The effect of displaying a wide screen movie on a standard TV set the way it was originally shot in full panoramic format. On the TV, the image frame spans the full width of the screen, but because of the difference in aspect ratios of the two formats (wide screen movie vs. more square TV screen), the vertical height of the frame is reduced. The unused top and bottom areas of the screen appear as black bars.
Major motion pictures are shot with aspect ratios that are even wider than today's 16:9 wide screen TVs. As a result, the letterbox bars may still show, although not as thick as when displayed on a standard 4:3 screen (see aspect ratio for comparison). The term "letterbox" was coined because the wide frame resembles a letter envelope. Contrast with pan & scan. See pillarbox and anamorphic DVD.
Standard Vs. Wide Screen TVs
When a wide screen movie is shown on a standard TV set the way it was originally shot, the image is reduced vertically, producing the letterbox effect you see on the left. (Image courtesy of Intergraph Computer Systems.)
Major motion pictures are shot with aspect ratios that are even wider than today's 16:9 wide screen TVs. As a result, the letterbox bars may still show, although not as thick as when displayed on a standard 4:3 screen (see aspect ratio for comparison). The term "letterbox" was coined because the wide frame resembles a letter envelope. Contrast with pan & scan. See pillarbox and anamorphic DVD.
Standard Vs. Wide Screen TVs
When a wide screen movie is shown on a standard TV set the way it was originally shot, the image is reduced vertically, producing the letterbox effect you see on the left. (Image courtesy of Intergraph Computer Systems.)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2008 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Winegard RCDT09A
- Earlier in the spring we published a blog entry titled, "Don't buy a portable TV this year" highlighting the fact that the vast majority of portable TVs use analog tuners that won't pull in TV signals after the analog-to-digital TV transition February 17, 2009. At the time, our advice was...
- Product reviews 2008-09-30
- Magnavox TB100MW9
- As the digital transition gets closer and media coverage increases, the important thing to remember is that if you get your TV from cable or satellite now, you don't need to do anything. If you do rely on analog over-the-air TV, the next important thing is to not panic--you don't...
- Product reviews 2008-09-17
- Apex DT250
- The analog-to-digital transition is coming February 17, which means owners of analog TVs will need to pony up for a DTV converter box if they want to continue getting their free over-the-air TV. Luckily, the box shouldn't cost too much, as anyone affected can apply for a $40 DTV converter...
- Product reviews 2008-09-11
- Mitsubishi WD-65735
- Today the landscape in the big-screen rear-projection HDTV category is pretty stark. Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, and others have all exited this product segment, which leaves only Mitsubishi and Samsung to slug it out for the dollars of buyers who want a huge screen on a budget. Mitsubishi's WD-65735 is one...
- Product reviews 2008-07-31
- Zenith DTT901
- Editors' note: The DTT901 is nearly identical to the Zenith DTT900, except the DTT901 adds the ability to pass analog signals to a TV and has slightly better sound. Otherwise, the reviews are virtually identical.The FCC has pushed back the DTV transition several times already, but it looks as if...
- Product reviews 2008-07-21
- It's a start: Spammer gets jail time
- It's a start: Spammer gets jail timeI dont see spaming as a jail-able offense.I would love to give jailtime to companies that send crap to my mailbox.The issue is waisted time and resources. It costs x dollars to clean that up, so you owe me x dollars, if dont...
- Discussion threads 2008-07-16
- Aoork DVDRipper Pro (EXE)
- Aoork DVDRipper Pro is a professional DVD ripping and backup tool, which can help you easily and rapidly rip DVD to rm/rmvb/wmv/AVI/MP4/3GP/MOV/ASF/FLV/MPG/MP3/WMA/RA/AAC/AC2/OGG/MP2/AMR/WAV files with the perfect output quality. It has many additional and exciting features such as Support Video&Image&Text Watermark, Sutitle offset, DVD Crop or Letterbox, Snap DVD, Split DVD,...
- Software downloads 2008-07-14
- Letterbox for Adobe After Effects (exe)
- 2DPaint Letterbox - Plug-in for Adobe After Effects, crop footage to any standard format, fast and easy to use. Letterbox is currently only available on Windows. This version is the first release on CNET Download.com.
- Software downloads 2008-07-02
- Sony Bravia KDL-32M4000
- Sony has always been a go-to brand for people who don't mind paying more for HDTVs, or just about anything else for that matter, and the company's least-expensive 2008 32-inch HDTV, the KDL-32M4000, exemplifies the trend. This little set costs a couple of hundred dollars more than no-name LCDs, and...
