Why crop The Dark Knight Rises digital copy? [Comparison]

Posted by RG7 on February 18, 2013 12:59 am 8

My frustration aside with the Ultraviolet system for digital copies, TDKR's digital copy in Flixster (can anyone confirm iTunes?) appears to be cropped. Having seen the movie in IMAX as well as my theater room (Blu-Ray) in it's true aspect-switching glory, it was sad to see this version from my HTPC. The IMAX scenes have a special feel of 'largeness' to them that get lost in this digital copy. For the record, The Dark Knight's digital copy switched between aspect ratios.

Here's a comparison done on a 1080p monitor. The digital copy is in SD, while the youtube clips are in 1080p:

Bane's Heist (digital copy / cropped)

via dl.dropbox.com

Bane's Heist (True aspect ratio, courtesy of Youtube)

via dl.dropbox.com

Batman using the EMP gun (digital copy / cropped)

via dl.dropbox.com

Batman using the EMP gun (True aspect ratio, courtesy of Youtube)

via dl.dropbox.com

Batman being surrounded by the GCPD (digital copy / cropped)

via dl.dropbox.com

Batman being surrounded by the GCPD (True aspect ratio, courtesy of Youtube)

via dl.dropbox.com