Originally posted by: ESHBG
My response in another thread, but since I brought it up here too I will share my results:
--Okay, I found a non-anamorphic, letterbox DVD (and it was a 2001 Fox release too, imagine that *yawn*). The movie was shot in 2.35:1 so it was a great comparison. In my component mode, it keeps it letterboxed and it does NOT scale it any bigger to fill more of the screen. But since I have a DVD/VCR combo I could actually switch to the AV mode and still play/watch the DVD, and in that mode I can select the "Zoom" options to fill more of the screen. Quite honestly, I didn't really notice much difference in picture quality and I was satisfied with viewing the movie in that mode.
So yeah, I am still on the fence about getting the 09/12 DVDs but feeling *slightly* better about it all. I still don't know what is going through Lucas'/LFL's head, though. Maybe they figure with the technology out there today they can take the easy route, as most (all?) widescreen TVs, DVD players, etc., have a zoom feature. No excuse, though, no excuse...--
My response in another thread, but since I brought it up here too I will share my results:
--Okay, I found a non-anamorphic, letterbox DVD (and it was a 2001 Fox release too, imagine that *yawn*). The movie was shot in 2.35:1 so it was a great comparison. In my component mode, it keeps it letterboxed and it does NOT scale it any bigger to fill more of the screen. But since I have a DVD/VCR combo I could actually switch to the AV mode and still play/watch the DVD, and in that mode I can select the "Zoom" options to fill more of the screen. Quite honestly, I didn't really notice much difference in picture quality and I was satisfied with viewing the movie in that mode.
So yeah, I am still on the fence about getting the 09/12 DVDs but feeling *slightly* better about it all. I still don't know what is going through Lucas'/LFL's head, though. Maybe they figure with the technology out there today they can take the easy route, as most (all?) widescreen TVs, DVD players, etc., have a zoom feature. No excuse, though, no excuse...--
You may want to check out an older player, the Panasonic RP91. The RP91 can take letterbox material and "scale" it to 16x9 format. This allows you to keep your display in it's widescreen, or Full, mode. The Full mode is used with anamphoric material. The panny of course doesn't make the letterbox true anamphoric, but it does a good job and the big thing is keeping the display in Full mode where you don't get geometry distortion. They can probably get got pretty cheap now days. It is component only at 480p, no upscalling or anything.