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4x3 vs 16x9 - Which type of setup do I select?
As far as deciding whether or not to go 4x3 or 16x9 and wanting the biggest display possible, I think a lot of it has to do with what you watch most (4x3 or 16x9) and the quality of the 4x3 and 16x9 signals.
Most often, 16x9 material offers the better picture quality, DVD, HDTV etc and most often, 4x3 offers the lower picture quality, TV.
So the question is, should you opt for a 4x3 screen which will give you a bigger 4x3 image and a smaller 16x9 image with black bars on the top and bottom or should you opt for a 16x9 screen with a bigger 16x9 image but a smaller 4x3 image with black bars by the sides.
I chose a 16x9 setup because since the 16x9 material I watch is of a better quality than the 4x3 material, I wanted the 16x9 image to be as big as possible rather than having a larger (blown up) 4x3 image of a lesser quality.
If you're on a budget, you may be inclined to buy a 4:3 set as long as the difference in price with 16:9 sets is not insignificant. If a 16:9 you fancy is just a bit too expensive for you, you could lookup the price of a 4:3 having exactly the same width as the one you've chosen. Perhaps the price difference is not enough to switch, perhaps it is.
The (16x9) image on that set could be almost the same quality as one on the 16:9 set, provided that the 4:3 allows for a 16:9 squeeze (most modern TV-sets do). You will only "buy" black upper and lower bars in that case - but for a negative amount of money!
The squeezed image has exactly the same physical size as the one you would have had otherwise, but on some machines it may have spurious scanlines above or below the image, so some people construct a black 16x9 mask that can be affixed to the TV set with velcro. The result is really amazing, BTW.
Here are (in short) the pros and cons of the different choices:
On a 4:3 set
- 4x3 images will be reproduced without any problem, 16x9 images could be reproduced rather faithfully if a 16x9 squeeze is available
- 16x9 images (or wider) will be physically smaller than 4x3 images
- if a 16:9 squeeze is not (practically) available, enhanced-for-widescreen images will not be reproduced with full resolution, in fact all 16x9 or wider images will have less resolution
- so-called "full-screen" video versions (VHS & DVD) will have at least 25% of the movie chopped off for the same price as the whole widescreen version; the part you get is reproduced with a higher resolution though (which may or may not really be available on the source!)
- there's probably no HDTV support - and it makes no sense either.
On a 16:9 set
- 16x9 images will be reproduced without any problem; 4x3 images can be reproduced faithfully as well
- 4x3 images will be smaller than widescreen images, the set will display black or (on some) gray bars at the sides.
- images that are even wider than 16x9 still show empty bars at the top and bottom
- there's a setting - generally automatic - that takes full advantage of enhanced-for-widescreen resolution increase
- there are probably more functions than on a 4:3 set, especially all sorts of stretch and deform functions to make the image fill the screen (at a loss of either a part of it or of its physical accuracy)
- HDTV support may be present.
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