Question Black Bars question

[ross.mh]

im NEW to anystream. currently running on a trial to see if its something I want to use.
so far it looks like i'll be buying a license, BUT i have question.
i downloaded a few titles from amazon and netflix to test how the movies will play in my plex. on my plex via xbox im getting black bars at the top and bottom.. is this normal? is it something im seeing due to being in a trial?
ideally id like to not have the black bars.. same titles when viewed via those providers does not do that. i ran them thru handbrake, still there.
looking for a little education.

 

[DrXenos]

1. The videos are however they are on the providers servers (black bars or no). AS doesn't change that.
2. HandBrake will remove the black bars if you tell it to.
3. The presents or absence of blacks bars is not going to change the fact you'll see blacks bars on your TV (unless you change the aspect ratio of the video, blow up the image on your tv, etc.).

 

[ross.mh]

my tv is a 75 inch samsung. the only videos i have the bars on, are either AS downloads or OLD dvd's i ripped to my plex.

 

[DrXenos]

my tv is a 75 inch samsung. the only videos i have the bars on, are either AS downloads or OLD dvd's i ripped to my plex.

The size of your TV is irrelevant. If the aspect ratio of the video is different from the TV's (16:9), you will see black bars.

 

[fretzke]

2. HandBrake will remove the black bars if you tell it to.

Only if the black bars are part of the video. Fortunately many movies are offered in their original aspect ratio (like e.g. cinematic 24:10 which would translate to a 1920x800 resolution). The TV doesn't have the physical capability to correctly fit the video on the screen, so it's media player adds a letterbox by itself. Most TVs can be set to either add a letterbox or zoom the video to fill the screen by cutting of overlapping edges.

In any way, this is clearly no AS issue and has nothing to do with the type of license. The video you see is exactly as provided.

 

[DrXenos]

Only if the black bars are part of the video.

I think it goes without saying that you can only remove black bars that actually exist.

 

[Xander]

my tv is a 75 inch samsung. the only videos i have the bars on, are either AS downloads or OLD dvd's i ripped to my plex.

so if you watch the same movie you downloaded on prime or netflix you are not getting the black bars? but you are when downloading?
it schuld be exactly the same, maybe you have zoom/overscan on so so you dont see the bars? that would be odd thou.

 

[DrXenos]

so if you watch the same movie you downloaded on prime or netflix you are not getting the black bars? but you are when downloading?
it schuld be exactly the same, maybe you have zoom/overscan on so so you dont see the bars? that would be odd thou.

I don't think it's odd. My TV can do that (I don't, though). I remember my DVD player would auto-zoom movies that were letterbox but not anamorphic.

 

[Harpers Tate]

It depends on the material you are trying to watch. They say a picture is worth 1000 words. Here are six for you to consider. This is a still from a movie as it was made for theatrical use:



This film is not in the same shape as a typical TV or computer monitor screen. It's wider in relation to its height. Movie theatres have screens whose shape can be "changed" by the use of movable masking, usually at the sides, to match the shape of the film itself. Whereas a TV screen is of fixed shape.


There are pretty much only four ways that this film might be presented on a 16x9 screen.


1: Letterboxed. The original image is padded top and bottom with black. You see the original as it was made, complete and undistorted. Hence "letterboxed with black bars". It's the only way for the entire thing to fit a 16x9 screen. Note at the mid right, there is an indicator on the computer that is pretty much circular.



2: Distorted. The height of the image is increased to fit the screen shape. But the contents are thereby stretched vertically. That circular indicator is now clearly oval.



3: Cropped. The entire thing is enlarged to fill the height. But to do so without distortion, the edges are cropped off; completely missing. The circular computer indicator isn't there.



In this scene, arguably it doesn't matter. But in another, some of the important content may be happening at the sides, and therefore now be missing. In such cases - if the side content is important, then the movie may be panned and scanned. The image is moved from side to side to present those important and otherwise missing elements.