- Product reviews 2008-05-14
- Sharp LC-32D44U
- As off-brands such as Vizio, Insignia, and Westinghouse continue to make inroads among HDTV shoppers, traditional makers such as Sharp have to make it seem as if their sets are worth a couple of hundred bucks extra. That's especially tough in the small-to-medium-screen space, where the entry-level Sharp Aquos LC-32D44U...
- Product reviews 2008-04-08
- Insignia NS-DXA1
- Editors' note: We found the Insignia NS-DXA1 and the Zenith DTT900 have virtually identical design, features, and performance; therefore, their reviews are the same.The FCC has pushed back the DTV transition several times already, but it looks as if it will shut off over-the-air analog TV signals on...
- Product reviews 2008-04-03
- Insignia NS-LCD32
- The Best Buy house brand Insignia can be found on some of the cheapest, er, least-expensive HDTVs available anywhere, and judging from the company's terrible NS-PDP42 plasma, you might be tempted to write these sets off entirely. Not so fast, bargain hunter. The 32-inch NS-LCD32 LCD TV fared a lot...
- Product reviews 2008-04-02
- Zenith DTT900
- Editors' note: We found the Zenith DTT900 and the Insignia NS-DXA1 have virtually identical design, features, and performance; therefore, their reviews are the same.The FCC has pushed back the DTV transition several times already, but it looks as if it will shut off over-the-air analog TV signals on...
- Product reviews 2008-03-31
- VCD Size Calculator (exe)
- VCD Size Calculator is a small calculator for getting the size needed to letterbox/resize a video when encoding into VCD format. It works great for encoders that don't automatically keep the aspect ratio. It has the equation used on it as well so you know the math being used. This...
- Software downloads 2008-03-24
- Picture Converter (exe)
- Batch resizing and conversion of photos is easy with Digitope Picture Converter. Picture Converter has powerful resize capabilities with four resize modes, including stretch, fit-to-size, crop, and letterbox. Photos can be reduced or enlarged by percent or pixels. Six resize filters ensure optimal image quality. Convert photos between bmp, jpg,...
- Software downloads 2008-03-07
- Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: I don't care who wins!
- Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: I don't care who wins!Patiently waiting.Since we can't afford every technology that gets released, we need to wait on the sidelines as well. My concern with buying now is that I'll get a camera, burner, etc.. that won't allow exporting or authoring to a format...
- Discussion threads 2008-01-18
- Build a SuperZune!
- Podcast and iTunes Music Store compatibility on a Zune? Easier than you think. Read on to learn how to upgrade your Zune. The road less traveled If you are like most tech heavies, you're a rugged individualist. You don't follow the crowd. Who cares what the...
- Blog posts 2007-11-06
- Samsung LN-T4681F
- Among that tiny segment of the population that cares about the latest HDTV technology, and the even tinier segment that can afford it, the introduction of Samsung's 81 series of flat-panel LCDs is kind of like early Christmas. The first widely distributed LCD HDTVs to incorporate LED backlights--Sony sold a...
- Product reviews 2007-11-01
- Regular Mac users: wait for v10.5.1 to upgrade
- I've used a lot of operating systems starting with the late, great TOPS-20 on DEC's 36-bit DECsystems. Also VMS, RSTS, CP/M, MS-DOS, Windows versions 3.1 to XP, Solaris and Mac OS versions 6 to 10.5 Leopard. My definition of a great OS is one that makes...
- Blog posts 2007-11-01
- Back up b4 Leopard upgrade!
- Update: I'm seeing reports that other people are having upgrade problems. Before you upgrade to Leopard you really want to create a bootable back up. There are 2 free utilities that will do this for you on either a FireWire or USB 2 drive: Carbon Copy Cloner...
- Blog posts 2007-10-26
Neighboring Terms
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
- Is it time for "Radical Change" in IT?
-
We need to get back to freethinking and innovation that is core to our roots. Companies like Intel were founded on thoughts like the famous quote from Robert Noyce - "Don't be encumbered by the past, go out and do something wonderful."
- Read the impassioned view on IT@Intel Blog >>
- BNET Industries
- Check out BNET's newest resource for managers and executives. Need to do research on your competitors? Don't have time to read every trade pub? BNET Industries is the new source for daily news, insights, and research on 11 major industries and 9,000 public companies.
-
- The technology industry from a different angle
-
- See what's hot in the auto industry
-
- Stay on top of the energy industry
