JimHoesel

DVD player settings

I just purchased a new television (Toshiba 24AF44) that has a feature called 16:9 enhancement. After reading some posts here, I think I should have the DVD player output set to "16:9 widescreen" mode when using this feature on the television. Is this correct?
Also, there are two other output settings on the DVD player, 4:3 Letterbox and 4:3 normal. What is the difference between these two, and when should each be used? I own DVDs in both widescreen version and fullscreen version, so I assume when watching widescreen DVDs, I should have the DVD player output set to 16:9 and use the "enhancement feature" on the television for the best results. When watching the "fullscreen DVDs", which output setting on the DVD player should I choose, 4:3 letterbox or normal? Sorry for the long post, but I don't have a clue and wanted to make the question as clear as possible. Thanks

Michael Reuben

Set the DVD player to "16:9 widescreen" and leave it there. At this setting, the player will output whatever is on the disc in whatever format it's been encoded. If the disc is enhanced for 16:9 display, use the feature in your new TV to get its full resolution.

There is no practical difference between these two settings. (There's a theoretical difference, but it's not anything you need to worry about.) Both of them will tell the player to downcovert a 16:9-enhanced image for display on a standard TV. The player downconverts by throwing away a big chunk of the resolution on the disc. But you no longer have to accept that compromise because of your new TV.

"Fullscreen" DVDs will look the same regardless of the player's setting. So there's no reason to change it.

M.

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JimHoesel

An easily understood reply in only 9 minutes! You guys are great. Thank you very much for the info, and I'm sure I'll be back with more questions later as I'm planning on adding surround sound next. Thanks.