Based on the provided reference, PAN TV likely refers to the result of a pan & scan process applied to films for television viewing. This process was used to adapt widescreen movies for viewing on older, standard-definition televisions (SDTVs) and even early HDTVs.
Pan & Scan Explained
Pan & scan is a technique used to reformat widescreen films so that they can be displayed on televisions with a narrower aspect ratio (like 4:3). Instead of showing the entire width of the film image with black bars at the top and bottom (letterboxing), pan & scan crops the sides of the image. The camera may "pan" from side to side to follow the action, hence the name. This cropping allows the image to fill the entire TV screen, but at the expense of losing significant portions of the original film's composition.
The Problem Pan & Scan Solved (and Created)
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Problem: Widescreen movies (those with a wide aspect ratio) displayed on standard TVs would show significant black bars at the top and bottom of the screen (letterboxing). Many viewers found this distracting or undesirable.
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"Solution": Pan & scan would crop the sides of the image to fill the screen, avoiding the black bars.
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Problem Created: The process of pan & scan removes a significant portion of the original image. Important visual information, characters, and action can be lost. The director's intended framing and composition are compromised.
Letterboxing vs. Pan & Scan
The alternative to pan & scan is letterboxing. Letterboxing preserves the original aspect ratio of the film, showing the entire width of the image. Black bars are added to the top and bottom of the screen to fill the empty space on a narrower television screen.
| Feature | Letterboxing | Pan & Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Aspect Ratio | Preserves original film aspect ratio | Crops sides to fit the TV aspect ratio |
| Image Visible | Shows the entire original image (width) | Shows a cropped portion of the original image |
| Black Bars | Yes, at the top and bottom | No |
| Intended View | Preserves the director's vision | Compromises the director's vision |
Modern Viewing
With the widespread adoption of widescreen televisions (HDTVs and beyond), the need for pan & scan has largely diminished. Most modern TVs have aspect ratios that are closer to, or even wider than, the aspect ratios of most films. Viewers can now typically watch movies in their original widescreen format, preserving the director's intended composition.
