What will a DVD look like on your TV? Hopefully the DVD makers will someday learn how to clearly label their DVDs. Until then, I hope this helps.

If you see any of the labels below on a DVD box, your DVD player should show a wide picture on your widescreen TV:

* Anamorphic (This is the DVD "wide picture" feature)
* Anamorphic Widescreen
* Enhanced for Widescreen TVs
* Enhanced for 16:9 TVs
* 16:9 Fullscreen
* 16:9
* Widescreen (This label is unclear, and might sometimes be used for non-anamorphic DVDs with letterboxed 4:3 pictures.)

Some badly labeled anamorphic DVD boxes say "Letterboxed" which confuses everyone. Read the box carefully to see if the fine print also says it is anamorphic, or if any of the other labels listed above are also used.

Widescreen TVs are 1.78 times as wide as they are tall, and compare to regular TVs like so:

Standard 4:3
1.33:1

Widescreen 16:9
1.78:1
SOME DVD PICTURE SHAPE QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1) Useful Picture and DVD Definitions:
a) Letterbox - Black bars are added at the top and bottom to make a wide picture "fill" a narrower screen. Letterboxing will be visible for very wide movies even on widescreen TVs. See below.
b) Pan-and-Scan - Cut off one or both edges of a wide picture until it fits a narrower screen. See below.
c) Anamorphic - DVDs sometimes have the picture digitally stored in a special "squashed" form that a DVD player can unsquash. This will fill the screen of a widescreen TV, IF you have a widescreen TV, AND if you have set your DVD player to work with your widescreen TV.
Whether or not the DVD anamorphic feature is present, the picture may still be letterboxed or Pan-and-Scan'ed if the picture was shot wider than your TV's screen.

2) What Shape Was The Presentation On The DVD Originally Shot In?
OLD movies and TV are 1.33 times as wide as they are tall (4:3).Some films are up to 2.66 times as wide as they were tall. Recently 1.78:1 (16:9) has become popular because of the development of widescreen TVs and HD TV.

3) Can My TV Show The Picture Better?
Widescreen TVs and some new standard TVs allow you to change the picture size or shape for a more pleasing appearance. Check out your owner's manual and remote control.

Letterbox demo graphic
LETTERBOXED
All 3 faces visible in letterboxed image

Pan & Scan demo graphic
PAN-AND-SCAN
Outer 2 faces cut off by more narrow screen