DVD Question

[Yellow Rose]

System stats - Panasonic 42" plasma H(not an E)DTV screen with Denon receiver / speakers.

Watched Bad Boys 2, and without pushing any buttons, the image on the screen will randomly change from full-size to partial-size, back to full-size, back to partial-size, etc.

Watched XXX, and the image was full size the entire movie.

Watched Crimson Tide, and the image would act somewhat like BB2, but not as often.

Other than the volume, nothing was adjusted. All three DVDs were purchased in Houston, which is where I live, so there shouldn't be a "region" issue.

Any ideas?

 

[Acura NsX Pilot]

What model DvD player did u use ? Was it progessive scan ?

 

[Yellow Rose]

What model DvD player did u use?

Denon ADV-1000

Was it progessive scan?

Yes

 

[ncdogdoc]

Andy,

Is this combination new? I would check the plasma setup first, as it may be trying to autosync to the DVD output, and not be able to figure which signal it is getting sent. Try to just set the plasma to wide or stretch, whichever Panasonic uses for only width changes without stretching vertically.

Then check the DVD player and make sure it is set to ouput to a 16:9 screen, not a 4:3 screen.

Finally, try the DVD player with another TV, and try another DVD player, or a Mini DV camcorder set for 16:9 output on the Plasma. Hope this helps.

 

[gheba_nsx]

It could also be that the TV is set to "Auto-size" and it tries to detect the picture format (4:3 / 16:9 / 2,35:1) by checking the "black bars" at the top and bottom of the picture.

In case a movie has very dark scenes it may happen that this system is fooled and changes continuosly format. It happened on my previous Panasonic 36" TV...

 

[Yellow Rose]

Too Many Formats

With your help, I think I figured out why XXX plays so well, but Bad Boys 2 and Crimson tide not so well. The XXX dvd I have is a “full screen” version; whereas, BB2 is “wide screen” version and Tide is “original format” version. But wait, it doesn’t stop there.

Some DVDs are “wide screen” version and some are “full screen” version. So far, I have only found one that comes in your choice of formats - Hunted.

If 16:9 = 1.78 (new) aspect ratio and 4:3 = 1.33 (old) aspect ratio, why are current DVDs coming out in aspect ratios of 1.85, 2.35, 2.40, etc.? Oh well, I will go searching this coming weekend for terms like “double layer”, “anamorphic” and such.

It appears that the plasma and receiver I have are “technologically ahead of” the DVDs from recent years that are in widescreen format, and I need to play with settings on the plasma and receiver. Apparently, my setup is biased more towards fullscreen format. Hmmm, you would think that a movie like BB2 just recently released would be in FS instead of WS. Hollywood should’ve consulted with me first.

Anybody know of a good DVD forum?

 

[caz-nsx]

Andy,

When looking for DVDs just look for the widescreen version. There are multiple widescreen formats as you noted. An anamorphic DVD is 16:9 and will fit your full widescreen. If you happen to get one of the other widescreen formats you can reduce the thickness of the top and bottom bars by changing from "full" mode to "zoom" mode. Zoom slightly stretches the picture vetically, but is not very noticable. But as they say, if you want to watch the movie the way the director "intended" you to see it keep it in full mode.

I have been waiting patiently for my new widescreen projector to show up. Home electronics are a good substitute for the winter NSX blues.

John