HDTV/HD-DVR/DVD's

[lisakmusco]

I know I'm not going to ask/explain this right, but am going to give it a try, hopefully someone will be able to intuit what I'm trying to say.

We've always bought widescreen editions of DVD's. Now we have a new HDTV (ie, 16:9 shape) and upconverting DVD player, but the movies no longer look right. They don't fill the screen like HD programming, and in fact, the black bars look bigger (and the movie itself smaller), making the original appeal of widescreen disappear. Tried changing the display format on the TV but no help. Other than going to a Blu-Ray player and converting all my DVDs to that, how do I get a good picture/movie-viewing experience with my existing DVD's? and is there something I should look for on new DVD's to get the appropriate display view?

[MIAMI1683]

On a DVD its in what format they choose ie > widescreen is like 2:35 or whatever. The black bars are correct. If you want to use the "full screen" buy non widescreen movies. Then upconvert. It will fill the screen. Then adjust the picture with your tv for the right "sizing"

[Stewart Vernon]

Two possible "problems" in play here.

The first, already mentioned, are 2.35:1 movies which will have black bars because they are not 16x9 and this is completely proper.

The other... not all widescreen DVDs were created equally. Usually they will say "anamorphic" if designed to fill the 16x9 properly but I have a few that do even though they do not say so. But some "widescreen" DVDs are actually embedded in a 4x3 frame, which means on a 16x9 widescreen TV you get the "postage stamp" effect.

IF #1 is your problem, then it isn't a problem. If #2 is your problem then you'll need to see if there's been a new release in anamorphic format OR explore the zoom options of your TV and/or DVD player.

[brant]

also check the output screen size of your DVD. usually they have a choice for 4x3 or 16x9, just like your sat receiver. and yes, you will have black bars on most widescreen DVD's.