Tired debate, but is a 4:3 presentation of DBZ necessary when we all have 16:9 tv's?

[Bardo117]

I remember being thoroughly satisfied when Season 1 of the Orange Bricks came out, and so were all my friends.

[Super Sayian Prime]

Why the push for "vertical", when most devices, to my knowledge, offer the option to rotate the screen to be horizontal?

Because even though that's true, most people use their phones vertically. Vertical video syndrome is a thing and Snapchat has only worsened it.

[Bardo117]

Why the push for "vertical", when most devices, to my knowledge, offer the option to rotate the screen to be horizontal?

Because even though that's true, most people use their phones vertically. Vertical video syndrome is a thing and Snapchat has only worsened it.

You even have that option of double tapping the screen and the video is cropped to fill up the screen vertically. I view almost all of the memes and videos on social media vertically, mostly because my iPhone is rotation locked so I'm just too lazy to swipe up and switch it off. Unless the video is something really really interesting.

[Desassina]

What about the pixel aspect ratio? Wouldn't it be cool if the film masters were digitized with non square pixels? Add a few scanlines or render every other line worth of content and I'm set.

[8000 Saiyan]

I'd say so, given that it was intended to be seen in that format.

[Desassina]

What about the pixel aspect ratio? Wouldn't it be cool if the film masters were digitized with non square pixels? Video (DVD/VHS) may have been 4:3, but the film masters are of a certain length, and they can be digitized into the industry standard of 704x576 (in PAL territories). It means that the pixels would have to be 1.4545 times wider than they are tall for a 16:9 picture. The NTSC broadcast appears to be stretched in spite of it being Japan's format.

(delete my post above and unedit this please)

[Cipher]

I remember being thoroughly satisfied when Season 1 of the Orange Bricks came out, and so were all my friends.

You and your friends would have been just as satisfied if the footage were 4:3, and we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.

The secret spice in the orange brick's success, and I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying this, was 40 episodes for less than $30. No one was on a fill-my-screen-or-bust train prior to release.

[Bajosexto]

I get that the black bars on a 16:9 tv bothers some people. But all you have to do is press the zoom button to get rid of them. And that takes care of the problem. Your screen is now full. No more distracting black bars. But I can not uncropped the season sets. I'm stuck with this cropped version. Eventhough missing the top and bottom of the image bothers me just like the black bars bother you. And I know, if it bothers me that much why don't I buy a 4:3 release? Well because the Dragon Boxes are REALLY expensive and the singles are incomplete. Not to mention that these releases are a decade old and discontinued. I guess I could buy the singles and Dragon Box 1 and 2 to get the series in it's proper aspect ratio. But while I buy my used and expensive 10 year old dvds, fans of the cropped version can buy the Blu-rays new for 20 dollars each.

[Super_Divine_Genki]

Those Season Sets, at the time, were also the only way to watch the uncut "Season 1" and "Season 2" in NA, as well as the complete English re-dub of those "seasons" for those looking for that. I remember those Ultimate Uncuts were discontinued at some point during the Saiyajin arc. But, some of you out there may have got your hands on those JPN Dragon Boxes before that.

If only I'd known to wait just two more years back then for the U.S. DBoxes. The funny thing though, is when I put those Season Sets (the complete series) up for sale, they sold within minutes! and the DBoxes have been my go-to since. It worked out alright.

[DHM211]

I get that the black bars on a 16:9 tv bothers some people. But all you have to do is press the zoom button to get rid of them. And that takes care of the problem. Your screen is now full. No more distracting black bars.

Also no selective cropping, extra footage on the sides, and reframed scenes.

[Bajosexto]

I get that the black bars on a 16:9 tv bothers some people. But all you have to do is press the zoom button to get rid of them. And that takes care of the problem. Your screen is now full. No more distracting black bars.

Also no selective cropping, extra footage on the sides, and reframed scenes.

Sure the zoom buttom isn't the best option. Selective cropping would be. And that's available with the Blu-rays and Kai the Final Chapters. If you want dbz cropped just buy those. You can actually pre-order all 9 seasons of the Blu rays right know on Amazon for 175 US dollars.

[Baggie_Saiyan]

The zoom thing can't work on BD's at least to my knowledge and experience, I can't zoom in on my Kai BDs but the DVDs of Kai I have I can, I read somewhere for BDs the black bars have to be psychically rendered in which does explain why you can't zoom in and perhaps why FUNi (Z season BDs) and Toei (Buu Kai) opted to ultimately crop.

[Bardo117]

This quote was taken from when FUNImation answered forum questions,


For this Blu-ray release of Dragon Ball Z, we are creating a version that is fit for the modern era. A release that takes advantage of the 1080p, widescreen televisions and powerful Blu-ray players most people own today. A bolder, more vibrant Dragon Ball that both old and new fans can appreciate. In order to accomplish this, we had to change the remastering and restoration approach that we took with the Level Sets in 2011.

[KBABZ]

IMO that's PR spin on "the level sets took too much time and money, so we're just pulling out the Dragon Box masters again with selective cropping". As much as Funimation and Toei want to pretend it isn't (at least back in 2011), Dragon Ball Z is an old show that used old standards. The Japanese audio master is in mono, for example, and of course the footage was drawn, composed, staged and presented in 4:3 resolution. To crop Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z into 16:9 is to abjectly ignore how old the show is.

It's different from when HD remasters of games add widescreen to 4:3 titles, because those expand the 4:3 window to 16:9; you gain the sides and don't lose anything on the tops. This just deletes content with no fanfare. Again I ask you, would you be okay with cropping Back to the Future and KIng Kong to 1.37:1 on all UHD-BR releases if that was the TV standard ten years from now? Almost any fan of those movies would not.

[Gaffer Tape]

Again I ask you, would you be okay with cropping Back to the Future and KIng Kong to 1.37:1 on all UHD-BR releases if that was the TV standard ten years from now? Almost any fan of those movies would not.

Ehhh, I totally agree with you, but I'm afraid those probably aren't the best examples, as both of those movies were shot in that aspect ratio to begin with (well, 1.33:1 or 4:3 to pick nits). King Kong was made before widescreen was even a thing. And Back to the Future, while intended to be seen in widescreen, was shot in 1.33:1 and then matted to widescreen. When you'd see it on VHS or on TV back in the '90s, you'd actually be getting more picture than you'd seen in theatres. So you wouldn't need to crop Back to the Future for it to be seen in that aspect ratio.

[Bardo117]

https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Ball-Seas ... ll+blu+ray


Anybody catch this AMAZING Complete Blu-Ray collection that FUNImation is releasing? Amazon exclusive!