OTHER TECH

"Less is more" is not the American way, which is probably why this legend is so persistent. Also, with many blockbuster movies being released only in widescreen DVD editions, a lot of people are being exposed to letterboxing for the first time and aren't sure what to make of it. One variation of this myth says that only "full-screen" or "pan-and-scan" DVDs show the complete image.

Most recent movies are shot using some kind of widescreen aspect ratio, while screens on all traditional TVs have a squarish 4:3 aspect ratio. There are two ways to make rectangular movies fit on those squarish screens. The studio can create a full-screen or pan-and-scan version, focusing on one area of the original image while cutting off the rest. Or you can have a widescreen or letterboxed version, which masks the top and bottom of the TV screen so the entire original image can be seen. As famed movie critic Roger Ebert points out, "In extreme cases, such as films shot in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, more than half of the original image is missing in pan-and-scan. In most cases, between 20% and 30% is missing."

But a lot of people hate the black bars used for letterboxing - which has led to another legend: "If you buy a widescreen TV, you'll never have to see those bars again." This one isn't entirely misguided. Most movies made since the late 1970s have been filmed using a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, which corresponds pretty closely with the 16:9 - or 1.77:1 - screen on a widescreen TV. You'll still get letterbox bars if your TV is displaying the image correctly, but they'll be so thin most people won't be bothered by them. Epic films tend to be shot using the extremely wide 2:35:1 aspect ratio, which needs somewhat thicker letterbox bars.

Ironically, the biggest problem with widescreen TVs comes when you want to watch classic movies, or pretty much any TV show, since they're shot in a 4:3 or 1.33:1 ratio. What you end up with is thick bars on the sides of the screen. Fortunately for those who just can't stomach the bars, nearly every widescreen TV offers options that will stretch or zoom the picture so you can watch nearly any program black-bar free.