Full screen is bad but you guy are making it seem like it is as Bad as Cancer or AIDS. It’s not like I didn’t see a HDTV set at friends’ houses or sports bars before this but seeing it in your living room and watching whatever you want is a different experience. How Can You Make DVDs Look Better on Your HDTV? True. Just because all HDTV sets perform upscaling to present lower resolution video sources at a size that covers the whole screen doesn’t mean they’re doing a great job though. Similarly, WDTV Live also has the option os widescreen / normal screen. Ask for FREE. So there's "widescreen" and then "extra-widescreen", although anything 16:9 or wider is always just labeled "widescreen". Aspect ratio: the ratio between the width and height of an image. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. These 'anamorphic' DVDs are completely compatible with regular TVs and equipment,but when they are played back on a TV that can take advantage of it, the picture quality is vastly superior. If you don't believe me, the next time you watch a full screen vs. the widescreen format of the same movie take notice of the difference and loss at the top and bottom of the screen. A widescreen dvd played using the Intervideo dvd player fills most of the screen up with only small borders at the top and bottom. I finally got around to getting an HDTV complete with a new cable box that has HD capability and, based on the reviews and articles I read on HTG no less, a really sweet Chromecast. That’s the problem with upscaling: most of the time it’s done very poorly. Not too sure if it had a 16x9 compression. They're right you just get the Black bars and the picture is squished down a little andthe picture is a little longer as well. Pyle 23.6" 1080p LED TV, Multimedia Disc Player, Ultra HD TV, LED Hi Res Widescreen Monitor w/HDMI Cable RCA Input, LED TV Monitor, Audio Streaming, Mac PC, Stereo Speakers, Wall Mount (PTVDLED24) 4.2 out of 5 stars 311 I don't have a widescreen TV poky but I'm pretty sure the definition of widescreen is having those black bars as you call them on the top and bottom. Therefore, 4:3 could be termed "regular screen shows". He has over a decade of experience in publishing and has authored thousands of articles at Review Geek, How-To Geek, and Lifehacker. What DVD? Btw,awesome sig. Good luck! This is typically used to allow one to store widescreen images on a medium that was originally intended for a narrower r If you’re interested in purchasing Blu-ray media you can always pick up a Blu-ray player with well reviewed DVD upscaling like the $80 Sony BDPS32000. The easiest way to understand the problems inherent with displaying good looking standard definition content on a high definition screen is to look at the inherent limitations of the standard definition format. well the tv is a Sharpnot sure the model, its about 10 years old, 4:3 screen. Video looks best when the source video is displayed on a screen that shares its native resolution. Your DVD player has two relevant menu items. If you check the manual for your DVD player or do a little search engine work and find that it doesn’t upscale (or has poor upscaling abilities) you should consider picking up a new player. It’s still going strong and the output still looks great on standard definitions sets for what that’s worth. In fact the only thing I’m not happy with is watching old DVDs. Like a good doctor, we’re going to give it to you straight. If it helps any, the DVD player is (or I suppose I should way) a very highly rated DVD player purchased back around 2004 or so. The DVD packaging might … You can, albeit with mixed results. As we noted in the title of this section, however, that mechanism is both a problem and a solution depending on how it’s deployed. When laid out like it is in the graphic above, it becomes obvious that you can easily stack the pixels supplied by old standard definition content multiple times in the same display space provided by HDTV sets. Most people are unaware that even though you get more at the sides, you are in fact losing some at the top and bottom of the picture. In that regard you just have to accept that SD content, no matter how well prepared, can’t compete with the same content remastered from the same high quality source in HD. High Definition TVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9. is that possible? Nobody wants to watch standard definition reruns of the X-Files, for example, where the screen looks like this. Does the DVD picture fit itself onto my TV to look widescreen? Shoot us an email at ask@howtogeek.com and we’ll do our best to answer it. The woman opted … No amount of wishing or wizardry will turn your old DVD content into a stack of Blu-ray discs but a good upscaling DVD player can do wonders for the picture. How to Stop Kids from Talking to Strangers on Nintendo Switch, How to Make a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation Read-only, How to Stream Liam Neeson’s Action Thriller Movies, How to Combine Images on iPhone and iPad Using Shortcuts, How to Display Steam’s Built-in FPS Counter in PC Games, © 2021 LifeSavvy Media. 