The 21:9 Nightmare

[zymel]

So, I have been looking to buy a 21:9 monitor for productivity (to be able to see more of my timeline while editing amongst other things) but I am facing a dilemma. I found a good monitor the LG 29WK500 (there is also a HDR version, but idk if it's worth it), but I was wondering if there was any way to play BluRays or movies in general (on Netflix for example) at the native 2569x1080 resolution. Do any of you have a way?

 

[Guest]

Why wouldn't it work just playing it normally? Like with PowerDVD?

[Airdragonz]

The only ways I know of is to either not watch in full screen, adjust the scaling of the display in windows, or downscale your entire monitor to 1920x1080 (which looks weird by the way).

[zymel]

2 minutes ago, Densetsu said:

Why wouldn't it work just playing it normally? Like with PowerDVD?

Well, I don't know how the information is managed inside of the BluRay. What's the actual resolution of the movies? Can the whole 2560x1080 be filled? I don't think so, since BluRay is 1920x1080 if I'm not mistaken. I'm just asking if it could, and if so, are there dedicated BluRay players that could output it?

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, zymel said:

Well, I don't know how the information is managed inside of the BluRay. What's the actual resolution of the movies? Can the whole 2560x1080 be filled? I don't think so, since BluRay is 1920x1080 if I'm not mistaken. I'm just asking if it could, and if so, are there dedicated BluRay players that could output it?

No... most blurays are 21:9. I watch them all the time on my ultrawide. It will fill the screen.

Unless of course the movie is 16:9.

[zymel]

1 minute ago, Densetsu said:

No... most blurays are 21:9. I watch them all the time on my ultrawide. It will fill the screen.

Unless of course the movie is 16:9.

What drive do you use though? Is it some external one for your PC or a dedicated one?

[Guest]

Got this on sale for $75 https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Computer/Computer+Drives/BDR-XS06

Works fine for me w/ PowerDVD.

[zymel]

3 minutes ago, Densetsu said:

Got this on sale for $75 https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Computer/Computer+Drives/BDR-XS06

Works fine for me w/ PowerDVD.

Thanks man. The problem is, in Canada, it's like 130$... Also, you are 100% positive that widescreen BluRays are 2560x1080? Sorry if I'm annoying with this, I'm kind of insecure about things, and it's a big investment for me, so I really want to be 100% sure.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, zymel said:

Thanks man. The problem is, in Canada, it's like 130$... Also, you are 100% positive that widescreen BluRays are 2560x1080? Sorry if I'm annoying with this, I'm kind of insecure about things, and it's a big investment for me, so I really want to be 100% sure.

No, they are 21:9. You need to worry about the aspect ratio, not the resolution.

[zymel]

Well, thanks man, I appreciate it.

[PlayStation 2]

Many movies are shot at 2:35:1 or 2:40:1, and usually, whatever software you use can support displaying the video at its native aspect ratio or support the cropping of the black bars if the video is at 1920x1080. I know VLC can support black bar cropping if you so wish to do so.

[Glenwing]

59 minutes ago, zymel said:

Thanks man. The problem is, in Canada, it's like 130$... Also, you are 100% positive that widescreen BluRays are 2560x1080? Sorry if I'm annoying with this, I'm kind of insecure about things, and it's a big investment for me, so I really want to be 100% sure.

Native resolution of blu-rays is 1920×1080. If they produce it with vertical crop, then it will be a lower resolution like 1920×800 (≈21:9). This should be scaled up to fill your screen though.

[zymel]

1 minute ago, Glenwing said:

Native resolution of blu-rays is 1920×1080. If they produce it with vertical crop, then it will be a lower resolution like 1920×800 (≈21:9). This should be scaled up to fill your screen though.

 

31 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

Many movies are shot at 2:35:1 or 2:40:1, and usually, whatever software you use can support displaying the video at its native aspect ratio or support the cropping of the black bars if the video is at 1920x1080. I know VLC can support black bar cropping if you so wish to do so.

Thanks to both of you. You replied exactly what I wanted to know. I did do some research in the meanwhile and found it out, but it's really helpful to see people telling it as well.

[Glenwing]

8 minutes ago, zymel said:

 

Thanks to both of you. You replied exactly what I wanted to know. I did do some research in the meanwhile and found it out, but it's really helpful to see people telling it as well.

Just as a note, the actual resolution of blu-ray content is always 1920×1080. When it's cropped, the black bars are "hardcoded" into the content, so while it may be 1920×800 visually, the resolution of the file is a 1920×1080 video that just happens to have black pixels on the top and bottom rows. Most video player software is well aware of this and will have scaling options that will allow you to fullscreen the image though.

[zymel]

2 minutes ago, Glenwing said:

Just as a note, the actual resolution of blu-ray content is always 1920×1080. When it's cropped, the black bars are "hardcoded" into the content, so while it may be 1920×800 visually, the resolution of the file is a 1920×1080 video that just happens to have black pixels on the top and bottom rows. Most video player software is well aware of this and will have scaling options that will allow you to fullscreen the image though.

Yeah, that was my concern: I really wish I could get native 2560x1080 somehow though... I guess I'll have to try netflix, but that's not the most diverse source of content...

[AskTJ]

Most movies are recorded in the cinema screen ratio, so 21:9. Pair that was a pair of decent speakers, surround sound and you will have a movie beast. Or just buy a TV.

[zymel]

3 minutes ago, AskTJ said:

Most movies are recorded in the cinema screen ratio, so 21:9. Pair that was a pair of decent speakers, surround sound and you will have a movie beast. Or just buy a TV.

That wasn't really my question but thanks hahaha

[PlayStation 2]

1 hour ago, zymel said:

Yeah, that was my concern: I really wish I could get native 2560x1080 somehow though... I guess I'll have to try netflix, but that's not the most diverse source of content...

For what it's worth, 1920x800 scales fairly nicely, at least with movies, to 2560x1080. The bitrate most definitely helps from a Blu-ray movie, too.

[zymel]

2 minutes ago, Dan Castellaneta said:

For what it's worth, 1920x800 scales fairly nicely, at least with movies, to 2560x1080. The bitrate most definitely helps from a Blu-ray movie, too.

Well it's nice to know that it scales nicely. I have this thing where I can't concentrate on what I'm watching if the scaling feels wrong, and I keep staring at the pixels instead of the image itself.

Ayway, I'm pretty sure I found a good deal on the monitor and will most likely mainly play games/edit on it, so it should be all good