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Sorry, it's my hobby-horse of aspect ratio again, but:
In the report about Fawlty Towers that's being repeated every few
minutes on Breakfast, there are some clips of Connie Booth and John
Cleese (probably from about the time FT was made) that are in a _very_
weird format: they're being presented in almost exactly a square, but stretched horizontally or squashed vertically.
I was just puzzled as to what the origin might be! If shown undistorted, they'd be tall and narrow - I'd guess maybe 3:4; I just can't think what they'd have been shot/stored/whatever on!
Sorry, it's my hobby-horse of aspect ratio again, but:
In the report about Fawlty Towers that's being repeated every few
minutes on Breakfast, there are some clips of Connie Booth and John
Cleese (probably from about the time FT was made) that are in a _very_
weird format: they're being presented in almost exactly a square, but stretched horizontally or squashed vertically.
I was just puzzled as to what the origin might be! If shown undistorted, they'd be tall and narrow - I'd guess maybe 3:4; I just can't think what they'd have been shot/stored/whatever on!
On Fri 19/09/2025 08:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:Valid question. But (a) yes, I do have it set to auto*, (b) I very much
Sorry, it's my hobby-horse of aspect ratio again, but:
In the report about Fawlty Towers that's being repeated every few
minutes on Breakfast, there are some clips of Connie Booth and John
Cleese (probably from about the time FT was made) that are in a _very_>> weird format: they're being presented in almost exactly a square, but
stretched horizontally or squashed vertically.
I was just puzzled as to what the origin might be! If shown undistorted,
they'd be tall and narrow - I'd guess maybe 3:4; I just can't think what
they'd have been shot/stored/whatever on!
Question: have you checked your TV is set for auto format as if it gets
a 16:9 and auto is not set any incoming 4:3 will be stretched usually to 16:9 which means part of the height will be missing and people will have very wide squat faces!
On 19/09/2025 08:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
Sorry, it's my hobby-horse of aspect ratio again, but:Standard video format in the 1970s was 4:3. 16:9 didn't come in until
In the report about Fawlty Towers that's being repeated every few
minutes on Breakfast, there are some clips of Connie Booth and John
Cleese (probably from about the time FT was made) that are in a _very_
weird format: they're being presented in almost exactly a square, but
stretched horizontally or squashed vertically.
I was just puzzled as to what the origin might be! If shown undistorted,
they'd be tall and narrow - I'd guess maybe 3:4; I just can't think what
they'd have been shot/stored/whatever on!
the late '90s.
Anyway: Since it is well past Breakfast!, it's on iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002jlm3/breakfast-19092025
Start 2:15:35 in (i. e. it was about a quarter past eight, as Breakfast starts at six),
Start with ? and Naga in studio - standard 16:9.
2:15:44 - extract from Fawlty Towers - title shot and theme music,
obviously _cropped_ to 16:9.
2:15:48 - three extract from the series; pillarboxed, but obviously
still 16@9, as there's a BBC dog in the left black panel.
2:16@05 - interviews - first Connie then John. In a frame slightly
_narrower_ than the FT extract; still being broadcast with the 16:9 flag
as the dog is still there; but, squashed or stretched. More obvious on Connie; John at first I wasn't sure, but then I remembered he's a
beanpole, and doesn't look it there, so I think he's squashed/stretched too. Repeated from earlier in the prog. - 1:15:33 in, with the odd bit at
1:16:00 in.
On 2025/9/19 13:9:56, John Williamson wrote:
On 19/09/2025 08:23, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
Sorry, it's my hobby-horse of aspect ratio again, but:Standard video format in the 1970s was 4:3. 16:9 didn't come in until
In the report about Fawlty Towers that's being repeated every few
minutes on Breakfast, there are some clips of Connie Booth and John
Cleese (probably from about the time FT was made) that are in a _very_
weird format: they're being presented in almost exactly a square, but
stretched horizontally or squashed vertically.
I was just puzzled as to what the origin might be! If shown undistorted, >>> they'd be tall and narrow - I'd guess maybe 3:4; I just can't think what >>> they'd have been shot/stored/whatever on!
the late '90s.
I know that. But these interview clips were shown - pillarboxed into a
16:9 broadcast - in a more or less _square_ box (_narrower_, slightly,
than pillarboxed 4:3; I checked that as there was some pillarboxed 4:3 immediately prededing), but still appearing squashed/stretched. (The immediately-preceding 4:3 extract was correct.) See my previous post for
the links to it on iPlayer.
On 19/09/2025 15:57, J. P. Gilliver wrote:
channels, it ignores the flag unless I turn the subtitles off.
The interviews were shot in 4:3, and were stretched for some reason to > 14:9. The 14:9 is pillarboxed inside a 16:9 frame. with black either side.
Anyway: Since it is well past Breakfast!, it's on iPlayer:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002jlm3/breakfast-19092025
Start 2:15:35 in (i. e. it was about a quarter past eight, as Breakfast
starts at six),
Start with ? and Naga in studio - standard 16:9.
2:15:44 - extract from Fawlty Towers - title shot and theme music,
obviously _cropped_ to 16:9.
2:15:48 - three extract from the series; pillarboxed, but obviously
still 16@9, as there's a BBC dog in the left black panel.
2:16@05 - interviews - first Connie then John. In a frame slightly
_narrower_ than the FT extract; still being broadcast with the 16:9 flag
as the dog is still there; but, squashed or stretched. More obvious on>> Connie; John at first I wasn't sure, but then I remembered he's a
beanpole, and doesn't look it there, so I think he's squashed/stretched too. >> Repeated from earlier in the prog. - 1:15:33 in, with the odd bit at
1:16:00 in.