Aspect Ratios On TV Programs' Embedded Clips??

[(PeteCresswell)]

Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.

This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.

Can anybody elucidate?

[J G Miller]

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Can anybody elucidate?

It is most probably the fear of black bars.

Many viewers are terrified by the appearance of black bars on their screen
and must at all times have a picture fully occupying the screen.

So it is wrongfully considered the less worse option (and probably the lazy
one) just to show 4:3 material as stretchyvision fake 16:9.

If these blackbarophobes ever saw some of the satellite channels which only
broadcast in 4:3 but do show 16:9 material within the 4:3 frame, they
would freak out completely due to the black bars above and below and on the
left and the right.

[Gene E. Bloch]

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.
This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.
Can anybody elucidate?

Somehow I manage to suspect total laziness and indifference.

*They* are indifferent; *I* am not. Obviously you're not either...

[Elmo P. Shagnasty]

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.
This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.
Can anybody elucidate?

It's intentional on the part of the broadcaster, to soothe the idiots
who don't understand anything more than "I bought the dang 50 inch
screen, and By God I will use every bit of it no matter what!"

[Bill Gill]

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.
This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.
Can anybody elucidate?

I think that the producers/editors are just too lazy to make it be
right. I have noticed that myself and it really makes things
look bad. It is really annoying, but they do it all the time.

For that matter we have a local public station that carries Classic
Arts Showcase where they deliberately stretch the SD feed so that
it covers about half of the black bands on the sides. I assume they
think it make is look more like an HD transmission. I have talked to
their chief engineer and he was receptive to my request that they
play it straight.

Classic Arts Showcase is a free satellite feed that carries clips of
classic works, music, dance, film, opera, etc. They have an HD
feed and an SD feed, but the local station didn't have the money
to get the equipment to receive the HD feed, so they are broadcasting
the SD feed as pseudo HD.

Bill

[whosbest54]

In article <***@4ax.com>, ***@y.Invalid
says...

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.
This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.
Can anybody elucidate?

I agree with the poster about fear of pillarbox. It's also laziness.

I've also seen 4:3 content presented in 'zoom' mode on 16:9 programs where
it isn't stretched, but the top and bottom are cut off. And 4:3 shown
in pillarbox, but the pillars have 'reflections' or effects from the
original content so there aren't black or grey pillars.

Some people just HATE pillarbox enough to accept the stretched version of
4:3 content. I have a relative I helped to setup a new HD set several
years ago when HD was new. I wanted to set it to show 4:3 SD analog cable
channels in pillarbox. NO WAY! They wanted stretched and were quite
upset when I showed them pillarbox. They watch such content stretched to
this day. It's the use the whole screen thing.

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

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If the pages time out, try whosbest54.netau.net in
a site unblocker proxy like: http://www.site2unblock.com

[meagain]

Post by whosbest54
says...

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.
This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.
Can anybody elucidate?

I agree with the poster about fear of pillarbox. It's also laziness.
I've also seen 4:3 content presented in 'zoom' mode on 16:9 programs where
it isn't stretched, but the top and bottom are cut off. And 4:3 shown
in pillarbox, but the pillars have 'reflections' or effects from the
original content so there aren't black or grey pillars.
Some people just HATE pillarbox enough to accept the stretched version of
4:3 content. I have a relative I helped to setup a new HD set several
years ago when HD was new. I wanted to set it to show 4:3 SD analog cable
channels in pillarbox. NO WAY! They wanted stretched and were quite
upset when I showed them pillarbox. They watch such content stretched to
this day. It's the use the whole screen thing.
whosbest54

I can hear it now, "Hey! I paid for the big screen and I want to see it ALL!"

[Mutley]

Post by meagain

Post by whosbest54
says...

Post by (PeteCresswell)
Over-and-over again I see TV shows broadcast at 16:9 that include clips
from the days before DTV and the clips' aspect ratios are wrong
on-screen. i.e. the 5:4 or 4:3 or whatever is stretched out so
everybody's face is way wide.
This is so pervasive that I have to think there is a bigger problem than
just the person who does the video editing taking the time to adjust the
clip to look right at 16:9.
Can anybody elucidate?

I agree with the poster about fear of pillarbox. It's also laziness.
I've also seen 4:3 content presented in 'zoom' mode on 16:9 programs where
it isn't stretched, but the top and bottom are cut off. And 4:3 shown
in pillarbox, but the pillars have 'reflections' or effects from the
original content so there aren't black or grey pillars.
Some people just HATE pillarbox enough to accept the stretched version of
4:3 content. I have a relative I helped to setup a new HD set several
years ago when HD was new. I wanted to set it to show 4:3 SD analog cable
channels in pillarbox. NO WAY! They wanted stretched and were quite
upset when I showed them pillarbox. They watch such content stretched to
this day. It's the use the whole screen thing.
whosbest54

I can hear it now, "Hey! I paid for the big screen and I want to see it ALL!"

I prefer to see the aspect ratio as it was made not in FatoVision.
The other thing that irks me are movies shot in 2.35:1 being zoomed
to fill the 16x9 screen AKA ZoomoVision.