SP4805 Auto Aspect Ratio Switching?

Pat Frank · 01-13-2005, 01:01 PM

I've just recently bought an Infocus SP4805, and while I really love it, I can't help but notice that I'm having to constantly change aspect ratios depending on what I'm watching. All the newer DVDs seem to be 16:9 enhanced, but many of my older ones are not, and of course regular TV is not.

I don't really mind switching all that much, but when I noted the fact that I was having to switch manually to a friend of mine who owns the older SP4800, he was surprised, saying that he thought his did the switching automatically.

Am I just missing something here?

John Whittle · 01-13-2005, 05:41 PM

My 4805 doesn't switch automatically either. I have a feeling that it has to do with the 480p scaling, but that's only a guess.

My old JVC 55 inch crt set auto switches on it's s-video input between normal and 16:9 but I called infocus before I bought this and after going thru the methods my JVC used, the Tech told me that the 4805 didn't do it.

I have no experience with the 4800, but I think you're better off with the 4805 over the 4800 because of the 16:9 chip and the faster wheel.

John

Vince Maskeeper · 01-13-2005, 08:36 PM

How would it switch automatically? As far as a video signal is concerned, an anamorphic image has the exact same number of pizels as a 4:3 image-- so how would it know how to format it? How could it tell the difference?

-V

Pat Frank · 01-13-2005, 11:34 PM

I've no idea. I guess what you're saying makes sense, though.

This is actually my first experience with 16:9 format. Are you basically saying that everyone has to do this switching business if they want to see things in the correct aspect ratio?

Vince Maskeeper · 01-14-2005, 01:15 AM

Quote:

This is actually my first experience with 16:9 format. Are you basically saying that everyone has to do this switching business if they want to see things in the correct aspect ratio?

Well...

The player itself can read flags and format things accordingly: For example I used a HTPC and left my projector on 16:9 display... the HTPC was able to automatically "windowbox" 4:3 material inside the 16:9 frame, and could even automatically zoom non anamorphic DVDs.

Some of these features have also been integrated into stand alone DVD players... and technically connections like SCART can pass control data for aspect formatting (as might HDMI, I'm not sure).

But, in short, yes you actually have to have some knowledge about the content you're trying to display and you need to choose the right mode. I've noticed in some circles there is quite a bit of grumbling about this type of thing, but I have never personally found it to be much of a hassle-- guess it all just clicked with me early on (in fact, my first post to the htf back in 1999 was about the very issue of how images were displayed on widescreen sets-- it's all be pretty smooth sailing for me since then).

But I'm still curious about those of you who have claimed "auto switching" displays-- as I have heard this mentioned before (although never in manufacturers specs) and can't figure out how the TV would be able to know the difference between 4:3, anamorphic and non anamorphic letterbox-- since, in terms of the raw video signal, they would all have identical characteristics.

-V

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Pat Frank · 01-14-2005, 02:44 AM

I believe I understand now. I've seen the 4805 do that letterboxing-mode enlargement so my guess is that's what my friend was talking about with regard to his 4800. Always hard to communicate these things verbally.

Thanks for the feedback!

Dan Stone · 01-14-2005, 01:34 PM

Quote:

How would it switch automatically?

While I don't have the answer to what's needed to make it switch, I can tell you that the projector seems to know the difference between 16x9 and 4x3 as evidenced by a dialog box which will pop and say 'this program contains 4x3 content' when you are in 16x9 aspect mode.

Like others, I wish that instead of it just telling me, that it would make the switch automatically, but perhaps I'm hoping for too much. In the bigger scope of things, it's a relatively minor annoyance to an otherwise great projector IMHO.

Jesse Skeen · 01-14-2005, 02:57 PM

I believe there's a flag, possibly in the vertical interval, that tells the TV if it's 16x9 or not. I still have a 4x3, but I will NOT buy a 16x9 that doesn't autoswitch. I was watching the DVD of "Greg The Bunny" on a 16x9 TV at a friend's house, and while the show was in 4x3 the menus were in 16x9, and since his TV doesn't autoswitch every time it went back to the menu they would show up squeezed in the middle.
The Peter Gabriel videos DVD has a mixture of material in both 4x3 and 16x9, so it would really be a pain to have to manually switch at every song. I don't want to have to look at a stretched or squeezed picture and think "oh, guess this isn't 16x9" and hit a button. I guess it doesn't bother some people but it would drive me absolutely nuts. Does anyone have a list of TVs that do switch automatically? I had my eye on one TV I saw at a Sears store that was playing the "Bug's Life" DVD in 16x9, that disc has a 4x3 version on the same side so I brought the main menu up and had it show that version, and it came on stretched. I had to look for the manual adjustments on the TV to show it properly in the center with black bars on the sides. Then I had it go back to the 16x9 version and that came on squeezed in the middle of the screen and I had to manually switch it back. To me that's just unacceptable, as the album title goes Give me convenience or give me death!

I remember the first DTS sound systems you had to manually select DTS for it to decode and then switch back for PCM (this was back in the laserdisc days before DVD), that would have driven me up the frickin wall!

Vince Maskeeper · 01-14-2005, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Does anyone have a list of TVs that do switch automatically?