Perhaps it's a Flash setting that I'm missing. The newer "letterbox" ones are showing with a black band top and bottom and look very odd, and that's on any computer I've tried.
I have the same issue.... seeing as the initial Comhaltas live banner at the beginning fills the whole window, I would say that comhaltas are using some kind of a fancy wide screen camera for future television purposes, in general I find the annoying thing with the comhaltas videos is that you can't full screen them.
I've been skipping the comhaltas videos since they started putting ads in front of them. Some of them are good, but the ads are a pure real-breaker for me, especially since there's so much out there without added nuisance.
I'm glad it's not just me whose fecked off by the adds. I've pretty much stopped watching Comhaltas videos as well, as I find them bloody annoying and like Jon says, there's so much great music on YouToob that doesn't have that sh*te.
"Makes sense": I think not: the widescreen format is hopeless for showing soloists. Cinerama (How the West was Won etc) isn't exactly necessary when you want to see bowing technique etc. People are also looking unflatteringly wider: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_358_3_the_gaolta_ceili_band1/
Llig is right. That video linked by RichardB isn't widescreen, it's been produced in 16:9 and then squashed again vertically.
Good suggestion by kinga - VLC is useful as it can change aspect ratios.
Frustrating that you have to go to all that trouble when people produce videos and then somewhere between producing them and getting them onto the site, the aspect ratio gets buggered up. Widescreen TV has been around for a decade at least so there's no excuse for people still getting it wrong (or producing stuff that isn't in widescreen, IMO).
Comhaltas video clips question
Comhaltas video clips question
Has something happened to the way videos are displayed on the Comhaltas site? They're coming over now in a letterbox format and are therefore much poorer in quality, all stretched out and distorted. Is this because of a YouTube format change, or is it just me? This is what they used to look like: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_344_3_carmel_gunning/
This is what they all look like now: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_358_5_mick_oconnor_and_deirdre_granville/
Please tell me this is just a temporary aberration.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by RichardB
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
Works fine for me.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by Renée Adorée
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
Perhaps it's a Flash setting that I'm missing. The newer "letterbox" ones are showing with a black band top and bottom and look very odd, and that's on any computer I've tried.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by RichardB
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
I have the same issue.... seeing as the initial Comhaltas live banner at the beginning fills the whole window, I would say that comhaltas are using some kind of a fancy wide screen camera for future television purposes, in general I find the annoying thing with the comhaltas videos is that you can't full screen them.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by Theirlandais
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
I've been skipping the comhaltas videos since they started putting ads in front of them. Some of them are good, but the ads are a pure real-breaker for me, especially since there's so much out there without added nuisance.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by Jon Kiparsky
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
I'm glad it's not just me whose fecked off by the adds. I've pretty much stopped watching Comhaltas videos as well, as I find them bloody annoying and like Jon says, there's so much great music on YouToob that doesn't have that sh*te.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
*ads.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by DrSilverSpear
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
If you visit ant.com and install their video downloader app you can download these videos and play them back fullscreen.
Depending on which media player app you use you can also play with the aspect ratio and other settings like speed etc. (VLC is a good one).
With television and laptop screens all moving to the widescreen format it makes sence for the Comhaltas videos to do the same.
# Posted on September 5th 2011 by kinga
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
"Makes sense": I think not: the widescreen format is hopeless for showing soloists. Cinerama (How the West was Won etc) isn't exactly necessary when you want to see bowing technique etc. People are also looking unflatteringly wider: http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_358_3_the_gaolta_ceili_band1/
# Posted on September 6th 2011 by RichardB
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
That's not wide screen, that's stretch-o-vision ... My father-in-law's always doin' that to my telly, it's bloody annoying.
# Posted on September 6th 2011 by ...
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
Llig is right. That video linked by RichardB isn't widescreen, it's been produced in 16:9 and then squashed again vertically.
Good suggestion by kinga - VLC is useful as it can change aspect ratios.
Frustrating that you have to go to all that trouble when people produce videos and then somewhere between producing them and getting them onto the site, the aspect ratio gets buggered up. Widescreen TV has been around for a decade at least so there's no excuse for people still getting it wrong (or producing stuff that isn't in widescreen, IMO).
# Posted on September 6th 2011 by Mark Harmer
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
As long as they don't stretch the sound and turn everything into a Polka, I'll live with it.
# Posted on September 6th 2011 by Theirlandais
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
@Theirlandais
# Posted on September 6th 2011 by Mark Harmer
Re: Comhaltas video clips question
"I find the annoying thing with the comhaltas videos is that you can't full screen them."
View the source and you'll see the URL for the actual video; just search for '.flv'. For example, the Carmel Gunning clip is available at http://media.comhaltas.ie/video/cl344/cl344_3_Med.flv
You can download it and watch it with something like VLC or Media Player Classic and full screen to your heart's content.
# Posted on September 7th 2011 by hotsauce