Anamorphic Video

Found on a large number of DVD's, anamorphic video appears to squeeze a 1.78 picture shape into a 1.33 image area. If you view an anamorphic video image on a 1.33 set, the characters will look tall and thin. In reality the active video area has been redefined as a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, as the high definition video active area is 1.78:1. This format is designed for 1.78 aspect ratio TV sets. This approach offers about 33% more vertical resolution to widescreen images. Unsqueezing an anamorphic image on a 1.33 set is accomplished by squeezing the vertical size. Back in the mid-90’s Toshiba released four laserdisc titles as promotional material in anamorphic video, prior to the coming of DVD. The four titles are "Free Willy", "The Fugitive", "Grumpy Old Men" and "Unforgiven".

Found on a large number of DVD's, anamorphic video appears to squeeze a 1.78 picture shape into a 1.33 image area. If you view an anamorphic video image on a 1.33 set, the characters will look tall and thin. In reality the active video area has been redefined as a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, as the high definition video active area is 1.78:1. This format is designed for 1.78 aspect ratio TV sets. This approach offers about 33% more vertical resolution to widescreen images. Unsqueezing an anamorphic image on a 1.33 set is accomplished by squeezing the vertical size. Back in the mid-90’s Toshiba released four laserdisc titles as promotional material in anamorphic video, prior to the coming of DVD. The four titles are "Free Willy", "The Fugitive", "Grumpy Old Men" and "Unforgiven".