Posted by John Howells on 03/24/06 19:55

<jeffhanson7183@hotmail.com> wrote

> I just rented "A Civil Action" from netflix, and for some reason i
> think something is wrong with the disc. Let me explain... I have a
> standard TV, and when playing the movie on it, everything seems fine..
> just like a normal widescreen movie(bars on the top and bottom).. so im
> thinkin ok cool. I get on the plane yesterday and decide to throw the
> movie in my laptop to watch mid-flight. My laptop is a Dell Inspiron
> 8500, with a 15 inch widescreen display. When the movie starts, the
> bars on the top and bottom are there, but im noticing there also their
> on the left and right. It basically gives the impression of a box in
> the middle, which is highly annoying. I figured maybe it was just the
> intro, as sometimes they do that for cinematic effect, but i skip
> halfway through.. and the bars are still there! i dont mind the bars on
> top and bottom, in fact i love them cuz being a movie buff i want the
> original aspect ratio preserved.. however i cant stand the bars on left
> and right. i have been watching movies for years and NEVER seen
> anything like this. I also dont get why it would be fine on my standard
> non-widescreen tv but not on my widescreen laptop display. Is it my
> laptop dvd player? or is there actually some rare format that boxes it
> in( im assuming its rare as ive seen hundreds of movies but none with
> this issue

I assume you have the US release of this disk.

See the "Miniature "widescreen" ripoff?" thread in this group from
yesterday. The answer is basically the same. You have come across an early
non-anamorphic release of a WS film, so the picture is letterboxed in 4:3
frame which is *NOT* enhanced for 16:9. Your laptop is handling it like 4:3
material, by putting the black bars at the sides. If your player does not
have a "zoom" mode you are stuck.

FWIW, all regions other than the US have an anamorphic (enhanced for 16:9)
release.

John Howells

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