720p represents 1,280 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 720 pixels down the screen vertically. OUATIM is awesome. The reason why it's like that is to preserve quality of film, in the movie theater or a regular TV, when you stretch the picture out to full screen it loses quality, kinda like if you put the youtube player in full screen. The conventional or regular aspect ratio is 4:3 and not 16:9 or widescreen. You can circumvent the upscaling algorithms in the HDTV set by providing a signal that has already been upscaled by a superior upscaling algorithm. Have a pressing tech question? How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. So far the DVD plays in widescreen, but I wanted to know how I can watch the DVD on my analog television in 4:3 Standard View to fill the entire screen? LetterboxThe presence of black bars at the top and bottom of the picture.Usually referring to playing widescreen format pictures on standarddefinition television. will the picture be good? 14:9 is a just conceived technology. can widescreen DVDs be played on regular TV sets? Widescreen vs Full Screen. If the original format is 4:3, dispatch its into 16:9, image will be stretched while you don't actually lose any of the image. Ask Your Question Fast! NTSC was replaced by the HD-friendly ATSC standard. fear. If you have a digital TV connected to an antenna, it will get it right automatically, but if you have a digital TV converter box, you need to set up that converter box. Monitors WideScreen vs Regular Screen On Dimension XPS systems with widescreen, will there be "black space" during normal operation? When you have an analog connection, the source box can't tell whether your TV is widescreen (16 by 9) or regular (4 by 3). The difference in display area really becomes apparent when you compare the total resolution of 1080p, 720p, and 480p visually. The DVD player I'm using is a Samsung DVD-VR320 and no difference between connecting through RCA cables and through regular TV cable. Am I just becoming acclimated to the quality of new HD content and DVDs will simply never look the same again? Due to the introduction of HDTVs, there are now two basic types of TV screens; the widescreen format and the full screen.The main difference between the two is the aspect ratio that they use. All Rights Reserved. This is why your DVDs look best to your eye when displayed on your old standard definition display; they’re 480 resolution content designed in … You waste half the movie by watching it in Fullscreen. Whatever video input they get, they scale up to their native resolution (1,920 x 1080 in the case of 1080 resolutions sets). I don’t just mean “Oh, hah hah, this isn’t Blu-ray” terrible,  I mean I feel like I’m watching home movies from the 1980s. Fullscreen DVDs are for regular-sized TVs." The broadcast and television display standard from the 1950s until its decommissioning in 2009 was the NTSC analog standard which dictated the display resolution of all NTSC compliant displays. Join 350,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, comics, trivia, reviews, and more. The resolution of the analog transmissions and displays outlined by NTSC standards is commonly referred to as 480i and 480p now. In response, DVD makers created a process called upscaling. From the GameCube/N64 Animal Crossing, recreated using the textures for the nostalgic fellows out there. But, without video scaling, that’s exactly what it would look like. Your ovaries become diseased, making it virtually impossible for you to bear children. RELATED: How Can Studios Release High-Definition Versions of Decades-Old Movies and TV Shows? The exact same dvd played using Windows Media Player only uses about 2/3 the width of an already tiny screen and leaves bars on all 4 sides. 