Aspect ratios

How can you work out what aspect ratio a film is in? Can you check it on VLS media player somehow or some other programe?

All i understand is that 4:3 is the old square TV size (which i still use by the way ) and that 16:9 is the normal widescreen size like what would a modern computer screen be. But then i dont understand 1.78:1 1.33:1 etc and then you have 'enanced for widecreen' and then you can have 4:3 but then when its letterboxed they call it something else and it starts to get confusing.

what is that?

or did you ment "vlc media player"?

ragarding ratio's........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)

Yeah i ment VLC. Is there anyway i can actually check what aspect ratio a video is in?

Generally, the video ratio must be mentioned on the back cover of the box.

But it's only the ratio of the DVD, and never an indication about what was the MOVIE's original ratio. A lot of DVDs are cropping the image just to have a 1.85 ratio, even if the original was 1.66. It was the case, among others, for Warner's "The Curse of Frankenstein", "Horror of Dracula", "The Mummy"... This is a permanent scandal, just as was the Pan & Scan practices in older times.

Yeah, and it's not even a proper 1.85. They actually zoom in to make it 16:9 (or 1.77, to use the same terminology)

Correct 1.85 on a 16:9 monitor would have small black bars at top and bottom.

Correct1.66 would have small black bars down left and right sides

More often than not the operator will zoom in and just make it 16:9, guessing that no-one will notice or care.

It's almost as bad as the old 4:3 pan and scan days.

I thoiught those were all long in the past, but a couple of weeks back the BBC screened Ken Russell's scope film The Boyfriend in a 4:3 pan and scan version! And this was as part of a tribute to a great British film maker whose career they (the BBC) had once done much to sponsor.

I was/am amazed that they can even consider such behaviour in this day and age. I guess some ignorant twat just got it wrong, didn't care or didn't know any better. They should get the sack.

End of rant!

Here's another rant on similar subject (funnier than mine)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/20...distort-picture

I found this page with some info about the different aspect ratios:

http://events.hometheaterforum.com/home/wsfaq.html

However, it doesn't tell you how to find out what the aspect ration of a certain film is. And DON'T rely on the bloody IMDb!! They get info wrong all the time.

I'd say!

Thanks Jack, i will check it out