What's with "Fullscreen Edition" DVD's at Blockbuster

[bigrig]

Just browsin around in Blockbuster, and I notice lots of the DVD's have "Fullscreen Edition" written on them, like it's a good thing.

And no "Widescreen Edition" there to complement them. Is this what the public wants???

IMO, if it's gonna be home theatre, it's gotta be 16:9.

Matt

[sjhill01]

If I could afford it, I'd agree with you. But since I don't have 16:9, hallelujah, Blockbuster!!!!!

I'm sick and tired of having so much of my TV's screen wasted with black bands because the only DVDs available for so long have been widescreen.

[gcutler]

I think sjhill01 says it all as to why you see that at blockbuster. I love widescreen, even if it wastes my screen. I'm kind of a purist and want to see it as it was intended by the Director and Cinematographer so Widescreen is a must for me. But that opinion is not very popular.

[Augie #70]

I am amazed that prople will complain about not using their entire tv screen but have no problem missing 1/3 of the movie.

this link shows it all http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/6781/

http://www.widescreen.org/examples.shtml

[DarrellP]

Once again, we must resurrect the Block Buster online petition against full screen movies: Please Sign this. (http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?widedvd)

My Avatar says it all. :D

I don't understand why people want to miss 1/3 of the movie, either. Maybe we should be able to pay 1/3 less for those copies?

[Chris Blount]

Blockbuster was getting complaints about the widescreen DVD's which is why the carry mostly full screen versions when they can.

The general public is un-educated about the benefits of wide screen which is why we must endure this. It's really all part of the scam. The studios deliberately don't tell anyone about how great widescreen can be so when more people start buying 16X9 TV's, they will discover that they will also have to re-buy all of those full screen DVD's they bought earlier. Fools.

[gcutler]

Originally posted by DarrellP
My Avatar says it all. :D

Pan and Scan, NOW DarrelP, I think you should animate your avatar to show us a Pan and Scan of your image :p

[sjhill01]

Don't get me wrong; I know widescreen is better. But until the price of the equipment comes down, I'd rather miss part of the show and use all of the TV I paid for.

Just my uneducated public opinion :)

[David_Levin]

My solution (in the pre-widescreen days) was to get a bigger TV.

Blockbuster is going to carry what the public wants - pity.

The only PPVs I order are the ones showing on one of the (two) LBX Channels. Perhaps E* will notice and add more. Like I said, ultimately, we choose with our wallets - there's nothing more effective.

[Ryan]

As long as I can get what I want in the format I prefer (widescreen, BTW), I really don't care what other people are buying or renting.

While I believe the benefits of widescreen are numerous--and I'm watching mostly on a small, small screen TV--others should be able to get what they want, too.

[gcutler]

Originally posted by sjhill01
Just my uneducated public opinion :)

Nothing wrong with it, you are in the majority, but it proves why Widescreen is not accepted by the majority at the moment.

[gcutler]

Was it true that "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" DVD was not available in Widescreen. That is the only movie I've heard of lately where there was no choice.

[James_F]

Originally posted by David_Levin
Blockbuster is going to carry what the public wants - pity.
Gee, Blockbuster wants to be responsive to public pressure. Why fault them on that?

[jrjcd]

can't fault them at all, but i suggest to the full screen preferists that they go see two towers, nemesis, or harry potter at the theatre with an eyepatch on so they will feel more at home...

[gcutler]

Originally posted by jrjcd
can't fault them at all, but i suggest to the full screen preferists that they go see two towers, nemesis, or harry potter at the theatre with an eyepatch on so they will feel more at home...

I guess I'm lucky I can only see out of one eye and don't need an eye patch :p

[jrjcd]

gorsh-the conscience area of my brain must be out of whack-that didn't make me feel guilty at all....

i guess i should start polishing up on my one arm paper hanger jokes...

[DarrellP]

Originally posted by sjhill01
Don't get me wrong; I know widescreen is better. But until the price of the equipment comes down, I'd rather miss part of the show and use all of the TV I paid for.

Just my uneducated public opinion :)
OK, you want widescreen at a cheap price: check this (http://www.bestbuy.com/basket/loadbasket.asp?b=0&e=11101064&m=0&cat=&scat=) out.

Everyone still has this myth that HDTV costs an arm and a leg. Prices are dropping fast.

[Ken Seeber]

Originally posted by gcutler
Was it true that "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" DVD was not available in Widescreen. That is the only movie I've heard of lately where there was no choice.

Initially this was true, but a month or two after the fullscreen-only release Warner Bros. relented and released a widescreen version of "Willy Wonka."  It can be hard to find at some stores that cater to the fullscreen-only crowd, but you should be able to find it at Best Buy.  It's readily available online.

[DarrellP]

There was an Internet Revolution concerning the full screen release of Willy Wonka. You can check it out at TheDigitalbits.com. The studio finally conceded and issues a widescreen version. There was also an online petition similar to the BlockBuster online petition.

[zimm0who0net]

One thing that I never understood is WHY can't they put both versions on the same DVD?? I seem to remember that the original DVD specification provided for a standard way to embed the pan/scan vectors into the widescreen version of the movie. That way you could select which version you wanted to view right from the DVD player. I know my DVD provides this selection (i.e. pan/scan vs. widescreen/letterbox), but it doesn't seem to do anything on the movies I've tried it on. What's the deal???

[sjhill01]

Yeah, I have a few discs that have both on the same side, and a few with full on one side and wide on the other.. I wonder why these options didn't become more popular?

[gcutler]

It may be an issue of effort. The publishing of dual sided or mutliple format may cost a few cents extra per DVD and they decide that they would rather keep the profit.