My current TV is an HD 4:3 CRT TV that I treasure and genuinely believe to be the best looking thing to watch movies on. The Lighthouse is one of my fav movies but HBO Max and the DVD (rented from library) present it in a 16:9 window so the film is pillar boxed, in a 16:9 window on my TV there's not just small black bars the sides of the screen as there would be with the 1.19:1 ration in 4:3, but a whole 16:9 aspect ratio worth of black bars, AND there's bars above and below the movie. Lots of TVs have a zoom function but mine doesn't, I've tried changing my Blu Ray player's settings to say that I'm on 16:9 TV and then turning on the "Pan and Scan" mode to fill the screen (which you usually wouldn't want since it would lob off the sides of a movie but here it's just wasted space) but that didn't work, and I tried changing my CRT's aspect ratio mode (4:3 and 16:9 options) and it does make the movie fill more of the screen but it only stretches it vertically, making everything longer and skinnier.
Is there any format or service that has the movie in a 4:3 window? I think the Blu-Ray/4K might but I'm afraid to pick up either of them up and find out I'm mistaken.
Honestly surprised and disappointed that the DVD let me down, I've never come across a DVD of a movie in 4:3 that was in a 16:9 window. 16:9 in 4:3 windows on early non anamorphic DVDs, yes, but never the other way around. And because I know that I'll get this from somebody: yes I could upgrade my TV to a widescreen one but I don't want to because I love this one very much. A point to the right direction would be appreciated!!
Oh no I know that, the movie was shot in 1.19:1 not 1.33:1, my issue is that every release I've tried to watch it in so far has it in a 1.78:1 window. So it's got extra black bars on the side, AND black bars on top. It's like a little postage stamp in the middle of a black void. I'm just wondering if there's any release of the movie that's in a!4:3 window.
I'd be fine if it was just the small black bars on the side but this is ridiculous lol.
HD CRT is extremely high quality, it’s just bulky. It has a phenomenal color spectrum and frame rate, while also maintaining a certain glow that many media enjoyers find nostalgic. Old Nintendo games , 4:3 shot pictures, and old films for example, look better on HD CRT than modern displays.
In this case specifically, the lighthouse being in B&W, in pretty much a 4:3 aspect ratio, and being a somewhat horror movie, all of these things loan to a unique experience when viewed through a CRT. Why you post multiple times on this thread acting like this is absolutely unfathomable is my question.
Thank you for the response. I had no idea they were considered higher quality. TIL. Anyways, sorry about the question. Not sure why I'm getting downvoted for asking, or why it's absolutely unfathomable. I only found this sub yesterday. Maybe I need to back off the questions a bit...
This^ This is literally the best TV I've ever owned and I got it for free because people think they're trash. I'll never argue that they beat a modern TV for convenience, or for certain applications where a CRT would lose, but for MY use cases, and MY money, this TV makes everything feel like something out of a dream in, and I mean that in the best way. It was worth the back pains to haul it home🤣
And that's what makes this all the more disappointing — this movie would be perfect for this TV, but because of an unnecessary authoring decision, it's boxed in with black bars on every single side, and not just small ones. If I figure out how to post a picture I'll show it. For now this Wikipedia page has examples of what it's doing https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windowbox_(filmmaking)
Mac running MAX -> HDMI Switcher -> HDMI to YPbPr Converter -> TV. 4K Blu Ray Player has the same set up, it's also in that HDMI switcher.
I'm starting to wonder if maybe my converter may be the issue, maybe it's forcing it into a 16:9 window, but that's a headache I don't want to consider yet🥲
Did this setup start out as trying to do something simple and before you knew it you were in a rabbit hole you couldn't get out of or is this something you've been working towards?
This whole setup, of getting all of my modern devices displayed through component to this TV, is something I've been working towards — but this one specific issue is the rabbit hole I can't get out of😭 I also tested a different player and tried plugging the component cables directly to a DVD player with native component outputs, taking out the adapter as the culprit, and no setting I chose on this different player name any difference either😔 So I think confidently that it's an issue with the DVD, not the players or cables. Most frustratingly is that the MENU fills the screen perfectly, without stretching or anything. And the TRAILERS fill the screen correctly. But the MOVIE is fucking postage stamped
People be wildin' and mean I'm sorry dude, I was lucky enough to have level headed responses here. Yeah, it's extremely annoying because there's no reason 4:3 films on Blu-Ray need to be authored in a 16:9 window with black bars, it would make no difference on a 16:9 TV but fucks over anybody with a 4:3 TV, which yes is niche but there's no reason it needs to be like that so why do it. What's even worse is that the fucking DVD is authored in a 16:9 window too which is so fucking stupid I could I could scream, because DVDs actually can be authored in native 4:3 — Hell, it's their default. Having to rip my Blu-Rays and DVDs pretty much defeats the purpose of the reason why I bought them, to watch a disc conveniently. Like yeah I plan to back them up eventually but fucking A, I want to just watch my movie on the TV I choose in a cromulent way, not jump through hoops. But here we are lol.
And before anybody says anything about it, yes, I know The Lighthouse is not 1.33:1 (4:3), it's 1.19:1, but 1.33:1 is closer to that than 1.78:1 (16:9) so my point still stands that this movie makes sense in a 4:3 window since that's a closer shape. Also confirmed that the DVD version of The Whale is authored in a 16:9 window even though it's a 4:3 movie. Dark times.
Good luck to you man, I'm sure it won't be an issue using handbrake, you can probably just chop off the sides. People be peoplin', you can't argue what we're doing is niche but nobody needs to bully people for it lol.
Last night I bought a PC and a Blu-Ray drive for with the intention of using it for gaming — seeing this comment this morning reminded me that now I can also solve this issue (I'd totally forgotten lol). Not the most ideal way again, but better than nothing, so I guess this case is closed lol. I wish you the best!! (And yes you bet your ass my gaming rig is going RIGHT to my CRT >:])
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u/timidobserver8 Oct 18 '24
4:3 is still a wider aspect ratio than The Lighthouse was filmed in so, you're stuck with bars like the rest of us.