used to describe the widescreen picture size on some DVD-Video discs and Digital TV transmissions. An anamporphic picture is a widescreen picture size that has been 'squashed' at each side (horizontally) during filming or recording so that it fits into a non-widescreen 4:3 frame. When an anamorphic picture is displayed on a widescreen television, the TV will expand the picture horizontally to restore the original widescreen picture size. Viewing an anamorphic movie on a 4:3 television will mean the picture appears squashed with tall, thin actors.

A term used to describe the representation of a wide-screen video image by squeezing it horizontally to fit into a conventional 4:3 aspect ratio for purposes of storage and transmission. The image is stretched back to wide screen (usually 16:9) before being displayed.

the squeezing horizontally of a 16:9 image into a full screen 4:3 display, resulting in distortion of the image geometry.

A process of storing images with different horizontal and vertical magnifications for later display through a reversed procedure. Generally, the image is squeezed inward from the sides in relation to the height. So, if the original picture is of a circle, then the anamorphic processing would produce a tall, thin oval. On receiving the signal, some device will readjust these different horizontal and vertical magnifications back to normal. The anamorphic process has the advantage of enabling wide aspect ratio pictures to be stored on a recording medium originally designed for the 4x3 aspect ratio. Specifically, an anamorphic DVD stores a high quality widescreen movie for viewing on widescreen TVs.

A film or video format in which a widescreen image has been "squeezed" horizontally (either with lenses or by digital manipulation) to fit a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. Correct picture geometry is restored on play-back by "unsqueezing" the image into its original aspect ratio. The anamorphic format delivers the correct aspect ratio without sacrificing resolution. Anamorphic DVD s may carry the legend "Anamorphic Widescreen," "16:9 Enhanced" or "Enhanced for Widescreen Televisions."

related to different optical imaging effects; refers to a method of intentionally distorting and creating a wide screen image with standard film, using a conversion process or a special lens on the camera and projector to produce different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture; an anamorphic image usually appears "squished" horizontally, while retaining its full vertical resolution; see also aspect ratio and the trade name CinemaScope. On the right are examples of anamorphic imaging effects from the film Blade (1998) (originally filmed with an aspect ratio of 2:35.1).

A process in which a wide-screen image is compressed (squeezed) horizontally to the 4:3 aspect ratio. This method provides 25 percent more vertical resolution over standard letterboxing. With the proper equipment, this image can then be displayed in either letterbox or pan & scan format on a standard 4:3 TV or restored to its original aspect ratio on a wide-screen TV. This process may also be referred to as 'enhanced for widescreen' or 'enhanced for 16:9'.

It is the preferred DVD format for widescreen (16:9) TVs because the image is restored to its widescreen format without any reduction in image quality. Anamorphic DVDs contain the highest level of resolution (460 to 480 lines) and thus yield the best picture quality. DVDs are often not labeled as anamorphic, so look also for the words "enhanced", " widescreen", "16:9". DVDs labeled "letterboxed" and in most cases "fullscreen" will have reduced image quality or even have some of the image edited to force it to fit a 4:3 screen. Anamorphic DVDs can be played on regular 4:3 TVs, but unless your TV or DVD player has a setting to vertically adjust the image, it will appear tall and thin.

term referring to any wide-screen process or format in which the horizontal field is compressed during shooting and uncompressed (restored to normal width/height) during projection. Also see Panavision, Academy Ratio.

Used to differentiate a 16x9 widescreen picture which fills the whole frame, from a 16x9 letterbox with blank lines at the top and bottom of the frame. The Americans don't understand anamorphic in the context of television - their equivalent term is 16x9 full frame.

A way to change aspect ratios by stretching or compressing an image.

The place from which to view these paintings is placed to one side so that the subject is recognizeable only when viewed from that point. When viewed from the front the image is distorted and unrecognizable.

Watch a wide aspect ratio on a conventional 4:3 TV set and you either get big black bars across the top and bottom or the film is 'panned and scanned' so that you only get the central part of the image filling the screen. Either way, you're not getting the whole picture. Most movies on DVD are presented in their original aspect ratio and a widescreen TV is the first step in getting to see the whole image. But because the picture is not an exact fit for the screen's 16:9 shape, you may still get black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. A DVD with an anamorphic widescreen picture gives enhanced quality and digitally squeezes the sides of the picture forcing it upwards and downwards to fill the screen. A widescreen TV then decodes the anamorphic code and a 1.85:1 picture fits perfectly onto a widescreen. An anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer will still have those black bars, but they'll be much smaller.

Anamorphically enhanced DVD discs have been coded to offer improved picture quality on widescreen TV sets and banish most, if not all of, the letterbox effect, too.