1 decade ago. Jason served as Lifehacker's Weekend Editor before he joined How-To Geek. Community Experts online right now. In order to fit the movie to a specific size dimension some of the picture must be removed. Now some smart TVs can tell that the movie won't fit the screen so they will auto zoom to get rid of the bars but at the same time will most likely cut part of the picture offf. If your HDTV set receives a signal for a video source already in its native format then it will blindly accept the signal and no scaling algorithm will be applied. Digital TV is "anamorphic ready". If you don't believe me, the next time you watch a full screen vs. the widescreen format of the same movie take notice of the difference and loss at the top and bottom of the screen. For example, any DVD player is required to set the TV aspect as 4:3 or 16:9. Yes, most Blue Ray player devices are equipped to be able to read DVD media format and will play it. Favorite Answer. Yes there is. Having black bars on the top and bottom when you playback a DVD or Blu-Ray movie on your widescreen TV is normal. Answer Save. I can see where you're coming from, considering you waiste 50% of your tv from getting Fullscreen. That said there are some very practical steps you can take to improve the quality of old content when displayed on a newer high definition screen. You can get black bands on the top and bottom of a widescreen TV when you watch a widescreen DVD movie because of the difference in aspect ratios between the TV and the movie. The regular price is $6,199.98 Add to Cart Package - Samsung - The Terrace Series 55" Class LED Outdoor Partial Sun 4K UHD Smart Tizen TV - TITAN BLACK and Samsung HW-LST70T 3.0ch The Terrace Soundbar w/ Dolby 5.1ch (2020) - Titan Black It’s one thing to compare the shorthand names for SD and HD content, 480 and 1080, and say, “Oh yes, that’s clearly more,” but it’s another thing to do the math on the actual pixel count and see that an HDTV set can display ~500 percent more information than a standard definition set. 16:9Standard aspect ratio for high definition television 4:3Standard aspect ratio for standard definition television (NTSC/PAL) and Digital Television (DTV). If you do manage to do so, they all come out looking like Clint Howard. Let’s take a look at how. To that end you’ll need to replace your old DVD player which, based on the age you mentioned, was created before the widespread adoption of HDTV sets and most likely doesn’t have an upscaling algorithm as it was designed for the very 480 resolution content we’ve been discussing. The 16x9 enhanced DVD has a 720 x 480 resolution, with the extra pixels going to the total horizontal image resolution. Nah, I prefer Widescreen DVD's on any TV I watch movies on. If your HDTV set just passed along the data it was given with no attempt to scale anything you’d enjoy a tiny little 480p image that took up approximately 16 percent of the total display area your 1080p HDTV set is capable of using. Once you’ve watched enough HD content you will never be able to look at SD content the same way again. From that basic overview we can look at ways to to improve the content you have. First, let’s take a look the technical aspects of the different mediums and why exactly old content looks so awful on new HDTV sets. Full screen uses an aspect ratio of 4:3, which means that it … Lv 7. Text-only Version: Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links. Upscaling mathematically matches the pixel count of the DVD output signal to the physical pixel count on an HDTV, which is typically 1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080i or 1080p), or 3840 x 2160 (2160p or 4K). The above article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek. All modern HDTV sets perform video scaling, in this application known as upscaling as they are taking a small image and scaling it up to a large one. This TV sucks though. I can’t get over how great it looks. This second menu option can be set to letterbox or pan & scan. Which means that if a widescreen movie on DVD is recorded in the anamorphic format, a Digital TV can "unsqueeze" the video image contained on the disc, so that it fills the full width of the TV screen, while retaining a LOT more vertical resolution. We learned in the last section that standard definition video has a native resolution of 640×480 and 1080 HD content has a native resolution of 1920×1080. The problem here, however, is also the solution. However, if it is drawn on a widescreen monitor or regular TV, it can be distorted and look weird on the screen. Click HERE to see this thread with all of the graphics, features, and links. This is where video scaling comes in. Compare to the 4 X 3(namely the full screen DVD), the 16 X 9(the widescreen DVD) is like a wide angle lens. Playing CDs - A lot of TV/DVD combos can play music CDs, but support for burned CDs is less of a guarantee. Let’s look at how you can improve the appearance of standard definition content on your high definition television. Anamorphic widescreen is a process by which a comparatively wide widescreen image is horizontally compressed to fit into a storage medium with a narrower aspect ratio, reducing the horizontal resolution of the image while keeping its full original vertical resolution. While more than a few consumers have forgone Blu-ray altogether if you’re already planning on purchasing a new disc-based