Aspect Ratio - Harman Kardon DVD 5 Owner's Manual

Setup Menu
After the password has been entered once, a
second set of data entry boxes will appear, ask-
ing you to confirm the entry (Figure 12). Using
the same method described above, enter the
password again. When all four numbers have
been repeated, press the Enter Button d to
set the password in the DVD 5's memory. If the
two passwords do not agree, an "Incorrect
Password" message will appear to ask you to
try entering the number again.
Figure 12
Once the new password has been entered, the
system remains locked with the new password
in effect. If you have no other changes to make
after setting this default, press the Menu
Button ` to remove the Setup Menu from
the screen, or press the Play Button g/@
to begin or resume playback.

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio of a television picture is the
relationship between its width and height, and
it defines the shape of the picture. Television
sets have traditionally had an aspect ratio of
4 x 3, which is to say that they are almost
square, with slightly more width than height.
Almost all television programming is presented
in the 4 x 3 aspect ratio so that the pictures fit
within the confines of the TV screen.
Movies, on the other hand, have a variety of
what are known as "wide aspect ratio" formats
that are significantly wider in relation to their
height than traditional television pictures.
Indeed, the development of wide-screen movies
was something that was popularized in the
1950's in response to the success of television;
movie producers wanted to provide a wider
vista than afforded by TVs.
However, since many movies are produced for a
wider screen than the TV set they are played
on, there is a problem that is like fitting a
square peg in a round hole. In many instances
this is taken care of by the disc's producers,
who reformat the image to fit within a standard
Downloaded From Disc-Player.com Harman/Kardon Manuals
4 x 3 TV screen. Discs such as this require no
special setting. The only downside to this is that
when wide-screen movies are converted to
4 x 3, some of the information at the sides of a
scene may be cut off due to the difference in
picture shape. This is also called a "pan and
scan" presentation, as a 4 x 3 viewing area is
moved across the wider cinema image.
Other discs are produced in what is called a
"letterbox wide-screen" format. In this case the
entire wide image is fit inside the 4 x 3 screen
shape from side to side. This means that you
see the entire picture as the movie's director
intended, but the height of the picture is
reduced to accommodate the added width. The
blank areas that appear at the top and bottom
of the screen make the image in the center
appear as if you are looking into a mail slot,
giving this sort of presentation the nickname of
"letterbox."
The DVD format accommodates both of these
formats, though it is up to the producer of the
disc to select which way to convert the movie
to video. Sometimes you will have a choice of
only one of the two formats, while some discs
offer a full screen, with the pan and scan ver-
sion on one side of a disc and the widescreen,
but letterbox version, on the other side.
The DVD 5 will play either type of disc, and you
may select a default that tells which way to
present the image when there is a choice.
To select an aspect ratio default, you must be
viewing the Setup Menu (Figure 1), which is
available by pressing the Menu Button `
while the unit is in the Stop mode. At the Setup
Navigation Button e
Menu, press the
¤
until the Aspect Ratio option is highlighted.
Next, press the Enter Button d. Select
one of the three choices in the options box
(Figure 13) using the Navigation
/
⁄ ¤
Buttons e.
Figure 13
Depending on the type of television set you
have, choose one of these three options:
4 x 3 Letterbox: Choose this setting if you
have a standard 4 x 3 television set and pre-
fer to see movies in their original aspect
ratio. You will see the entire movie but,
when it is presented in a letterbox fashion,
there will be black bars at the top and
bottom of the screen. Movies or other pro-
grams recorded in a 4 x 3 format will appear
normal.
4 x 3 Pan Scan: Choose this setting if you
have a standard 4 x 3 television set and
always want the image to fill the entire
screen. When a wide screen movie is shown,
you may not see parts of the picture at one
side of the screen or the other. Note, how-
ever, that even when you select this option,
playing a wide-screen-only movie will result
in black letterbox bars at the top and bot-
tom of the screen. This is due to the way
the disc was produced, and it cannot be
changed.
16 x 9 Wide-screen: Choose this setting only
if you have a wide-screen television set
(16 x 9 aspect ratio). With this setting, the
DVD 5 will adjust the output for wide-screen
movies so that they fill the entire screen in
the proper aspect ratio. Note, however, that
in this setting a disc recorded in the 4 x 3
aspect ratio will appear in the wide-screen
as a boxed image in the center, with black
columns on the left and right side of the
screen.
NOTE: If the wide-screen option is chosen
and a wide-screen movie is played on a con-
ventional 4 x 3 aspect ratio set, the image will
be distorted due to vertical compression.
When you have made your selection using the
Navigation Buttons e to highlight
/
⁄ ¤
the desired option, press the Enter Button
d and note that the circle next to your choice
will fill in. The menu system will then automati-
cally return to the status listing.
If you have no other changes to make after set-
ting this default, press the Menu Button `
to remove the Setup Menu from the screen, or
press the Play Button g/@ to begin or
resume playback.
19 SETUP MENU