Content that is enhanced for widescreen (16:9) televisions through the inclusion of increased vertical picture information. A widescreen television stretches the picture horizontally to match the increased vertical picture information, resulting in a clearer and sharper picture intended to be displayed only on a widescreen TV. Since a standard screen TV must letterbox widescreen images to fit them to the screen, much of the vertical resolution is lost. Widescreen television do not need to letterbox these images, and therefore can offer up to 33% more vertical resolution while viewing the same anamorphic DVD.

The technology that squeezes a wide-screen image onto a DVD—sometimes used informally to refer to wide-screen formats in general. Many DVD producers use anamorphic technology to save disk space, and most TVs and DVD players process the film so that it looks normal onscreen. But many DVD players allow you to temporarily watch the squeezed version—you can make Ali look like a bantamweight. (See wide-screen.)

A term used to describe intentional distortion of an image, especially by unequal scaling or magnification along perpendicular axes, such as the techniques used by the Panavision filming process to fit a widescreen image into a 1.37:1 frame and the 16x9-enhancement for DVD to fit a widescreen image into a 4:3 frame.

You may also see this listed on a DVD's cover as "16 x 9 enhanced." This means the video has been enhanced for use on widescreen televisions.

pertaining to a kind of distorting optical system; "an anamorphic lense"

A photographic system that optically compresses the image horizontally during photography and then returns it to normal proportions during projection. Anamorphic photography is used to produce wide-screen images without the use of special wide-format film stock.

The process of compressing wide screen images that are 1.78:1 or greater, to fit into the framework of a standard 1.33:1 television display. The images are expanded to their original format on a widescreen display device.

Widescreen footage that has been scaled to cover the 4:3 resolution of a DVD. It looks stretched. (more..)

Describes the way 16:9 films are compressed to be shown on a 4:3 television screen with black bars on the top and bottom of the picture.

An Anamorphic transfer is a widescreen picture which is written in such a way that it uses a greater vertical resolution than a standard letterbox transfer. It can offer up to 33% more lines of picture information and this can result in a much sharper picture on television sets which can support it. The only drawback is the down-conversion from an Anamorphic picture onto a non-Anamorphic display source can sometimes introduce artifacts - although this depends on the hardware used.

"A wide-screen process in which the filmed images have been optically compressed or “squeezed” in width but not in height. A frequent aspect ratio is 2.35:1." (AMIM)

A process where a widescreen movie is stored on the DVD disc in anamorphic form, meaning the picture is squeezed horizontally to fit the standard 4:3 rectangle, then unsqueezed during playback. This anamorphic squeezing results in less of the picture being wasted on the black letterbox mattes. Anamorphic video is best displayed on widescreen equipment, which stretches the video back out to its original width. The setup options of DVD players allow the viewer to indicate whether they have a 16:9 or 4:3 TV.

Encoding a DVD so that the video data stores a widescreen picture in a high resolution that will normally be higher than the television will be able to display. When you play it back the DVD player will scale the picture so it fits your equipment resulting in the highest resolution and best picture on each device.

A term used to denote a difference in magnification along mutually perpendicular meridians. Anamorphic systems are basically image-distorting systems, such as a HDTV downconverter or a wide screen digital camcorder formats, that compress a scene laterally and expand it again on a DTV video monitor.

Videophile term used to describe high-quality widescreen DVDs. Full explanation: a DVD of a widescreen production (such as a theatrical movie) can be created with a standard 4:3 width to height ratio, and have the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen included as part of that picture. On anamorphic (also known as "enhanced widescreen") DVDs the widescreen version of the video is squeezed to fill the whole frame, resulting in more detail in the image. On a standard TV, most DVD players automatically add the black bars to the image, but on a widescreen TV an anamorphic DVD will look better than a "standard" widescreen one. Most DVDs (anime or otherwise) of theatrical releases are anamorphic.

The process of compressing wide screen images, 1.78:1 or greater, to fit into the bandwidth of a standard 1.33:1 television signal. The images are then expanded for viewing in their original format on a widescreen display device.

A type of lens or adapter designed to produce a wide-screen image from a condensed image on the film. Trademarks are held by CinemaScope, Panavision and Vistavision.

Process that horizontally squeezes a 16:9 image into a 4:3 space, preserving 25 percent more vertical resolution than letterboxing into the 4:3 space. For the signal to appear with correct geometry, the display must either horizontally expand or vertically compress the image. Used on about two or three promotional laser discs and many DVDs. Also called Enhanced for Widescreen or Enhanced for 16:9.

A true widescreen version of a film contains extra information on the disc that triggers a widescreen set into displaying a wider version of the picture compared to the standard 4:3 ratio picture

Having or requiring a linear distortion, generally in the horizontal direction. Anamorphic lenses can restore a 'scope' (CinemaScope) or 'flat' format film frame to the correct wide-screen appearance by increasing its horizontal proportion.

