Medusa DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE DVD Glitch?

[Surge92]

I was watching this DVD last night for the first time on a standard TV set and noticed what appeared to be a glitch in it. Specifically, I noticed that the top bar of the letterbox appeared to be "transparent" on the bottom right edge. In other words, I could see the outline of the letterbox edge separating it from the main image, but it looked like a thin layer of black had been left out leaving a gap through which the movie was visible. Granted, my viewing experience was not compromised by this glitch, but I found it annoying nevertheless. I was wondering if those of you who own this DVD had experienced a similar problem. I don't think it was a PAL-conversion defect because the bottom half of the letterbox was completely "colored-in" and the movie itself looked fabulous.

[Myron Breck]

You don't happen to work for Anchor Bay, now do you....? ;)

[X-human]

The Medusa DVD is a 1.85:1 anamorphic video, but probably is full 1.77:1.

So it's not the disc but the player that's making the black bars on the screen, so it's not a problem with the DVD.

[Surge92]

You don't happen to work for Anchor Bay, now do you....? ;)Not at all. I bought the Medusa DVD because, based on the reviews, it appears to have the better transfer. This glitch that I noticed though is very annoying. I'll be picking up the Anchor Bay DVD the day it comes out.

[Surge92]

The Medusa DVD is a 1.85:1 anamorphic video, but probably is full 1.77:1.

So it's not the disc but the player that's making the black bars on the screen, so it's not a problem with the DVD.Thanks for the info. That's strange though because I don't have this problem when I play my CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST Ultrabit DVD. The letterbox bars are completely black and even. By the way, I'm using a hacked TruTech TT320 to play these Region 2 PAL discs.

[The Chaostar]

I have NO problem with the Medusa DVD. Through my projector it looks stunning. Medusa transfers kick ass anyway.

[Andrew]

I know exactly what you're talking about, it's happened to me on some R2 discs--SANTA SANGRE in particular, I believe. Check the settings on your DVD player in the VIDEO/FILM/AUTO and 16:9 categories. I think I got it fixed in the end but maybe it's just a problem with certain disc-player combinations. I have a JVC, by the way.

[ReelFear]

I've had this problem on a bunch of DVDs. the old VCI version of Bird With The Crystal plumage (before the replacement disc was offered) comes to mind.
My problem with the Medusa Dellamorte, is on the upper letterbox, there seems to be a small split, so the black line against the image drops down a little on the left side causing an uneven line. This is on my UK Anchor Bay Santa Sangre as well. I wonder if this is just a Pal-NTSC conversion problem. Either way, it's annoying, but still watchable.

[jscott]

I have the exact same problems with my Medusa Dellamorte disc (an uneven "notch" on the top & bottom matte bars), however none of my other PAL discs do this. I chalk it up to my cheap Cyberhome 402.

[SaviniFan]

My Medusa DVD plays fine and the matting looks perfectly fine on my Toshiba player.

[bigdaddyhorse]

Never noticed anything like this on mine either.
Are you watching it on an amamorphic set or could this be a glitch on non-anamorphic?
I have a 4:3 set but it has 16:9 mode and I watch all my dvds in that (except the few non-anamorphic titles of course).
In fact, I've only seen something like this on one dvd, a super-cheap Drunken Master an ex-roommate had which had uneven bars on the top and bottom.
In theaters I often notice the extra picture just offscreen but not on any dvd.