I am a very big proponent of letting the content creator determine how it is streamed to my 16:9 HDTV. I have adjusted all my devices to stream content in their native mode. If the source is 1080P it shows up on my HDTV as 1080P, if it is 720P it shows up as 720P, and so on. Unfortunately when I view certain theatrical (movies) HD content from Directv or my Blu-Ray player, most of it displays in a letterbox with black lines on the top and bottom.
After extolling the virtues of HDTV and Blu-Ray to my family and friends, I get a lot of questions about this effect since the elimination of letterboxing was one of the features often touted by HDTV proponents. Everyone believes that there must be something wrong with their settings. At the beginning, I thought there that as well, however the issue is not with the setup; it is with the content. Well it is not a problem, it is by design. Most theatrical content is filmed in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, while the aspect ratio of HDTV is 1.78:1 (commonly referred to as 16:9). To display the 2.40:1 content accurately on a 1.78:1 display, the HDTV is forced to produce bars at the top and bottom.
You would have thought that the HDTV engineers would have taken this into consideration when they settled on the 16:9 ratio, well apparently not, and we are left with viewing theatrical content not filmed in 1.78:1 in a letter box. Yes, we can always use our HDTV or Blu-Ray player functionality to expand the image, but the anamorphic conversion is never perfect. As a consumer, I am less than happy not be able to use all of the 46 inches of my HDTV to view movies as the director intended them to be seen. I think that is a pretty sad commentary on an industry that currently makes most of its income from DVD sales. There is artistic value in the wider aspect ratio, but the question still remains why the HDTV standard did not take that into consideration.
For further information this article from Home Theater magazine is good. If you have the watched the Blu-Ray version Dark Knight and noticed that the screen switched from letter box to full screen (at first I thought there was something wrong with the disc), this article explains why.
NETFLIX’s Blu-Ray Tax
I am a big fan of the NETFLIX service. The entire process of selecting, receiving, and returning DVDs is pretty mindless and with my ROKU box streaming works very well (NETFLIX just needs to keep pushing to add more content). On the mail side, NETFLIX started charging $1 per month for Blu-Ray disk service last November, although I did not like the charge, it was reasonable. Now less than 6 months later they have decided to double the fee to $2 per month on my 1 DVD at time subscription plan starting April 27th. At this point, I am not sure that Blu-Ray is worth an extra $24 per year, especially with the letterbox aspect ratio matter I described in this post. The bigger problem has been the availability of Blu-Ray disks (one of the reason stated for the price increase), I have had wait over a month for some recent titles. On that front, it does looks like NETFLIX is delivering; this morning Quantum of Solace became available (now status) in Blu-Ray less than 3 weeks after release while the DVD is on short wait. I have two more weeks before making my final decision and will monitor availability. I love the image quality of Blu-Ray, but is it that much better than DVD. I would have to say no, it is not like going from VHS to DVD which was a no brainer.
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Dear Stephen,
You are receiving this email because you added unlimited Blu-ray access to your account for $1 a month. The number of Blu-ray titles has increased significantly and will continue to do so. As we buy more, you are able to choose from a rapidly expanding selection of Blu-ray titles. And as you've probably heard, Blu-ray discs are substantially more expensive than standard definition DVDs.
As a result, the monthly charge for Blu-ray access is increasing for most plans and will now vary by plan. The charge for monthly Blu-ray access on your 1 DVD at-a-time (Unlimited) plan will increase from $1 a month to $2 a month. The price of your 1 DVD at-a-time (Unlimited) plan is not changing and remains at $8.99 a month.
The new charge for Blu-ray access will be automatically added to your next billing statement on or after April 27, 2009 and will be referenced in your Membership Terms and Details.
If you wish to continue unlimited Blu-ray access for $2 a month, you don't need to do anything. If not, you can remove Blu-ray access anytime by visiting Your Account.
If you have questions about this change or need any assistance, please call us anytime at 1-888-923-0898.
-The Netflix Team
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Posted by sskarlatos on April 13, 2009 at 08:53 AM in Commentary, HDTV, NETFLIX, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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