And yet you're still to produce any evidence of this mythical "standard". 

Skip,

I'm not arguing about the rules. I know you can read, so when I write "I can't argue with that" you should not accuse me of wanting to argue the rules.

I - like several others - just want to know if there is a standard definition of P&S outside of DVD Profiler, and if so where we can find this definition.

By attacking instead of answering you certainly give the impression that you do not have an answer and that you are just trying to hide the fact that you don't. Please prove me wrong... And remember, I'm not trying to argue the rule or how it should be applied.

Quoting Tracer:

Quote:
Quoting GSyren:

Quote:
I - like several others - just want to know if there is a standard definition of P&S outside of DVD Profiler, and if so where we can find this definition.

Here is Wikipedia's definition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_and_scan

That was the only relatively up to date reference I could find too. Most others seemed to be written before 16:9 displays became the norm rather than a luxury.

Quoting Tracer:

Quote:
Here is Wikipedia's definition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_and_scan

Thanks! I can't say that I consider Wikipedia to be the ultimate authority when it comes to definitions of this kind. But at least it is an outside definition.

And you might notice that their description includes this phrase

Quote:
With the popularity of HDTVs increasing, films are now starting to be panned & scanned at 1.78:1 instead of 1.33.

So clearly the author of this definition does not limit P & S to 4:3.

Quoting GSyren:

Quote:
Quoting Tracer:

Quote:
Here is Wikipedia's definition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_and_scan

Thanks! I can't say that I consider Wikipedia to be the ultimate authority when it comes to definitions of this kind. But at least it is an outside definition.

And you might notice that their description includes this phrase

Quote:
With the popularity of HDTVs increasing, films are now starting to be panned & scanned at 1.78:1 instead of 1.33.

So clearly the author of this definition does not limit P & S to 4:3.

Who is the author? Since you put so much stock in Wikipedia, what are his bona fides? Is it north?

I consider Wikipedia to have just about as much credibility as some competing databases. Their data ping=pongs all over the place depending on the precise topic and the people involved. I'll rely more on myself than Wikipedia, but there are numerous other trustworthy experts on this topic, including but not limited to the history of the video industry and the film industry dating back many decades. I agree with antolod, this will be addressed by the industry at some point in the future, when precisely, I won't predict. It all depends just how big this issue becomes, which may depend on Joe Six-Pack and his willingness to accept OAR or his relative insistence on "Family Friendly" viewing. At this point in time it is a relatively insignificant issue, with not more than a handful or two films involved, I guess time will tell.

Skip

Yes, but by the same token the top of this wiki page says:

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

...not exactly reference material....

Then why cite it?

Skip

While waiting for Skip to provide sources explaining this "standard" that pan and scan always results in a 4:3 image, I thought I'd supply another source that supports the alternate view.

From DVD Demystified, third edition, written by Jim Taylor, Mark R. Johnson and Charles G. Crawford
Chapter 3, page 42

Quote:
The standard pan and scan technique can be used with a 16:9 window (as opposed to a 4:3 window) when transferring from film to DVD. For 1.85 movies, the result is essentially the same as cropping and is hardly worth the extra work, For wider movies, pan and scan is more useful, but the original aspect ratio is lost, which goes against the spirit of the widescreen format. When going to the trouble of supporting DVD's widescreen format, it seems silly to pan and scan inside it, but if the option is there, someone is bound to use it.

It's available via Google Books if anyone wants to read it for themselves.

Your turn Skip...