How will you watch the unaltered trilogy?

[tomandshell]

For those of you who own a widescreen display/monitor, how will you be watching the unaltered original trilogy discs that Lucas is giving us in non-anamorphic 4:3 widescreen?

 

[tomandshell]

The final option should read: "I don't own a widescreen TV yet..."

One of these days, we will all have one. Or at least, your kids will.

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

Yes, I wonder too... I think this sux. It's the one thing that is keeping me from buying the new version at the moment, although I'll buy it eventually...
I don't understand why they didn't get it right! Perhaps to make us buy the OT again, when they have changed it to widescreen or something?? I'm not a cinemascope-control-multi-media-HD-freak, but watching the OT in 3/4 again, is... not so swell I imagine. I hate to 'stretch' the bejesus out of a picture.

 

[Wor-Gar]

The final option should read: "I don't own a widescreen TV yet..."

One of these days, we will all have one. Or at least, your kids will.

By then there will be six more versions of SW on DVD.

So why should I buy these DVDs again? Any reason other than its the first DVD to include THE original theatrical OT?

I'm all for the original OT as it was... but will someone watch it and make sure its really the ones from 1977, 1980 and 1983 before I buy yet another SW set.


Also, I don't have a widescreen (yet) so can I stil enjoy the widescreen version on my regular old cathode TV?

 

[Alice Adrenochrome]

... I'm all for the original OT as it was... but will someone watch it and make sure its really the ones from 1977, 1980 and 1983 before I buy yet another SW set.

Yes, actually you are rigt there, Wor-Gar. I don't understand why they didn't get it right!

 

[Khev]

I'm all for the original OT as it was... but will someone watch it and make sure its really the ones from 1977, 1980 and 1983 before I buy yet another SW set.

Of the three new DVD's only ESB is truly the original version. When ANH and ROTJ were originally in theaters the alien subtitles were obviously in frame.

On a 4:3 TV they'll look pretty much like any letterboxed movie you'd watch on DVD.

 

[Wor-Gar]

Of the three new DVD's only ESB is truly the original version. When ANH and ROTJ were originally in theaters the alien subtitles were obviously in frame.

Then they're not the original, are they?

Thanks for the scoop on the aspect ratio, Khev!

 

[Darth Waller]

I'll probably just watch these on my 4:3 set. I don't think they'd look good zoomed on my 16:9 set anway. Thanks, George!

 

[pixletwin]

I just have a normal 27" TV. So its no big deal for me... But I can see how that would be an issue down the road.

 

[darthviper107]

As non-anamorphic, is it still widescreen or is it fullscreen?

 

[Wor-Gar]

As non-anamorphic, is it still widescreen or is it fullscreen?

And the answer is...

On a 4:3 TV they'll look pretty much like any letterboxed movie you'd watch on DVD.

 

[elwood49]

I'll zoom the DVD, and then use my TV's "wide zoom" during the subtitle scenes. I HATE the fact that these aren't anamorphic. 33% less resolution and unreadable subtitles in zoom mode= .

 

[Customikey]

Honestly, how many of us even need the subtitles for these movies anymore?

My old DVD player had a flaw where it would stop playing the subtitles every now and then. It took a long time for me to notice.

 

[tomandshell]

OK, to clear things up, here are some sample shots.

Here is the actual video image from an anamorphic (16:9) widescreen DVD:

Here is an image from a non-anamorphic (4:3) widescreen DVD:

An anamorphic (16:9) DVD played on a "square" (4:3) TV will shrink the image down and automatically fill in the rest of the black bars, giving you this picture:

So a 16x9 DVD looks the same as a 4:3 DVD on a regular television set. Owners of "square" televisions cannot tell the difference.


Now, on to the choices available to widescreen TV owners...



An anamorphic (16:9) DVD viewed on a widescreen TV will look like this:

When viewing a non-anamorphic (4:3) DVD (like the unaltered trilogy discs released today) on a widescreen TV, you are trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. It doesn't fit, and you have a choice to make.

First, you can center the square image in the middle of the screen, and additional black bars will be filled in to the left and right of the image, resulting in this:

Second, you can choose to stretch the image horizontally so that it fills the screen. It is stretched horizontally, but not vertically, resulting in a distorted image. No additional black bars are inserted by the player or set. The resulting image looks like this:

Finally, you can choose to zoom the image so that it fills the screen but is not horizontally distorted as in option two. The image quality is reduced as you zoom in and enlarge the pixels beyond the size at which they were intended to be viewed, and some subtitles will be cropped out of the picture as well. It will look like this:

So in conclusion, an anamorphic (16:9) widescreen DVD can be enjoyed by owners of any kind of television set. Everyone is happy and sees the same image.

A non-anamorphic DVD (like today's unaltered Star Wars release) can be properly enjoyed only by people who own "square" 4:3 television sets. Owners of widescreen sets will be forced to make a choice that somehow compromises the quality of the image being viewed.

As much as George Lucas has been a pioneer of audiences being able to see films just as their creators intended, his decision to release the films in the non-anamorphic format is mind boggling and frustrating.

 

[Coheteboy]

Thanks for the comparison, tomandshell. I'm really glad I didn't buy it now. I need my money for sideshow!

 

[Captain Faramir]

I prefer the special editions anyways, but it's cool that they have them for people that like the unaltered versions!

 

[galactiboy]

So if you have a 16/9 TV the image would just be smaller and centered if non-anamorphic. Do you loose any image quality this way, or is it just not as big as one would like who has an expensive TV?

 

[user 131]

Non-anamorphic = No Sale.

I've been collecting DVDs since 1999 and have owned roughly 15-20 movies that were non-anamorphic and now currently own 1. I also own Can't Buy Me Love which isn't even in widescreen when it should be. What a crock of poop.

 

[Gruson]

Hey Elwood! Where you been?

Zoomed to fill the screen, chopping off the subtitles and emphasizing the lower resolution is the only way to watch them if you have a widescreen display.


Despite not being anamorphic, these look REALLY good.

I watched parts of ANH and TESB today.

My video set up is a 119" screen, IF 7200 FP, Oppo, HDA1 and Zektor DVI switch.

I have them being scaled to 1080i and then going to the IF.

Both look VERY good and better than any bootleg out there. They look even better than the actual LDs as well (when I had them). There is some "grain" or "dots" that are more apparent than other releases but you get used to it. I also preferred the picture of the Oppo player compared to the HDA1. That said, there is no LD "tearing" with these versions and colors look great. It is so nice to have the original colors back. I hated the '97 SE tints.

For $15 each, they are a must have. It's great to have an easy way for everyone to enjoy the TRUE Star Wars trilogy.

More later, I got to watch more now!

 

[elwood49]

Do you loose any image quality this way, or is it just not as big as one would like who has an expensive TV?

Non-anamorphic DVD's only have 360 lines of resolution, while anamorphic ones have 480.

However, anamorphic DVD's still have 360 lines of resolution (every 3rd line is deleted to fit the screen) if you don't have a widescreen set, or a 4:3 set that is capable of doing the "squeeze trick" (the "squeeze" trick is a feature where a 4:3 set squeezes 480 lines of resolution down to fit a its monitor instead of the normal method of deleting every 3rd line).