Wavy Digital Netflix Samsung "Hancock"

My sister-in-law got a big flat screen TV. Her daughter signed her up for Netflix. Netflix has an option to let you watch movies over the internet. OK, let's make it happen. There's the internet connection, there's the big TV, let's hook 'em up. Oh. No internet connection on the TV. Now what? Well, it turns out there are several devices out there that will make that connection. Mother and daughter go shopping and find a Samsung Blueray DVD player with an internet connector at the local ShopKo for $250. They drag it home and darling daughter hooks it up. One mystery: how does the DVD player make the connection with Netflix? Laptop was used to set up the account, but nothing was done to the DVD player. Perhaps because they are both connected through the same router they were able to figure it out? Must be magic!

We press the GO button and here's Hancock (Will Smith) on the big screen. Cool! But what's this? There is some kind of distortion going on. It looks like we are watching the scene through wavy glass. People's heads get wider and narrower. Maybe it's some special effect the movie makers put in to give it that spacey effect. Except it never goes away. Usually when you have some kind of effect like that, it is because someone is taking drugs, or their mind is otherwise clouded. Eventually their mind clears, and the funny effects go away. Did not happen.

Andy starts playing with the remote control. There is a control that affects the overall picture, things like aspect ratio. Some of the settings change the size and/or proportions of the image on the screen, some of them don't. But some of the settings produce the wavy glass effect, and some of them don't. So now the wavy glass effect is gone.

As for the movie, it was entertaining, and some of the special effects were cool. The concept of the homeless, alcoholic superhero was novel, but nothing to write home about.