Means "reshaping". A wide screen (16x9) picture occupying the entire screen of a standard 4x3 television, without a letterbox's black areas. This distorts the shape of the picture, making objects appear thin and tall.

Anamorphic DVDs include picture optimised for widescreen (16:9) TV sets. This eliminates the letterbox effect.

Optical system which creates a widescreen image from a standard image.

An optical system having different magnifications in the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the image.

An optical system which has different magnifications in the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the picture. Anamorphic lenses on cameras are used to capture rectangular (widescreen aspect) images on square film stock frames, and then to re-expand the same images for projection onto rectangular screens without distortion.

A non-rotationally symmetrical lens element that distorts image size & shape in one axis more than the other, because of its barrel (cylindrical) shape. Panavision lenses used for wide-screen movies contain anamorphic elements to "squeeze" the image, later "de-squeezed" by the projection lens.

A method of enhancing DVD discs to minimise the letterbox effect.

A type of lens that "squeezes" a 16:9 widescreen picture into a standard 4:3 image. For proper playback, the image needs to be "unsqueezed" by display on a 16:9 screen or by letterbox presentation (with black bars at the top and bottom) of a 4:3 screen.

Well, it's exact meaning is unclear, but basically it is a method for enhancing the vertical resolution of a picture stored on DVD which can then be displayed at a higher resolution on an anamorphic-compatable display device. This is a complex beast and I recommend visiting World's Easiest Explanation of Anamorphic 16:9 Widescreen Enhancement in DVDs.

Process that condenses the image in the source material to be expanded by the display device. With DVD, the anamorphic recording preserves a vertical detail that would otherwise be lost on a widescreen film that is cropped, or letterboxed, to fit the 4:3 reading image space.

Unequally scaled in vertical and horizontal dimensions.

Process where a "wide"” video image (typically in a 16-by-9 widescreen format) is compressed or squeezed horizontally to fit a more narrow video display standard but expands to full size when played over a wide video display.

Commonly used to refer to the horizontal squeezing of a widescreen (e.g. 16:9) picture so that it can be recorded using a 4:3 tape format.

A wide video image (16:9) that has been “squeezed” horizontally so that it can be shown on a standard 4:3 television screen. When viewed on a wide-screen television, the image can expand to its regular proportions. Many DVDs have an option allowing viewers to choose a letterbox or pan & scan version of a movie if they are using a 4:3 screen.

1. A type of lens adapter designed to produce a wide screen image from an equally condensed image on the film 2. 16:9 images recorded as 4:3 frame sizes.

DVDs can be anamorphically enhanced. This means that the video is stored in a "squeezed" format on the disc. The DVD player will then "unsqueeze" the image before outputting it to your television or projector. The advantage of an anamorphic transfer is an increased resolution and therefore, better picture quality than a standard widescreen transfer. No pixels are wasted in producing the black bars, present above and below a 2.35:1 framed picture. A non-anamorphic picture displayed on a widescreen television will need to be zoomed up in order to return the picture to its correct aspect ration. DVD packages are labeled either "Anamorphically Enhance" or Enhanced for Widescreen Televisions.

A film or video format in which a widescreen image has been "squeezed" horizontally (either with lenses or by digital manipulation) to fit a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. Correct picture geometry is restored on playback by "unsqueezing" the image into its original aspect ratio. Anamorphic DVDs are sometimes marked "Enhanced for widescreen TVs." See: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio.

A method of getting wide-screen images from normal 35 mm film. In the shooting, a special lens is used which squeezes the image. A matching lens reverses the process for projection. If you were to look at a frame of anamorphic film without "unsqueezing" it (such images would be called "squeezed") it would look like the image on a balloon after the air has been let out of it.

The process whereby a cinematic (eg: 1.85:1) or TV (4:3) ratio is encoded onto DVD so that the image will fit the full frame of your widescreen TV (16:9) without any loss or distortion of the original. This does away with the need for letterboxing most films on widescreen TVs. Some DVDs details describe this as "enhanced for widescreen TVs". See more under Aspect ratio.

In video and film, a wide-screen process of recording images so that each frame is horizontally compressed ("squeezed") on a videodisc or strip of film. During playback via a theater projector (by means of a special lens), from a disc player (done electronically), or within a TV set (also done electronically), the image is reciprocally expanded to restore its shape to normal. Anamorphic expansion can best be accomplished in the video realm if the playback monitor is a wide-screen model. The best-known anamorphic film process is CinemaScope, which applies an approximate 2:1 compression-2: 1 expansion.

Process that horizontally condenses (squeezes) a 16:9 image into a 4:3 space, preserving 25% more vertical resolution than letterboxing into the 4:3 space. For the signal to appear with correct geometry, the display must either horizontally expand or vertically squish the image. Used on about 2 or 3 promotional laser discs and many digital video disks (DVDs).