tv OS
Make better use of your television display by eliminating the black bands at the top and bottom of the screen
•Switch between letterbox and full-screen formats
Picture the scene: you’re settling down to watch a movie, you’ve got your popcorn to hand and a cool refreshing drink and suddenly you find your blood boiling. Two, big, ugly black bands fill up the top and bottom of the screen and you wonder why you ever invested in your otherwise gorgeous widescreen TV.
They are, of course, there for a reason. Our 16:9 ratio tellies are unable to display the wider formats of cinema, so if you want the full picture – particularly those breathtaking vistas of the 2.39:1-ratio blockbusters – then you may have to put up with it.
If, however, such things are less important than making full use of your screen, then Apple has introduced a simple feature that lets you switch between the formats. Here we look at how it’s done and the difference it makes.