Hailey van Braam
Seinfeld has officially transferred over to run on Netflix yesterday, including a new 4K upgrade that guarantees to make the show look more genuine than ever. Netflix has upgraded the emblematic “show about nothing” to an even more astonishing resolution; Netflix cut down to the same strategy that Hulu and other HD releases of the show have used. Contemporary 16:9 aspect ratio, rather than offering the initial 4:3 aspect ratio in which the show used initially.
Not really new for us, though
Retrospectively, back when the original High Definition remasters was produced in 2008 in widescreen better suit modern televisions, which makes the enigma not brand new for the show’s fans. Anyhow, that 16:9 cut is the only one publicly released in HD; the fittest versions with the primary 4:3 aspect ratio format are the DVD releases, which attests that Seinfeld fans involuntarily chose for ages amid visual quality and aspect ratio.
When Netflix advertised that it would be getting the rights to Seinfeld and enhancing the series to 4K in the process. In light of this, there was some promise that the streaming service would go and create a genuine 4K cut, one that magnified the film in the highest possible quality. The upgrade would also have spanned the possibility to restore the initial aspect ratio, allowing the aims of Seinfeld cuts: a high-definition version of the show.
Netflix does not seem to have done that, though. Still, the service also did not take the chance here to offer the option to pick between the HD 16:9 cut and the lower-resolution 4:3 aspect ratio, which would have been a significant settlement.
The 4:3 aspect ratio is not just concerning sentimentality and nostalgia. The wider aspect ratio has a substantial influence on matters like the basic blocking of scenes. In exchange for slightly more footage of the left and right sides of the frame, the top and bottom of the edges get cut off, resulting in the occasional cropped foot or top of someone’s head.
Aspect Ratio dilemma continues
Like The Simpsons, which experienced a similar aspect ratio concern during its initial hit streaming, the 16:9 cut also ravages some of the jokes.
The good news is that there are some ways for a fix. When The Simpsons first started streaming on Disney Plus, it refrained an option for its original aspect ratio. Still, the service finally added toggle on the 4:3 aspect ratio a few months later, which means that there is a chance that Netflix may decide to offer a similar option sometime in the future as well.
