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[Ecrofirt]

I don't really know anything about widescreen TVs, but I know that by the end of the year I'll be in the market for an HDTV. As I've been shopping, I've noticed some things, and I've got some questions.

When I was at the store, they were playing DVDs on the big flatscreen HDTVs, and I noticed that they all had bars. I'd imagine that this is because not all movies are exactly in 16:9 ratio, but I'm not sure. One major thing I noticed, though, was that while they were playing A New Hope on a huge Wega, the black bars were huge. Can you put these TVs into a 4:3 mode? I'm guessing someone at the store had the TV in 4:3 mode, and they were playing the DVD normally, causing the really big black bars.

So, is this what's going on? Could some of these TVs have been in 4:3 mode causing the bars (and in some movies, fatness on characters)?

 

[xXCHAOSXx]

Why Didnt you ask this in the Handy dandy New "Questions Thread" Below? :lol

 

[radioheadrule83]

Rather than the TVs not being set correctly it was probably the DVD player/source. If the DVD player wasn't set to output 16:9 instead of 4:3LB the TVs would display a stretched letterbox image.

TVs tend to have an Auto setting now to accomodate whatever gets thrown at them.

 

[nathkenn]

star wars is 2.35:1 so it would be letterboxed even on a widescreen tv. Another reason movies might have letterbox is because they arent anamorphic and the black bars are in the image itself. In that case you have to use the stretch function on your tv.

Here's a good guide to aspect ratios, http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama.html

 

[Seth C]

And finally you've seen the truth to the 16:9 lie everyone has been spewing. Fact is, 4:3 or 16:9, you're getting black bars on most of your movies. It makes the widescreen fanatic's argument rather silly.

 

[btrboyev]

And finally you've seen the truth to the 16:9 lie everyone has been spewing. Fact is, 4:3 or 16:9, you're getting black bars on most of your movies. It makes the widescreen fanatic's argument rather silly.

ok buddy, wanna wxplain that one?? Widescreen is still far superior than 4:3 in every way. Even movies shot in 2:35:1 the black bars are much much smaller on a widescreen tv, plus your seing them at their full resolution, neither which can be said on 4:3. Plus there are still alot of movies shot in the 16:9 ratio. WotW is one example of somethoing recent.

 

[Seth C]

ok buddy, wanna wxplain that one?? Widescreen is still far superior than 4:3 in every way. Even movies shot in 2:35:1 the black bars are much much smaller on a widescreen tv, plus your seing them at their full resolution, neither which can be said on 4:3. Plus there are still alot of movies shot in the 16:9 ratio. WotW is one example of somethoing recent.

Many 4:3 HDTVs support the full resolution in a widescreen picture, mine included. Who CARES what size the bars are, if you still get the full resolution? The argument was that with a 16:9 TV you don't get black bars. Well, in many cases you still do. It's always been a stupid argument. Black bars, or blank space on the wall where the black bars would have been. How is one superior?

 

[nathkenn]

the widescreen fanaticism comes from movies being cropped and ruined it has nothing to do with black bars.

 

[Seth C]

the widescreen fanaticism comes from movies being cropped and ruined it has nothing to do with black bars.

So you would think, but some people screen about widescreen being better specifically because you don't have the "evil" black bars. Never made any sense to me. Especially now that they movie industry is going even wider.

 

[nathkenn]

2.35:1 has been around for ages, it's nothing new. I never really liked the 2.35:1 aspect ration I think it's a little extreme but I suppose it's good for movies with epic scope. If people hate the black bars so much just use the stretch function on the tv. You can even crop it off to 4:3 aspect if you don't care just don't make the rest of us suffer through trash versions of movies.