Question:

How can I get rid of the black bars on my widescreen TV when watching movies?

Answer:

Subject:  There are black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.

The two most widely used widescreen aspect ratios in the film industry – 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 -  are wider than the 16:9 aspect ratio used by the television industry.

As a result, when you play movies on your DVD player formatted in either of these film industry widescreen aspect ratios, your wide screen TV adds black bars above and below the picture to fill the screen.

As you can see in the examples above, movies formatted in the 1:85:1 aspect ratio have relatively thin black bars.

Movies formatted in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio have relatively thick black bars. 

In many cases, you can remove or reduce these bars. Instructions are below. 

Using your DVD player to remove or reduce the bars: 

If your DVD players has aspect ratio and picture size controls, use the Zoom option to remove or reduce the bars.  

For instructions, see the owner’s manual of your DVD player. 

Note: Not all DVDs respond to the aspect ratio and picture size controls built into DVD players. 

Using your TV to remove the bars: 

Depending on how you have your DVD player connected (HDMI, Component, S-Video, etc.) and the resolution of the DVD you are playing, your TV will present you with different picture size and aspect ratio options.

If they are available, use the Wide Fit or Zoom options.

These options will eliminate or reduce the bars. However, they may also distort and/or crop the picture. Click here to see when aspect ratios are available.