media player the extra $40 for the aforementioned Blu-ray player also gets you access to a bunch of modern features like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu streaming as well as local content streaming over Wi-Fi. I want to play a dvd that is a widescreen edition one on a regular size tv set. Is it a bad idea to buy widescreen format DVDs if they're to be watched on a regular TV? My personal use will be 95% internet / office stuff, and 5% DVD movies maybe, I am concerned about what my screen will look like during my 95% usage.. Compatible play-back equipment can then expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen image. One to tell it what the native aspect ratio of the connected TV is (in your case, make sure this is set to 16x9) and another to tell the DVD player what to do with widescreen video when the above option is set to 4x3. So, you can create two images: one for the 4:3 monitors and TVs, and another for wide-screen. Ask for FREE. You get the black bars in the letterbox format. Yes you can. By contrast 1080i and 1080p content has 1,920 horizontal lines and 1,080 vertical lines for a total resolution of 2,073,600 pixels. Is there anything I can do? If you want a bigger TV that will see regular use in a large media or living room, select a TV that supports 1080p and includes a built-in DVD player that’s good at upscaling your DVDs. Aaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! With the advent of HDTV sets, however, it became necessary to make old content fit newer screens. The aspect ratio is the ratio of a TV screen or movie image's width to its length. It’s just like the general march of technology: we had a really sweet Palm-based smartphone roughly ten years ago that, at the time, was absolutely amazing, but if you compare it to the modern quad-core smartphone experience it’s like using telegraph. Community Experts online right now. RichB. Widescreen but even if the movie is widescreen it may not be 16:9 in which case you will have some bars. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just stretch out the old 480 signal from your DVD player to fit the higher resolution display? Some filmmakers go beyond 16:9 (about 1.77:1) aspect ratio and use even wider aspect ratios, like 2.35:1. The 4x3 mode (sometimes mistakenly called the letterbox mode) only has 640x480 pixels of resolution. 5 Answers. Relevance. Although we live in the age of HD video that doesn’t mean all of us have upgraded our old DVDs to HD content. The content displayed will be up-scaled to fit the higher resolution display device. Thanks in advance. Standard TVs have an aspect ratio of 4:3. Thank you for your assistance. fullscreen is not as bad as you make it out. We learned in the last section that standard definition video has a native resolution of 640×480 and 1080 HD content has a native resolution of 1920×1080. I've also used my portable Poloroid dvd player same thing happens. By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Help. Since we launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times. You lose some of the picture if you get a full-screen movie. Regular screen videos (i.e that which has an aspect ratio of 4:3 and forms a full screen in a CRT TV) can be made to appear in a Wide screen TV in any of the following manner: There are a couple of DVDs I would like to purchase but so many only come in the wide screen version now. When a DVD is made, it can be made to fit natively on a regular 4x3 TV (the kind you are used to) or a 16x9 widescreen TV. Instead what happens is that a video scaling algorithm is employed and that 480p video is expanded to fill the screen. sony does this. Also refers to the old practice of encodingblac… Jason Fitzpatrick is the Editor in Chief of LifeSavvy, How-To Geek's sister site focused life hacks, tips, and tricks. I think there will be black bars on top & bottom but am not sure if the wide screen DVD are adaptable to a regular TV at all. The -i and -p suffix refer to interlaced or progressive and are related to how the information is rendered and displayed on the screen, but both have exactly the same total resolution: 640 horizontal lines and 480 vertical lines for a total resolution of 337,920 pixels. With new widescreen, high definition TVs getting cheaper and cheaper, it makes sense the create DVDs that have more resolution (pixels on the screen) than a regular DVD. The clerk's answer flabbergasted me: "Widescreen DVDs are for the big-screen TVs. I have tons of DVDs purchases over the last twenty or so years, and I’m in no hurry to replace them with Blu-ray discs or digital downloads but when I watch them with my old DVD player hooked up to my new TV they look terrible. Video looks best when the source video is displayed on a screen that shares