Problem with PAL anamorphic DVD - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Danster · 2004-12-09, 08:01 AM

A friend of mine visiting from Germany brought a DVD that is PAL Anamorphic.
When I play it on my JVC THM505, it plays it no problem except one major pain in the arse. I have black bars all around the screen. It's like TSN HD showing a 4:3 picture on a 16:9 but with black bars on top and bottom.

If you know what the old THX intro looked like (thin blue lined box going all around the screen) this is basically what I'm getting. What am I doing wrong?

eljay · 2004-12-09, 08:16 AM

I have a non-anamorphic widescreen concert DVD (Ani DiFranco's "Trust") that does the same thing: In 16:9 Standard mode, there are bars all the way around the picture (like the THX intro. you're describing). I use 4:3 Zoom and it fills the screen perfectly.

Danster · 2004-12-09, 09:55 AM

I did the zoom on my TV and the only thing it did was stretch the picture vertically while still keeping the side bars.

Jake · 2004-12-09, 10:22 AM

Try setting the DVD player to AUTO or NTSC in the format menu. For example my DVD player will output PAL DVDs as PAL unless I set it to NTSC at which point it will convert the PAL to NTSC before ouput. Confusing I know.

Arthur Dent · 2004-12-09, 10:25 AM

The DVD may be non-anamorphic, and the player may not be doing the job right. I've seen all kinds of problems with PAL DVDs played in NTSC market players - no go at all, stuttering, jerky panning, sound out of synch, picture size problems and what not. Same when playing NTSC stuff in Euro market DVD players. Since playing the other standard is not the primary concern for the producer of the DVD player in the specific market, that functionality is often overlooked.

Jake · 2004-12-09, 10:32 AM

I just read that some older DVDs (Fargo) were released in letterboxed 4:3 aspect ratio. DVD players are supposed to scale the frame to 16:9 if set in the DVD player. Some DVDs have this info improperly encoded on the disc so you get letterboxed and pillar boxed on widescreen sets. Some players ignore this information resulting in the letter/pillarbox as well.

Danster · 2004-12-09, 12:16 PM

I will have to try to see if there is a setting for NSTC/PAL/AUTO. I know my LG player had such a possibility but I don't know about JVC. Thanks for tips guys.

2004-12-09, 08:01 AM	#1
Danster Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lincoln.NB Pop 465,123 Posts: 5,306	Problem with PAL anamorphic DVD A friend of mine visiting from Germany brought a DVD that is PAL Anamorphic. When I play it on my JVC THM505, it plays it no problem except one major pain in the arse. I have black bars all around the screen. It's like TSN HD showing a 4:3 picture on a 16:9 but with black bars on top and bottom. If you know what the old THX intro looked like (thin blue lined box going all around the screen) this is basically what I'm getting. What am I doing wrong? __________________ Home Theatre: Yamaha HTR-6190, Klipsch Speakers, SANYO PLV-Z4, TOSHIBA HDDVD, LG BD555C, Cerwin Vega HTS12 Sub, VIP2300, XBox 360, HTPC.

2004-12-09, 08:16 AM	#2
eljay Premium Supporter Join Date: May 2003 Location: Ottawa (Orleans), ON Posts: 8,345	I have a non-anamorphic widescreen concert DVD (Ani DiFranco's "Trust") that does the same thing: In 16:9 Standard mode, there are bars all the way around the picture (like the THX intro. you're describing). I use 4:3 Zoom and it fills the screen perfectly. __________________ MY HT SET-UP (PICS & GEAR LIST)

2004-12-09, 09:55 AM	#3
Danster Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lincoln.NB Pop 465,123 Posts: 5,306	I did the zoom on my TV and the only thing it did was stretch the picture vertically while still keeping the side bars. __________________ Home Theatre: Yamaha HTR-6190, Klipsch Speakers, SANYO PLV-Z4, TOSHIBA HDDVD, LG BD555C, Cerwin Vega HTS12 Sub, VIP2300, XBox 360, HTPC.

2004-12-09, 10:22 AM	#4
Jake Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Gatineau and Ottawa Posts: 10,185	Try setting the DVD player to AUTO or NTSC in the format menu. For example my DVD player will output PAL DVDs as PAL unless I set it to NTSC at which point it will convert the PAL to NTSC before ouput. Confusing I know. __________________ Tip: See an offending post? Don't reply, report it by clicking on the 'Report Post' icon.

2004-12-09, 10:32 AM	#6
Jake Moderator Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Gatineau and Ottawa Posts: 10,185	I just read that some older DVDs (Fargo) were released in letterboxed 4:3 aspect ratio. DVD players are supposed to scale the frame to 16:9 if set in the DVD player. Some DVDs have this info improperly encoded on the disc so you get letterboxed and pillar boxed on widescreen sets. Some players ignore this information resulting in the letter/pillarbox as well. __________________ Tip: See an offending post? Don't reply, report it by clicking on the 'Report Post' icon.

2004-12-09, 10:25 AM	#5
Arthur Dent Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Calgary Posts: 2,727	The DVD may be non-anamorphic, and the player may not be doing the job right. I've seen all kinds of problems with PAL DVDs played in NTSC market players - no go at all, stuttering, jerky panning, sound out of synch, picture size problems and what not. Same when playing NTSC stuff in Euro market DVD players. Since playing the other standard is not the primary concern for the producer of the DVD player in the specific market, that functionality is often overlooked.

2004-12-09, 12:16 PM	#7
Danster Moderator Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lincoln.NB Pop 465,123 Posts: 5,306	I will have to try to see if there is a setting for NSTC/PAL/AUTO. I know my LG player had such a possibility but I don't know about JVC. Thanks for tips guys. __________________ Home Theatre: Yamaha HTR-6190, Klipsch Speakers, SANYO PLV-Z4, TOSHIBA HDDVD, LG BD555C, Cerwin Vega HTS12 Sub, VIP2300, XBox 360, HTPC.

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