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-- Why do some releases have aspect ratios wider than 16:9? (http://forum.vcdq.com/showthread.php?threadid=82334)

Why do some releases have aspect ratios wider than 16:9?

Hey. I'm new here. I look at VCDQuality all the time. But today I had to register here on the forum, because I had a burning question that was slow-cooking my brain like a succulent pork shoulder.

I notice a lot of releases are a lot wider than 16:9. If I had to guess, they look 2.2:1.

Full disclosure: I have a 4:3 television, so when I watch one of them, it looks like the top and bottom black bars make up 50% of the screen.

I want you to know I'm fully respectful, though. I know I'm living in the past with my 4:3 set (and my dvd player can't crop or stretch either). So if the answer is "they look better on widescreen TVs", then I understand completely.

Is it the R5s? Do the R5s have wider aspect ratios? Or are widescreen TVs wider than 16:9?

Ideally you want whatever aspect ratio the movie was filmed in (so you see what the director intended). The black bars are less intrusive on a widescreen TV (although you still get them if the release isn't 16:9) but most of us would rather have "extra" black on the screen than less movie, which is what cropping to screen size would result in

True 16:9 which equals 1.78:1 is rarely used these days by filmmakers.
1.85:1 and 2.35:1 or sometimes even 2.40:1 are more common these days, so yes when watching a 2.35:1 movie, then it does indeed look like half your screen is black.