The question of widescreen verses standard screen. Which is better? Why do people have a preference? Should you be happy with widescreen or not? The reason we choose to go with widescreen is merely for the purpose of giving you the full image. Most people don't realize that for a standard cut, based on the original film ratio, you might only be seeing half the screen.

The widescreen or letterbox process is a method by which a movie can be seen on a TV screen the way that the movie was seen in theatres by maintaining its original aspect ratio or OAR.

Most movies are filmed in a process where the width of the screen is between 1.85 to 2.35 times greater than the height. This means that for every inch of screen height, the visual portion of the movie is between 1.85 to 2.35 times as wide. This results in a panoramic view that when used properly can add a greater perception of the environment and mood of a movie.

Unfortunately, modern televisions are only 1.33 times as wide as they are high, referred to as 1.33:1 or 4:3. For decades, most movies have been subjected to having about 45% of the visuals removed from the screen so that the TV screen would be full through a process called 'pan and scan' which focused on only one section of the total visuals or the 'frame'.

This also results in what are incorrectly referred to as 'black bars' at the top and bottom of the screen. In reality, these 'black bars' are actually unused areas of the screen. The areas are black to allow for better contrast.

The truth of the matter is that the widescreen process actually allows you to see more of the frame - not less. Yes, you have a smaller visual portion, but you are seeing the movie the way that you saw it in theatres, which is almost always the way that film makers want the movie to be seen.

Here are examples from The Mummy: The Standard View and then the Widescreen View