4: Pan and scan.



How would you go about filling your screen with this movie? There is really only one "correct" way - see (1).

 

[DrXenos]

The above is such an informative post. I think something like this should be pinned somewhere. I never understand all the hatred for "black bars." This aversion is why we had to put up with that god-awful pan & scan for so long. Now with widescreen TVs, it's seems like the opposite is being done. I've seen too many releases of 4:3 source material that are cropped or stretched into faux widescreen.

 

[Harpers Tate]

Indeed. Let's do the same thing for an old movie or TV show that was made approximately 4x3 ("academy ratio").

Here is a still as originally made for a 4x3 screen (old movie theatre, old TV):



and again, this is not the same shape as a modern TV (16x9). It's narrower in relation to its height. And there are various ways in which this might be modified to fit a 16x9 screren.

1: Pillarboxed (i.e. with black bars either side)



in which the entire frame is shown, undistorted.

2: Pillarboxed again, but this time with the black edges replaced by a blurred version of the original sides



Some may prefer this; I find it distracting.

3: Stretched to fit horizontally. All the contents are distorted and not accurate. Faces are too wide, etc.



4: Vertical Pan & Scan. The entire image is enlarged to fill the width. But the top or bottom or both have to be cropped off in order to fit. Note the foreground fence is not seen. Or it could have been the characters' heads.



There is only one correct way to do it. See 1.

 

[DrXenos]

Stop! You're giving me nightmares!

 

[KidJoe]

Another good resource and explanation of the different Aspect Ratios Movies and TV Episodes are filmed at, compared to the aspect ration of TVs/Displays, and therefore why we can get black bars even today... https://www.easefab.com/resource/blu-ray-dvd-aspect-ratios-explained.html

Basically, a 16x9 TV is 1.78:1 aspect ratio. So if the Movie or TV show was shot using 1.78:1 then it will fit the screen perfectly, no black bars. Any other aspect ratio like 1.85:1 and 2.40:1 you'll need horizontal black bars to "pad" the image when displaying on 1.78:1/16x9 TV or monitor.

 

[Bogyo]

On Amazon and Prime Video channels there are many movies available in Open Matte version (AMC+, Starz, Film1, HBO Max in Br and Mx, ViX etc.). Then you can watch them on full screen

 

[DrXenos]

What driving me nuts is when an older (4:3) show comes out on Blu-ray, the Amazon reviews will invariably be filled with idiotic comments that it's not "HD" because it's not widescreen.

I do, however, like how they'd been able to make widescreen of some older shows on Blu-ray by using more of the source material (Charmed, X-Files). X-Files is slightly cropped top and bottom, but it's very small. Some people have said they can see anomalies like camera equipment in the added parts of Charmed, but I haven't seen it (even if it's there and it's very rare, I'm OK with it, seeing what we're getting in exchange).

 

[KidJoe]

4: Vertical Pan & Scan. The entire image is enlarged to fill the width. But the top or bottom or both have to be cropped off in order to fit. Note the foreground fence is not seen. Or it could have been the characters' heads.

View attachment 77721

There is only one correct way to do it. See 1.

And this is why many didn't like what Disney did for the Simpsons on Disney+ and when Seinfeld episodes went digital. For the episodes originally filmed and aired as 4x3(aka 4:3) aspect ratio, they simply zoomed in like this to fill the TV width, so the bottom and top of frame was cut/cropped off. This impacted some of the jokes because you could no longer see things originally in the frame.

Of note was the TV series Seinfeld which was originally shot as 4x3 due to TVs of the age being 4x3 aspect ratio. When it went to TBS and Netflix "HD" channels which were 16x9 they decided to zoom and crop. Season 8, Episode 16 "The Pothole" is a great example of why this is an issue, as the pothole is not visible due to cropping for a 16x9 TV. Kids today will never understand that joke See ->



BTW, as a Disney fan, I have to give you bonus points for using Song of the South as your example.