Movie Download Formats
January 4, 2012 8:13 AM Subscribe
When I purchase an on-demand movie from Blockbuster on Tivo, why do I receive only the "letterboxed" (480i) version instead of the "full-screen" 1080 HD? I understand the ratio/aspect reasoning behind letterboxing but I find it hard to watch at my viewing distance from the screen. Is there a way to change the settings to receive full-screen HD or are only "letterboxed" versions available from Blockbuster on Tivo? My search for an answer has been fruitless. I have a 46" Sharp 1080P HDTV and use RCN cable. Thanks.
I think you're getting two things confused.
resolution (480i, 480p, 720p,1080i,1080p) is different from aspect ration (4:3, 16:9, 2.35:1).
4:3 is the classic "tube" tv ratio
16:9 is the current HDTV standard
2.35:1, sometimes known as "Scope" is the super-wide aspect ratio you'll see in a lot of big budget hollywood movies
You're used to seeing letterboxes when you watch 16:9 content on a 4:3 tv, but it's still common to see letterboxing when watching 2:35:1 content on a 16:9 tv.
More on Wikipedia
posted by Oktober at 8:39 AM on January 4, 2012
resolution (480i, 480p, 720p,1080i,1080p) is different from aspect ration (4:3, 16:9, 2.35:1).
4:3 is the classic "tube" tv ratio
16:9 is the current HDTV standard
2.35:1, sometimes known as "Scope" is the super-wide aspect ratio you'll see in a lot of big budget hollywood movies
You're used to seeing letterboxes when you watch 16:9 content on a 4:3 tv, but it's still common to see letterboxing when watching 2:35:1 content on a 16:9 tv.
More on Wikipedia
posted by Oktober at 8:39 AM on January 4, 2012
Most TVs allow you to adjust the zoom settings. The image will fill all of the screen, but the edges of the image will be cut off.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:42 AM on January 4, 2012
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 8:42 AM on January 4, 2012
It depends on the movie, too. You may have picked a film (highly likely if it's older) that's only available in 4:3. I've noticed more and more older films are starting to get put up in widescreen (16:9 or 2.35:1), but to go back and rescan these masters will obviously take time to trickle down to the streaming providers.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 8:47 AM on January 4, 2012
posted by chrisfromthelc at 8:47 AM on January 4, 2012
Best answer: TiVo's own site seems to show contradictory information about whether high definition content from Blockbuster is supported at all. This page has screenshots showing a menu item called "HD Releases" but this FAQ says "No. High Definition videos are not supported at this time."
Assuming it's really there, are you selecting titles from the "HD Releases" section? If not, they're probably only available in standard definition (480p).
If you're stuck with SD, Mr. Know-it-some's suggestion is a good one; if your remote doesn't have a button labelled "aspect" look for one that says "wide," "display," "format" or with an image of a rectangle (the screen) with arrows inside pointing at its borders. If you do change it and find that things start looking weird, just keep pressing it and they should eventually circle around and look right again.
To expand a bit on some other suggestions, there are a number of reasons Blockbuster may only be providing you with SD quality and it may vary from film to film. Early cinema was shot and presented at 4:3, so the SD aspect ratio is actually the correct, original one for those movies (they might be transferred to HD for better resolution, but they'll still appear as a pillarboxed 4:3 image, just a crisper one.) Some other films that were shot for widescreen have been transferred to DVD but not yet to Blu-ray, so only a standard definition copy exists for now. There also may be licensing or technical details in the labyrinth of contracts between the company that owns the rights to the movie, Blockbuster, and TiVo that present any HD version from being offered.
Your cable company is only providing the internet connection and isn't involved at all in which movies you're able to get and in what format.
posted by contraption at 9:24 AM on January 4, 2012
Assuming it's really there, are you selecting titles from the "HD Releases" section? If not, they're probably only available in standard definition (480p).
If you're stuck with SD, Mr. Know-it-some's suggestion is a good one; if your remote doesn't have a button labelled "aspect" look for one that says "wide," "display," "format" or with an image of a rectangle (the screen) with arrows inside pointing at its borders. If you do change it and find that things start looking weird, just keep pressing it and they should eventually circle around and look right again.
To expand a bit on some other suggestions, there are a number of reasons Blockbuster may only be providing you with SD quality and it may vary from film to film. Early cinema was shot and presented at 4:3, so the SD aspect ratio is actually the correct, original one for those movies (they might be transferred to HD for better resolution, but they'll still appear as a pillarboxed 4:3 image, just a crisper one.) Some other films that were shot for widescreen have been transferred to DVD but not yet to Blu-ray, so only a standard definition copy exists for now. There also may be licensing or technical details in the labyrinth of contracts between the company that owns the rights to the movie, Blockbuster, and TiVo that present any HD version from being offered.
Your cable company is only providing the internet connection and isn't involved at all in which movies you're able to get and in what format.
posted by contraption at 9:24 AM on January 4, 2012
Here's more info on changing the aspect ratio of a Sharp TV.
posted by contraption at 9:26 AM on January 4, 2012
posted by contraption at 9:26 AM on January 4, 2012
Resolution actually implies aspect ratio. Anything in 720p, 1080i, or 1080p has a 16:9 aspect ratio. Anything in 480i/480p has a 4:3 aspect ratio. As mentioned by Oktober, 4:3 is a roughly square "traditional" image ratio, and will be letter or pillar-boxed. If the source movie was shot in a film standard, it will be letterboxed to fit the whole image. You can zoom, but that cuts out the sides of the image.
posted by ellF at 9:38 AM on January 4, 2012
posted by ellF at 9:38 AM on January 4, 2012
Response by poster: I believe Contraption has it. While viewing the movie I checked incoming signal and it was set for 480i. The film was a recent release and should be available in 1080/16:9. Must be a contract thing between Tivo, Blockbuster and RCN. I'll ignore Blockbuster from here on and order films only from the HD RCN On-Demand list. Thank you.
posted by mbx at 10:09 AM on January 4, 2012
posted by mbx at 10:09 AM on January 4, 2012
Here's a comparison of the major streaming video services (note that Blockbuster didn't even make the list,) most of which are available on TiVo. Netflix and Amazon both offer HD movies on TiVo, with Netflix being the better deal since you get unlimited access to their large catalog for a small subscription fee rather than having to pay a la carte every time you want to watch something. I mostly use Netflix on my TiVo at home, and occasionally rent from Amazon when I want to see something obscure that isn't in the Netflix Instant catalog.
posted by contraption at 11:07 AM on January 4, 2012
posted by contraption at 11:07 AM on January 4, 2012
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posted by Chocolate Pickle at 8:20 AM on January 4, 2012