Widescreen 1.85:1
A widescreen 1.85:1 image was created by cropping a standard
1.33:1 film. Cropping employed masking/covering the
top/bottom of the theater projector lens.
The unmasked area created the
image that filled the 1.85:1 theater screen. But masking
sacrificed the resolution of the forfeited surface of the
1.33:1 film.
Anamorphic Widescreen
2.35:1 Cinemascope and 2.39:1 Panavision use an anamorphic camera
lens to squeeze a widescreen image within the 1.33:1
film frame. A reversing anamorphic projector lens
restores the 2.35:1 or 2.39:1 widescreen image on the theater
screen. The anamorphic process salvaged the film
resolution lost in the 1.85:1 masking process.
Economic Success
Masking and anamorphic processing saved theaters and the
studio money. They accommodate each ratio with a single
film size, a standard camera, a standard projector with
interchangeable camera/projector lenses.
Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) Digital Cinema
Package (DCP) digital projection has replaced film in
movie production with a standard the widescreen "scope 2.39:1"
aspect ratio.
IMAX
IMAX theaters present their exclusive films in a 1.90:1 or
1.43:1 aspect ratio.
The IMAX aspect ratios are not included in the illustrations
above.
TV Aspect Ratio
UltraHD/HDTV
HDTV and UltraHDTV have an aspect
ratio of 1.78:1 (16:9).
However, this screen ratio must accommodate a 100-year old
library of different aspect ratios.
This accommodation included:
1. Place the original image ratio within the 16:9
screen. Fill the unused screen with black or gray
masking.
2. Stretch the image to fill the
screen.
NTSC Anamorphic DVD
Anamorphic DVD squeezed widescreen images within the DVD 4:3
frame.
An anamorphic DVD was labeled as Enhanced for Widescreen or
Enhanced for 16:9.
The DVD player's anamorphic software restored the full
widescreen image on the HDTV screen.
Anamorphic BlueRay?
The Blu-Ray disc has a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Blu-Ray does not have a
'fill-the-screen-option' for other aspect ratios.
Making a 'goose-bump' difference
My friend Steve maintained that everything makes a
difference. That includes aspect ratio.
Expert management of aspect ratio
can add to a goose-bump generating experience.
Home theater projectors with large 90+ inch screens can manage
aspect ratios with a 'constant-height processor' and vertical
black-screen-masking.
A constant-height processor fills a DLP, LYCOS, DILA, LCD
projector's 16:9 chip with a 2.35 or 2.40 image. It
squeezes the image laterally while maintaining its
height. An anamorphic lens slides over the projector's
native lens to reverse the 'squeeze' and fill a 2.35:1
screen.
To make a goose-bump difference, automate the lens slide and
masking with the source aspect ratio. The constant
height with automated masking smoothly unfolds from 4:3 to
16:9, to 2.40 aspects ratios. This 'unfold' method
fulfills an impressive must-see-to-grasp movie presentation.
The Land Of Forgotten Buzz-words.
This list of terms have lost or
are losing their relevance. Many were abused and used to
confuse and mislead innocent consumers.
Yeah, it happens. Review this list. Then consider
how a new slate of TV tech buzz-words will be used to confuse
consumers from sea to shining sea.
DVD 3:2 Pull-Down
Here's a golden oldie.
Movie frame rate equals 24fps. DVD equals 30fps.
The difference creates a frame misstep and unwanted video
artifacts.
3:2 pull-down solved the issue. 3:2 pull-down repeated
every fourth frame of the film, which produced a rate of
30fps.
DVDs included 3:2 pull-down instructions. DVD players
executed the instructions.
LCD Blur & Judder
This issue plagues LCD HDTVs. LCD motion that crawls in
and out of focus is blur or judder.
Blur refers to slow LCD pixel response and constant-on
back-light problems.
Judder is a movie film 24fps versus LCD 30fps cadence
misstep.
LCD 120Hz vs 240Hz Processing
LCD TVs address blur and judder with 120Hz and 240Hz
processing.
Each process is available in an
abundance of copyrighted names.
But each method includes more than a frame rate increase.
Blur & 120Hz
Digital HDTV frame rate equals 60fps.
120Hz processing inserts one extra frame between each original
frame.
The extra frame comes in one of two versions; a black frame or
a frame of interpolated motion.
The eye recognizes 'constant-on'
of LCD back-lighting as blur during frame transitions.
The inserted black frame reduces the effect.
The interpolated extra frame reduces blur caused by slow LCD
pixel response.
The extra frame predicts movement to create smoother frame to
frame motion.
Blur & 240Hz
240Hz inserts three frames between each of the original 60
frames.
240Hz inserts a combination of black and interpolated frames.
Each manufacturer determines
the number of black versus interpolated-frames.
Judder & 120Hz &
240Hz
Multiple Hz processing eliminates judder because 24fps
divides nicely into 120 fps or 240 fps.
Back-light Scanning ... More blur reduction
LCD TV back-light scanning synchronizes 'blinking
back-lights' with LCD TV frame transitions.
This 'blinking-back-lighting' is much like the film shutter
gate of a movie theater projector.
This 'blinking-gate' reduces the glare of constant 'ON'
back-lighting.
No Blur, No Judder, No More Plasma
Plasma TV is long gone. Until OLED TV arrived, plasma
was the better TV technology. Its decisive advantage
was a significantly lower black level, which delivered
better contrast. In addition, plasma did not
suffer from blur or judder. Plasma TV had no
need for LCD 120Hz or 240Hz type processing
Plasma did offer 600Hz
sub-field-drive and 2500Hz focused-field-drive.
Both were often incorrectly viewed as a version of LCD 120Hz
and 240Hz processing. Sub-field-drive and
focus-field-drive had nothing to do with blur or judder.
Instead, both created tighter control of pixel-light emission.
600Hz sub-field-drive
600Hz sub-field-drive improved pixel clarity with up to 10
light-pulses per frame. Each pixel ascended to full-lit
amplitude in less than 1.67ms.
Put this in perspective, LCD response equals 4 to 12ms.
A sub-field is a single pulse period.
Each frame consists of 10 periods. Pulses drove the
illumination of plasma pixel phosphor.
Each period is pulsed or
not-pulsed. A pixel begins to illuminate with the 1st
pulse. The total brightness is equal to the sum of the
pulse-lit sub-fields.
This process offers thousands of shades of gray, which
expanded the grayscale and color gamut. As for the
moniker 600Hz -- 10 sub-fields by 60fps
equals 600 sub-fields per second. Hence 600Hz
sub-field-drive.
2500Hz focus-field-drive
2500Hz focus-field-drive also
drove brightness with pulses. However, 2500Hz-ffd
produced all of its light in the last 3 sub-fields.
That created a response time of only 0.4ms. The faster
window of illumination was much as shutter speed in
photography.
Also, given the first 7 to 8 sub-fields were in an
off-condition, contrast vastly improved. The
focus-field-result was a sharper, clearer image.
The 2500Hz moniker is derived by dividing 1 second (1000ms) by
0.4ms.