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data rate; in many cases, the video will look better if carefully encoded at a<br />
lower bit rate.<br />
A lack of dual-layer production capability is also a lame excuse; in 1997,<br />
very few DVD plants could make dual-layer discs, but this is no longer the<br />
case. Very few players can automatically switch sides, but it’s not needed<br />
because movies less than four hours long can easily fit on one dual-layer<br />
(RSDL) side.<br />
The Film Vault at DVD Review includes a list of flipper discs. Note that a<br />
flipper is not the same as a disc with a widescreen version on one side and<br />
a pan and scan version or supplements on the other.<br />
Why Is the Picture Squished, Making<br />
Things Look Too Skinny?<br />
Answer: RTFM. You are watching an anamorphic picture intended for display<br />
only on a widescreen TV. (See “What’s Widescreen? How Do the<br />
Aspect Ratios Work?” in <strong>Chapter</strong> 3 for technical details). You need to go<br />
into the player’s setup menu and tell it your TV is standard 4:3 TV, not<br />
widescreen 16:9. It will then automatically letterbox the picture so you can<br />
see the full width at the proper proportions.<br />
In some cases, you can change the aspect ratio as the disc is playing (by<br />
pressing the “aspect” button on the remote control). On most players you<br />
have to stop the disc before you can change the aspect. Some discs are<br />
labeled with widescreen on one side and standard on the other. In order to<br />
watch the full-screen version, you must flip the disc over. (See “How Do I<br />
Get Rid of the Black Bars at the Top and Bottom?” for more information on<br />
letterboxing.)<br />
Apparently, most players that convert from NTSC to PAL or vice versa<br />
can’t simultaneously letterbox (or pan and scan) an anamorphic picture (see<br />
“Is DVD-Video a Worldwide Standard? Does It Work with NTSC, PAL, and<br />
SECAM?”). The solutions would be to use a widescreen TV, a multistandard<br />
TV, or an external converter. Or get a better player.<br />
Do All Videos Use Dolby Digital (AC-3)?<br />
Do They All Have 5.1 Channels?<br />
General DVD 35<br />
Most DVD-Video discs contain Dolby Digital soundtracks, but some discs,<br />
especially those containing only audio, have PCM tracks. It’s also possible<br />
for a 625/50 (PAL) disc to contain only MPEG audio, which is not widely<br />
used. Discs with DTS audio are required to also include a Dolby Digital