Just bought a Philips 47" 1080p, and when i watch movie, the wide screen still has the bars on the top and bottom. When I switch the options to expand the picture to fill the screen, it distorts the movie. Not terrible, but the difference is clear when using the zoom. I though these tvs were made to display in the widescreen 16:9 format? Does this on dvds and blu-ray discs?
jf
Favorite Answer
TV exists as only 4:3 and 16:9. Movies exist in a variety of formats. The closest ratio to 16:9 is 1:1.85, and it is perhaps the most common. That is fairly close to your 16:9 (1:1.78) so many Hollywood films can be watched on a 16:9 TV and they will film the whole frame. However, sometimes, for artistic reasons, directors decide to shoot on wider film, so then when scaled down to fit the 16:9 screens (either theatre or home) you get a letter boxed image. The most common of these is the 1:2.35 ratio.
Learn more,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)
Peter D
A 16:9 (aka 1.78) display will play a movie with 16:9 aspect ratio without the black bars, just as a 4:3 TV will play a movie in 4:3 without any bars. Any movie presented in an aspect ratio different from that of the display device will result in black bars. Some movies are shot in aspect ratios that are wider than 1.78, so if you are watching such a movie you will see black bars.
link
Most Hollywood movies are recorded with a wider aspect ratio that 16:9 (1.78:1). They range from 1.85:1to as high as 2.5:1, so you'll still have black areas at the top and bottom. This may change over time, but film people love the ultra wide look.