JBL DCR600II, SCS135P, DVD600II manual Setting the Aspect Ratio, Setting the Dynamic Range

Once the new password has been entered, the system remains locked with the new password in effect. Press the ‹ Button ` to return to the main menu. If you have no other changes to make after setting this default, press the Menu Button z to remove the Setup Menu from the screen, or press the Play/Pause Button to begin or resume playback.

Setting the Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio of a television picture is the relationship between its width and height, and it defines the shape of the picture. Television sets have traditionally had an aspect ratio of 4 x 3, which is to say that they are almost square, with slightly more width than height. Almost all television programming is presented in the 4 x 3 aspect ratio so that the pictures fit within the confines of the TV screen.

Movies, on the other hand, have a variety of what are known as “wide aspect ratio” formats that are significantly wider in relation to their height than traditional television pictures. Indeed, the development of wide-screen movies was something that was popularized in the 1950s in response to the success of television; movie producers wanted to provide a wider vista than what was afforded by TVs.

However, since many movies are produced for a wider screen than the TV set they are played on, a problem arises that is like fitting a square peg into a round hole. In many instances this is taken care of by the disc’s producers, who refor- mat the image to fit within a standard 4 x 3 TV screen. Discs such as this require no special setting. The only downside to this is that when wide-screen movies are converted to 4 x 3, some of the information at the sides of a scene may be cut off due to the difference in picture shape. This is also called a “pan and scan” presentation, as a 4 x 3 viewing area is moved across the wider cinema image.

Other discs are produced in what is called a “letterbox wide-screen” format. In this case, the entire wide image is fit inside the 4 x 3 screen shape from side to side. This means that you see the entire picture as the movie’s director intended, but the height of the picture is reduced to accommodate the added width. The blank areas that appear at the top and bottom of the screen make the image in the center appear as if you are looking through a mail slot, giving this sort of presentation the nickname of “letterbox.”

50

The DVD format accommodates both of these formats, though it is up to the producer of the disc to select which way to convert the movie to video. Sometimes you will have only one of the two formats, while some discs offer a full screen, with the pan-and-scan version on one side of a disc and the wide-screen, but letterbox version, on the other side.

The DVD600II will play either type of disc, and you may select a default that tells which way to present the image when there is a choice.

To select an aspect ratio default, you must be viewing the Setup Menu (Figure 1), which is available by pressing the Menu Button z while the unit is in the Stop mode. At the Setup

Menu, press the ¤ Button until the Aspect Ratio option is highlighted. Next, press

the Enter Button . Select one of the three choices in the options box (Figure 13) using the

⁄/ ¤ Buttons y .

Figure 13

Depending on the type of television set you have, choose one of these three options:

•4 x 3 Letterbox: Choose this setting if you have a standard 4 x 3 television set and prefer to see movies in their original aspect ratio. You will see the entire movie but, when it is presented in a letterbox fashion, there will be black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Movies or other programs recorded in a 4 x 3 format will appear normal.

•4 x 3 Pan and Scan: Choose this setting if you have a standard 4 x 3 television set and always want the image to fill the entire screen. When a wide-screen movie is shown, you may not see parts of the picture at one side of the screen or the other. Note, how- ever, that even when you select this option, playing a wide-screen-only movie will result in black letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the screen. This is due to the way the disc was produced, and it cannot be changed.

•16 x 9 Wide-Screen: Choose this setting only if you have a wide-screen television set

(16 x 9 aspect ratio). With this setting, the DVD600II will adjust the output for wide-screen movies so that they fill the entire screen in the proper aspect ratio. Note, however, that in this setting a disc recorded in the 4 x 3 aspect ratio will appear in the wide screen as a boxed image in the center, with black columns on the left and right sides of the screen.

NOTE: If the wide-screen option is chosen

and a wide-screen movie is played on a conven- tional 4 x 3 aspect ratio set, the image will be distorted due to vertical compression.

When you have made your selection using the

⁄/ ¤ Buttons y to highlight the desired

option, press the Enter Button and note that the circle next to your choice will fill in. The menu system will then automatically return to the status listing.

If you have no other changes to make after set- ting this default, press the Menu Button z to remove the Setup Menu from the screen, or

press the Play/Pause Button to begin or resume playback.

Setting the Dynamic Range

With the DVD format you have the opportunity to hear a program’s soundtrack in the most accurate and realistic presentation possible, thanks to the use of digital audio technology. However, in certain instances you may wish to slightly compress the dynamic range of the audio output (the difference between the loudest sounds and the quietest ones) so that you

may listen to a movie at a lower volume that does not disturb others without losing dialogue intelligibility.

In most cases, it is desirable to leave the Dynamic Range setting at “OFF” so that no compression is applied to the audio, but if you wish to change to a compressed setting, follow these steps:

First, you must be viewing the Setup Menu (Figure 1), which is available by pressing the Menu Button z while the unit is in the Stop mode. At the Setup Menu, press the

¤Button until the Dynamic Range option is highlighted. Next, press the Enter Button and select one of the two choices in the options box using the ⁄/ ¤ Buttons y (Figure 14). The choices are as follows:

•Off: Select this option to turn off the Dynamic Range compression and have the soundtrack presented exactly as it was authored.