[Publib] RE: DVD Widescreen vs. Fullscreen - Which?

[Polly Bonnett]

I appreciate all of the arguments for widescreen selection, and thought
I'd throw in a patron observation. I previously worked at a large
library system in the Phoenix area, and one of our patrons was furious
that we only had widescreen dvd's. He insisted that there was a
conspiracy, somehow, and that our selectors were in some sort of cahoots
(love that word) with the U.S. government and the entertainment
industry. Nothing I could say would convince him otherwise...if only I
had had this thread a year ago. 

Polly

Polly Bonnett
Associate Librarian
Sierra Madre Public Library
440 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
(626) 355-7186 x105
pbonnett at sierramadre.lib.ca.us


-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Tatar, Becky
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2007 10:23 AM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] RE: DVD Widescreen vs. Fullscreen - Which?

When we started ordering DVDs, I always chose the widescreen, if there
was a choice.  For most feature films, there is.  For most television
sourced titles, it is usually fullscreen.  For feature films, fullscreen
is the screen equivalent of an abridged book.  You don't see the full
picture, or the picture is so squished together that items on the sides
appear elongated.  Turner Classic Movies has an excellent mini
documentary about filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese, discussing the
reason for going with widescreen.  There are also several websites about
it - http://www.widescreen.org/examples/starwars/index.shtml is just
one.  The one drawback is that for widescreen viewing, the film is
smaller.  However, for years and years, people were watching widescreen
without knowing it everytime they watched Ben Hur on television - for
the chariot race, the screen went from fullscreen to widescreen - and
noone ever thought anything of it.  

While I ordered widescreen, our branches ordered fullscreen, resulting
in two records needing to be purchased.  This winter, it was decided to
choose one for budgetary reasons.  Widescreen was chosen (yay!), because
of the above arguments, but also because that is the way the television
technology is going - widescreen.    

Hope this helps.

Becky Tatar
Periodicals/Audiovisuals
Aurora Public Library
1 E. Benton Street
Aurora, IL   60505
Phone: 630-264-4100
FAX: 630-896-3209
bltata at aurora.lib.il.us
www.aurora.lib.il.us



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