Why doesn't a blue ray movie fill my 27" imac screen?

[kevin1182]

Hey everyone,

I have a 27" iMac, and I have been ripping some of my Blu Ray movies using Make MKV and then watching them on Plex (both work great, by the way).

I am just curious though, when I watch them some do not take up the whole screen. There are horizontal strips at the top and bottom of the display that are empty. I thought Blu Ray was 16 x 9 and so was the iMac so it should fill the screen, or am I mistaken? Is it something in how Make MKV imports the videos?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have,

Kevin

 

[spinnerlys]

Films are made at different aspect ratios, 16:9 being a common one, but 2.35:1 and 1.85:1 are also widely used. The medium of delivery (Blu Ray) has nothing to do with the aspect ratio. Also film and sensors are mostly not in 16:9 or 1.85:1 or 2.35:1, but 1.37:1 and special anamorphic lenses or mattes are used.

 

[MrCheeto]

Blu-ray as a format has NOTHING to do with a video's aspect ratio. I've seen some Blu-rays with video content fully in 4:3.

The movie has a wider aspect ratio than 16:9.

Also, why does everybody bleed from the eyes when there are black bars at the top and bottom? You realize that when you fill the entire screen, you lose a LOT of the original shot? Go ahead and try to watch Star Wars in 4:3. I had to for ten years before I finally found widescreen VHS versions and saved my sanity.

Respect the aspect ratio and you won't feel claustrophobic. XD

 

[kevin1182]

Thanks for the information! I was not upset by it, was just curious and also was wondering if it had something to do with Make MKV. I mean the movies look amazing, don't get me wrong!

I think there might be a common misconception about all HD being 16 x 9. Just looking at the Apple website:

iMac features a bright 21.5-inch or 27-inch LED-backlit display with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio — perfect for HD video.

I know they are not saying that 16:9 is going to be the aspect ratio for all HD video, but I guess stuff like this is why it got stuck in my head.

Thanks again,

Kevin

 

[mchalebk]

The reason why 16:9 is "perfect for HD video" is that it's the same aspect ratio as widescreen TVs.

By the way, if you hang out in home theater forums, you will routinely see people asking "how come there are black bars on my widescreen TV?" In a lot of cases, people are content once they understand the facts about varying aspect ratios. However, there are a significant number of people who hate black bars and can't stand the fact that the picture doesn't fill their screens.

 

[spinnerlys]

The reason why 16:9 is "perfect for HD video" is that it's the same aspect ratio as widescreen TVs.

By the way, if you hang out in home theater forums, you will routinely see people asking "how come there are black bars on my widescreen TV?" In a lot of cases, people are content once they understand the facts about varying aspect ratios. However, there are a significant number of people who hate black bars and can't stand the fact that the picture doesn't fill their screens.

And the other reason is 1920/1080 = 16/9.

 

[kevin1182]

Excellent feedback, thanks everyone!