its native resolution. This is why your DVDs look best to your eye when displayed on your old standard definition display; they’re 480 resolution content designed in a 480 resolution era for a 480 resolution screen. Most sets have lackluster scaling algorithms and do a poor job enlarging the image. You would notice different frame size get adjusted while playing to suit the TV aspect. It fits it to the screen, don't lose anything no. The price of DVD players has plummeted and you can now pick up a very highly rated upscaling player for under $50 (like the $40 Sony DVPSR510H). Article may contain affiliate links, which help support How-To Geek the only thing I ’ not... Images: one for the big-screen TVs become diseased, making it virtually impossible for you to bear.! Which help support How-To Geek Geek is where you turn when you playback a or! Player same thing happens play a DVD or Blu-Ray movie on your high television! Refers to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy Decades-Old movies and TV shows video looks when... Television ( NTSC/PAL ) and Digital television ( NTSC/PAL ) and Digital television ( NTSC/PAL ) and Digital television DTV... Would look like focused life hacks, tips, and links life hacks, tips, and Lifehacker is to. Launched in 2006, our articles have been read more than 1 billion times our articles have read. Old practice of encodingblac… what DVD and our feature articles is watching DVDs! Done very poorly, you agree to the quality of new widescreen dvd on regular tv content and will... Hacks, tips, and our feature articles, thanks from the GameCube/N64 Animal Crossing, recreated using the for! More than 1 billion times of resolution there 's `` widescreen DVDs played! There 's `` widescreen '' and then `` extra-widescreen '', although anything 16:9 or wider is always labeled! 1,280 pixels displayed across the screen, do n't lose anything no can improve appearance. Explain technology t get over how great it looks SD content the same again... Look the same way again what it would look like widescreen format on! Live also has the option os widescreen / normal screen termed `` screen! The option os widescreen / normal screen widescreen edition one on a screen that shares its native resolution 16x9.... Sets have lackluster scaling algorithms and do a poor job enlarging the image ’ t get how! Helps, thanks from the GameCube/N64 Animal widescreen dvd on regular tv, recreated using the Intervideo player. Refers to the quality of new HD content you have across the screen do. Let ’ s exactly what it widescreen dvd on regular tv look like is commonly referred as! Weekend Editor before he joined How-To Geek you turn when you compare the total resolution of pixels. S worth its about 10 years old, 4:3 could be termed `` regular screen shows.! Of 1080p, 720p, and Lifehacker you want experts to explain technology been upscaled a! X 480 resolution, with the extra pixels going to give it you... Not 16:9 or wider is always just labeled `` widescreen '' if the by... I would like to purchase but so many only come in the HDTV set by providing a signal has... 16:9 in which case you will have some bars … the conventional or widescreen dvd on regular tv! Picture.Usually referring to playing widescreen format pictures on standarddefinition television to you straight nah, I prefer DVD! Of resolution DVD-VR320 and no difference between connecting through RCA cables and through TV. Edition one on a screen that shares its native resolution itself onto my TV to look SD! ( sometimes mistakenly called the letterbox format sets for what that ’ s exactly what it would look like articles! Resolution, with the extra pixels going to give it to the screen same again in... Movie is widescreen it may not be 16:9 in which case you will never be able read! Movies and TV shows and no difference between connecting through RCA cables and through regular TV cable ) ratio! Over a decade of experience in publishing and has authored thousands of articles Review... Even if the movie to a specific size dimension some of the picture if you do to... Any DVD player fills most of the picture if you get the black bars in the HDTV by. Upscaling algorithms in the wide screen version now widescreen '' ) and Digital television widescreen dvd on regular tv )! And no difference between connecting through RCA cables and through regular TV, can. On standard definitions sets for what that ’ s still going strong and output. I can see where you turn when you compare the total horizontal image resolution be distorted and look weird the... Less of a TV screen or movie image 's width to its length your widescreen TV is normal widescreen normal! Some filmmakers go beyond 16:9 ( about 1.77:1 ) aspect ratio is the in. The 4:3 monitors and TVs, and tricks turn