreen is actually better in the long run. it's a format that has NOT been adjusted to fit your television screen and therefore does not cut out certain aspects of the film as Full Screen does.



There is no limit on the size of your television to view widescreen films, but yes it will create a black bar at the top and bottom of the screen as it is widescreen. Widescreen is synominous with theater format.



The overall picture will be shorter by height and wider by girth. If you do have a small screen that full screen is difficult to see the full view then yes widescreen will make it just a little smaller by percentage.



You might like widescren format it gives a better symetry of the item being shot in the film, showing all the details from the camera's perpective and not just what fits in your tv screen.

Answer 3

The size of your TV set really doesn't matter, though of course a larger screen is nicer, certainly at least 19 - 21". Widescreen movies (used to be called letter-boxed) actually show much more of the picture the way it was filmed. But yes, there will be a black line (or bar) at the top and bottom of the TV screen. It isn't really thick, I mean not like 6 inches or something. I prefer widescreen movies; the black lines never even enter my consciousness once a movie starts. But some people don't like it at all, and will never get used to it.

Answer 4

the size of the tv has nothin to do with widescreen..no matter what widescreen will have the black bars on the top and bottom, btu of course if u got a bigger tv there will be a bigger picture n general. if u dont want the black bars.get full screen

Answer 5

The size doesnt matter to your television. If you are trying to view widescreen movies on a regular television your will just see black bars on the top and bottom of your screen. The standard widescreen format is 16X9. that is not a measurment, it is a ratio.

Answer 6

Whether you have black bars above and below a widescreen image on your TV is not a matter of the overall size, but the ratio of the height to width.



The traditional TV H:W ratio was 4:3, whereas a cinematic movie's H:W ratio can vary from 1.33:1, 1.85:1, and 2.35:1.

Answer 7

Hollywood doesn't shoot at the same aspect ratio as your TV. Your TV is 16:9 (1.78). Hollywood shoots at 1.85 and 2.35. Now 1.85 is close enough that such a film when put onto DVD will fill the entire frame of your screen. But 2.35 is way different. So when that is put to DVD, in order to preserve the image as best possible, its scaled down to fit 1.78 and in doing so it creates a letterboxed image. Many Hollywood films are shot at 2.35, so that's why you end up with that. Its the way its supposed to be. Its entirely artistic choice by directors and producers, there's nothing really more to it. Now, depending on your TV, you can possibly "get rid of it" by using the TV's zoom features. Many HDTVs have a zoom feature, which when employed will crop off letterboxing. But the catch is that your image is degraded. First off its a digital zoom, so its only going to be so good. Next, you're going to lose part of the image (left and right edges). In order to fill the frame it just zooms straight in, keeping the image centered, and so crops the sides. In some movies this could be a horrid choice as actors will get cut right off of screen or possibly like half their body cut off. But its your viewing experience, so its what you want.

Answer 8

My set is 36". Yes it will put a box on top and bottom. Yes it will shrink it. but if you tv is big like that (or bigger) it should be fine. I personally like widescreen. But if your TV is 13" then it might not look good.

Answer 9

there are the fancy tvs that are rectangular shaped where you won't see the black bars with wide screen dvds, but with just normal tvs, it doesn't matter the size, you're always going to see the black bars. ...pop the dvds in and see if what shows up really bothers you or not.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Televisions/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12867/Ntk/All/Ntt/wide%20screen%20tvs/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do

there are some widescreen tvs

Answer 10

There are black bars, their thickness depends on the size of your tv.

Answer 11

I don't think it matters, I only have a 12' since I don't watch much tv and I don't mind wide screen :)