Hello,
just thought I would mention something. While visiting the US I picked up a copy of R1 Saving Private Ryan. On the box and the disc it says 16:9, yet when you play it it's a basic 4:3 picture, no widescreen at all, and no configurable options in the menu. The kit's set up right, as all my other DVD's are fine (including R1 discs). If this is a disc problem, surely someone else must have encountered it? (It's not like I can return it or anything though, I'm just wondering!)

This is probably one of the cases where you have to take out the disc. Run the setup menu for your dvd player and choose (you should have three choices: 4:3 (full), 4:3 Letterbox, 16:9). Choose 4:3 Letterbox if you just have a regular square TV set.

I've had a few DVDs like this.

I've tried all this already. The player is set for 16:9, the TV is a 16:9 widescreen, and there are no other options on the disc menus. Unless it's configurable by a button on the DVD remote without an on-screen option for it...

Do you have any other R1-NTSC 16x9 Discs that play properly on your setup?

Yeah, sure. Fast & The Furious, Toy Story 1 & 2, Ghost Dog, The Sixth Day, and others that I can't think of right now all play fine. It does appear to be unique to the disc, but there are no video config options on the menu. Having said that, if no-one here has heard of it, I would guess it highly likely to be an incorrect setting. I'll have a play tonight and give it another go. After all, it's an awesome film, and worth seeing properly.

It sounds like they put the wrong disc in the box.

I thought that as well, but it even says 16:9 on the disc!
Anyway, I had a play around over the weekend. If I set the player to 4:3 output mode, the image is then presented as a mini-16:9 screen. As this gives large black bars top and bottom (as well as on the sides, but they're besides the point as the disc thinks it's 4:3 anyway) I believe this must be a widescreen image. I can then zoom it up to full-screen size. So I guess it's just a case of remembering to reconfigure the player to 4:3 before (and back again after) watching it. Strange, but there you go. Anyway, thanks for all your help. I can now watch it in peace without the screen bugging me!
Dan.

If you are getting a widescreen-shaped pic with bars on all 4 sides, it sounds as though this is a non-anamorphic disc. Some TVs don't handle them well, at least not with progressive scan. One reason why the Panny RP-91 DVDp is so popular, it can scale these discs properly, even if the TV can't.

To the best of my knowledge SPR only came out in anamorphic widescreen 1.85. I have the DTS version and it plays fine on my Sony DVP-9000ES. If all other anamorphic DVDs play fine in your setup, I'd be inclined to think it's a defective disc. Do the people look distorted in the 4:3 image? You may try and find another copy and see if it also plays the same way.

What a shame!

Good luck,

DJ