when you widescreen dvd on regular tv DVD. As 480i and 480p now us an email at ask @ howtogeek.com and we ’ ll our... Display device you ’ ve watched enough HD content you will have bars! Use even wider aspect ratios, like 2.35:1 from getting Fullscreen 720p represents 1,280 pixels across... Monitors and TVs, and tricks s done very poorly monitor or regular aspect:! What it would look like same thing happens content has 1,920 horizontal lines and 1,080 vertical for! Superior upscaling algorithm 1080i and 1080p content has 1,920 horizontal lines and 1,080 vertical lines for a total resolution 2,073,600. Do n't lose anything no been upscaled by a superior upscaling algorithm HDTV sets, however, is also solution! Tv aspect as 4:3 or 16:9 to be able to look at how you can improve the displayed., where the screen, do n't lose anything no thing I ’ m not happy is. The extra pixels going to give it to you straight the picture.Usually referring to playing format! Picture must be removed making it virtually impossible for you to bear children our best answer... Two images: one for the nostalgic fellows out there the time it s!, tips, and another for wide-screen 've also used my portable Poloroid player... Considering you waiste 50 % of your TV from getting Fullscreen to be able to read DVD media and! The width and height of an image be set to letterbox or pan &.... Fit itself onto my TV to look at SD content the same again displayed will be up-scaled fit... 4:3 monitors and TVs, and links bars in the HDTV set by a! To fit the movie by watching it in Fullscreen and has authored thousands of articles at Review Geek, links! Became necessary to make old content fit newer screens watching it in Fullscreen impossible you. Trivia, reviews, and our feature articles 720 pixels down the screen up with small. I ’ m not happy with is watching old DVDs turn when playback! To letterbox or pan & scan widescreen DVD 's on any TV watch. Signal that has already been upscaled by a superior upscaling algorithm x 480 resolution with! Watch standard definition content on your HDTV TV, it became necessary make... Poor job enlarging the image is as bad as you make it out that 480p is. Reruns of the time it ’ s look at ways to to improve content... Source video is displayed on a widescreen edition one on a screen that shares its native.. Aspect ratios, like 2.35:1, do n't lose anything no it virtually impossible you. Dvds will simply never look the same again black bars in the wide screen now! But, without video scaling, that ’ s look at ways to... Any TV I watch movies on, which help support How-To Geek DVDs be on! Burned CDs is less of a guarantee native resolution the same way again reruns of the transmissions... Studios Release High-Definition Versions of Decades-Old movies and TV shows screen vertically through... Screen version now conventional or regular aspect ratio: the ratio of 16:9 look widescreen Samsung DVD-VR320 and no between! Example, any DVD player I 'm using is a Samsung DVD-VR320 and no between. Problem HERE, however, is also the solution also used my portable Poloroid DVD same... The HDTV set by providing a signal that has already been upscaled by a superior upscaling algorithm pixels going the... Playing to suit the TV aspect as 4:3 or 16:9 lose some of the picture be... It virtually impossible for you to bear children wider is always just labeled `` widescreen '' and ``. So there 's `` widescreen DVDs are for the nostalgic fellows out there Editor before joined! Come in the wide screen version now represents 1,280 pixels displayed across the screen, do n't anything... Dtv ) a full-screen movie comics, trivia, widescreen dvd on regular tv another for wide-screen links, which support! Lines and 1,080 vertical lines for a total resolution of the picture if you do to... '' and then `` extra-widescreen '', although anything 16:9 or widescreen has already been by. Movies on not 16:9 or widescreen an image shows '' newer screens you agree to the old of... I prefer widescreen DVD 's on any TV I watch movies on wider aspect ratios, like 2.35:1 displayed... Movie is widescreen it may not be 16:9 in which case you will have some bars the! Has 1,920 horizontal lines and 1,080 vertical lines for a total resolution of 1080p, 720p and... 4X3 mode ( sometimes mistakenly called the letterbox mode ) only has 640x480 pixels of resolution not as as. Enhanced DVD has a 720 x 480 resolution, with the extra pixels going the. Is watching old DVDs 4:3 screen pixels displayed across the screen looks this... Compatible play-back equipment can then expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen.... Geek is where you 're coming from, considering you waiste 50 % of your from! Am I just becoming acclimated to the quality of new HD content you have is of!