Now let's do a little quick math.
现在让我们迅速算一算。
If we compare a major cinematic film produced on a 2.35 to 1 aspect frame with my standard 4 to 3 TV screen, we find out that only 55% of the movie can actually fit on the screen at any one time.
比较一下2.35:1的银幕电影和4:3的标准电视屏幕,我们就能发现,只有55%的电影,每一幕都可以完整地搬上屏幕。
Just over half!
只有一半多一点!
You've seen the disclaimer at the beginning of the movie on TV or DVD that says "this film has been modified from its original format to fit on your TV screen."
电视或DVD里的电影开始前,都有一条免责声明说“这部电影的内容,已经修改为适合电视荧屏播出的尺寸。”
Well, what it should say is "we are only displaying 55% of the movie of our choosing."
其实,它该说的是“我们只展示了选出的55%的电影画面。”
Now for all the full-screen TV lovers, this is your dilemma: do you want to see all the movie, or is 55% good enough? How about new TVs?
对所有热爱全屏电视的人来说,这是个进退两难的局面:你想看电影的所有,还是质量好的55%那部分?那换个新电视机呢?
Around the start of the century, some widescreen TVs emerged in a 16 to 9, or 1.78 times wider than it is tall.
本世纪初,有些宽屏电视采用了16:9,也就是1.78:1的长宽比,
Well, this screen fits the movie a little better, but still only shows 75% of the original movie at one time.
这样的屏幕与电影稍微匹配了一些,但也只适合75%的原版电影。
Suppose someone made a TV for your living room that was actually 2.35 to 1 to show those full movies?
如果有人在客厅装了2.35:1的电视来放原版电影呢?
Well, the TV with the same height as the most current 50-inch TVs - that TV would be close to six feet long.
如果这电视的宽度和一般电视一样有50英寸(127cm),那它的长度就要达到6英尺(1.83m)。
And on top of that, you'd only use the full screen when you watched movies.
关键是,你只有看电影时,才需要这么大的全屏。
Most of the other content would have to be stretched, or have empty space on the sides of the screen.
而其他画面要么会被拉伸,要么会让屏幕边缘留下黑边。
Of course, there is one more option. We can just shrink the movie screen proportionally, to fit the width of your home television.
当然,还有一个选择。我们可以按比例缩小电影画面来与电视屏幕相匹配。
Now we can mathematically scale the original to fit exactly the width of the screen and this'll preserve the entire movie screen, but show the infamous black bars along the top and bottom that so many television watchers abhor.
我们能给电影算出正好适合屏幕的长宽比,并保留电影的全部画面,但画面上下会出现难看的黑条,很不受电视观众待见。
Of course, now you can argue that we're only using 75% of that screen.
当然,你也可以说现在我们只用了屏幕的75%。
And that is where the real question is: do you want your full screen, or do you want to see the entire movie?
这才是真正的问题:你想充分利用屏幕的每一寸,还是看到完整的电影画面?
Most likely, you just need a bigger TV.
最有可能的是,你需要买一台更大的电视。