[osumoclement]

I have always absolutely hated black bars, so I created an add-on to fix this. If the black bars are hard-coded, it will detect the true aspect ratio of the video by analyzing frames, and then it zooms exactly enough so that the video fits the whole screen. If the black bars are due to the video being widescreen, it will also detect that and zoom appropriately. Either way, you will end up with a video that covers the whole screen for an immersive experience, just as it should be. Long gone are the days we had to suffer the horror of watching movies that utilize only 50% of our huge, expensive TV's.

The add-on doesn't touch videos with proper aspect ratio (16:9 is assumed). Once installed, it works automatically, no further configuration needed.

Here's the link black.bars.never
Enjoy!

[sarbes]

Cool.

Note that it will fail with content decoded by secure playback paths. It might also fail on systems which use separate GUI and playback layers.

Also, it might be too taxing on low end systems, leading to stutter. So keep an eye on that.

[osumoclement]

I hope many people start using it so I can get feedback on cases where it fails. It might be taxing yes, but only for a few seconds on starting playback. Once it has figure the aspect ratio, it stops analyzing frames. I can think of situations where this approach wouldn't be the best - movies where aspect ratio changes in the middle. I think this is too rare to justify analyzing frames through the entire video.

[Dangelus]

Either way, you will end up with a video that covers the whole screen for an immersive experience, just as it should be. Long gone are the days we had to suffer the horror of watching movies that utilize only 50% of our huge, expensive TV's.

Haha I have never understood people who prefer (and it is a preference / opinion, there’s no “should be” about it, whichever way you prefer it) to watch something squished or stretched or chopped and lose video content just so it fits the arbitrary aspect ratio of the device they are watching it on. 

Personally I watch content as it was intended whether that’s 16:9 or 4:3 or whatever but I commend you for creating a solution for those who share your preference.

Good luck! 👍🏻

[Klojum]

I hope many people start using it

I don't think there are many more people that share your panic attack for black bars. I usually peel off and remove the added black bars of a video so I can watch it properly on a 21:9 display. And "the horror of watching movies that utilize only 50% of our huge, expensive TV's"... Why didn't you get a 21:9 display or projector right away? Or are your fears for black bars at left & right sides just as vivid?

[osumoclement]

I don't think I will ever understand people who aren't bothered by black bars. For people like us, when we watch such videos, the black bars are constantly in our field of vision, causing distraction. It's like watching a movie while there's a clown standing right next to the screen. They also make the video to lose immersiveness - the visual experience becomes "less 3D" and unconvincing. In much of a movie, the important action is right at the center, to the point where the upside of cutting off the edges to get a full-screen image far outweigh losing ambient details at those places.

I also think fullscreen is more natural, after all the human eye doesn't overlay black bars. I can however, on a theoretical level, understand that purists want to see the entire picture, even at the cost of reduced immersiveness. I guess it all boils down to preference really.

Thanks for commending my work, maybe one day you'll cross over to the (pun intended) dark side and this addon will be there when that time comes

[DarrenHill]

Thread moved to video addons

[barney63]

Appreciate your work.  I never gave the issue too much thought but I'll give it a go to see if I really notice the difference.

[osumoclement]

Appreciate your work.  I never gave the issue too much thought but I'll give it a go to see if I really notice the difference.

Thank you! You'll be pleasantly surprised

[xalaros10]

Nice addon. I tried it on the movie "Zack Snyder's Justice League" filmed in 4:3 frame but it didn't remove black bars left and right. 
https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainme...n-your-tv/

[osumoclement]

Haha, this is geared towards top  and bottom black bars. I can't think of a way you'd remove black bars from the sides without losing very important information (faces would be cut in the middle for starters). It is unfortunate that some movie directors feel the need to come up with exotic aspect ratios just for uniqueness' sake

[brazen1]

I think it's pretty cool you made a black bar hater add-on.  I like that folks innovate new things whether I use them or not.  Black bars have never bothered me.  On my display, they are inky black.  I suppose if they were grey or something, they'd be irritating.  When the lights go out, they blend into the darkness perfectly.  All I see is the video presented. 

Honestly, they don't take me out of the immersion.  I use additional immersion gimmicks that combined make it almost impossible not to be immersed - bass shakers, windtracks, DTS-X/Atmos, etc.  I think IMAX videos cement the immersion even more - close up 16x9 detail when warranted and huge 21:9 wide screen cinematic landscapes like the movie Dune (2021) or Dunkirk (2017) or any of the Marvel releases that have so much going on you need a wide screen to see it all.  They and many, many other titles would not give the immersion feel of HUGE if the video info to the left and right of center was zoomed out of the picture and decimated imo.  

While some can't understand why everyone isn't bothered by black bars, personally I can't understand how folks would trade off video information for an altered aspect ratio... zoomed at that?  That said, good on you for creating and offering your add-on that others might find useful.

[osumoclement]

I think it's pretty cool you made a black bar hater add-on.  I like that folks innovate new things whether I use them or not.  Black bars have never bothered me.  On my display, they are inky black.  I suppose if they were grey or something, they'd be irritating.  When the lights go out, they blend into the darkness perfectly.  All I see is the video presented. 

Honestly, they don't take me out of the immersion.  I use additional immersion gimmicks that combined make it almost impossible not to be immersed - bass shakers, windtracks, DTS-X/Atmos, etc.  I think IMAX videos cement the immersion even more - close up 16x9 detail when warranted and huge 21:9 wide screen cinematic landscapes like the movie Dune (2021) or Dunkirk (2017) or any of the Marvel releases that have so much going on you need a wide screen to see it all.  They and many, many other titles would not give the immersion feel of HUGE if the video info to the left and right of center was zoomed out of the picture and decimated imo.  

While some can't understand why everyone isn't bothered by black bars, personally I can't understand how folks would trade off video information for an altered aspect ratio... zoomed at that?  That said, good on you for creating and offering your add-on that others might find useful.

I have an OLED TV and sure, the black bars are not as bad as when I had a regular LED TV (being distracted by grey bars was pure torture then . Even with OLED, the smaller images make movies seem less enveloping. I would start watching a movie and think "this looks great". Then I zoom to fill screen and "wow, this is absolutely fantastic!". Full screen adds a layer of realism which is otherwise missing in letterboxed content.

Sound will be the next upgrade for me (currently using an old system which only has Dolby Digital). With DTS-X/Atmos and good bass, I envy the sound experience you have

Thanks for the appreciation!

[Wagg]

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/gui...ect-ratios

4:3 is hardly "exotic", it's been around longer than widescreen. The earliest films were presented in 4:3, the same format as pre-HD TV. The reason why Zack Snyder released his cut of JL in 4:3 was because he intended it to be released in IMAX (which seemed kind of silly considering he knew it was going to straight to HBO Max). There are still new theatrical films released in 4:3, although not many because they usually end up cropped/panned and scanned if they end up on current widescreen TV. As with all things "art" it's strictly a creative decision. 

Nice work on your plug-in. I probably won't be using it as I prefer OAR.

[osumoclement]

Nice work on your plug-in. I probably won't be using it as I prefer OAR.

Thank you! What's OAR?