It may be that you've joined the flat-screen revolution and have wasted no time in configuring your setup so that you're taking advantage of it; if you're a cinephile, you may have bought your tv for that very reason. This article is not for you. But if you're not sure what "aspect ratio" means, or don't know what the black bars are for, chances are you need a little guidance in the world of "full screen" vs. "widescreen" DVDs.
There was a time when widescreen was only for movie theaters. You'd go out, see a movie, and when it came time to put it on VHS or show it with commercials, it was suddenly "formatted to fit your screen." There wasn't a lot you could do about it. If you were lucky, and it was an "event" movie, you could find the widescreen VHS copy. But it seemed like most people didn't know, or care, what was cut out as long as it had the same actors in it.
There was a time when widescreen was only for movie theaters. You'd go out, see a movie, and when it came time to put it on VHS or show it with commercials, it was suddenly "formatted to fit your screen." There wasn't a lot you could do about it. If you were lucky, and it was an "event" movie, you could find the widescreen VHS copy. But it seemed like most people didn't know, or care, what was cut out as long as it had the same actors in it.
