Stewart Filmscreen's Cinecurve Screen

Get more of what you go to the movies for - at home!

Have you ever wondered why some movies have black bars on the top and bottom of your widescreen television or projection system? Many movies are filmed in Cinemascope or 2.35:1 aspect ratio which means the screen is 2.35 times wider than it is tall. Your widescreen television is 1.78:1 or commonly known as 16:9. When the movie is wider than your screen, it has to be reduced both in height and width to fit, to look correct and resulting in the annoying black bars taking up 33% of your screen!

Directors film movies in 2.35 because it allows for more of your peripheral vision to take in what is going on and allow you to see what the director intended. Many commercial theaters have also been using curved screens for years - since the days of Ben Hur played at Mann's Chinese Theater. Combining the additional viewing area of 2.35 with a curved screen gives you a more immersive experience.

Now available in the home theater market, you can have 2.35 on your very own curved screen. By using an anamorphic lens, many projectors now fully utilize the resolution and viewing area of the screen with out degrading the picture quality at all. Although this is only available in two-piece projection systems at this time, it is worth the trip to our design showroom to have your socks blown off!