Frank@N

I don't have an HDTV, but am considering the upgrade.

Currently I'm happy with my direct-view 4:3 + 16x9 enhancement.

I'm considering a larger HD direct-view, but would still prefer 4:3 design because of it's inherent flexibility (no zooming or stretching).

Question: How will older 1.33 ratio programs be broadcast after the looming government-mandated DTV conversion?

Will they continue to be broadcast in the 1.33 ratio that they were shot in (say, Friends).

Or will they be 'remastered' in 1.78 format like Sopranos on DVD (essentially cropped).

Since I don't know what the networks are currently broadcasting on DTV, could someone please clue me in.

If *ALL* programs will be broadcast in 1.78 ratio in a few short years, this would affect my choice of screen ratios.

I recall another poster indicating that local TV news programs were still being broadcast in 1.33 even over DTV.

This would seem to indicate that 1.33 won't be going away after 2006. Maybe?

Patrick Sun

The older shows will simply be shown in their native 1.33 aspect ratio, but on a 16x9 screen, you'll see black sidebars to maintain the 1.33 original aspect ratio (it's like that now on channels being broadcast via ATSC).

"I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!"
Patcave | 2006 Films | 2007 Films | Dragon Con 2008

Frank@N

Sounds like you're saying the 1.33 ratio will be encapsuled *in* the 1.78 signal/screen area.

This would work well enough for those with 1.78 screens, but would be very wasteful if you had a 4:3 HDTV.

If this is indeed the future of TV, today's TV buyers should shop carefully.

Patrick Sun

I have a 4:3 HDTV, and for the windowing of 1.33 shows doesn't bother me much anymore. I knew what I was getting into when I bought the set last December. I figure in another 3-4 years, I'll get another TV and by then, the choice will be made for me (only 16x9 sets will be the norm in terms of HDTV offerings).

I'm already used to black bars on the top and bottom for films with OAR of 1.85, 2.35, what-have-you. I still watch a lot of TV in the 1.33 AR, so it was a compromise I was more than willing to make, but it would be my last chance to get a HDTV in a 4:3 form factor.

Some people will stretch 1.33 shows horizontally to reduce the effects of screen burn, but I don't like watching people looking 25 pounds heavier if I can help it.

"I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!"
Patcave | 2006 Films | 2007 Films | Dragon Con 2008

Marc_Sulinski

Some HD sets have a 16:9 1080i zoom mode. I have seen this on some 16:9 models where I don't think it is very useful. I would guess that some other manufacturers make a 1080i zoom on their 4:3 HDTV sets.

Lew Crippen

That is exactly what Patrick is saying.

If you look at the ATSC specs, you will find that the formats currently being telecast all call for 16:9 aspect ratio in the telecasts.

If you had an HD set, you would see that is exactly how the digital channels are transmitted today when the native program content is not 16:9—the 4:3 frame is put inside a 16:9 aspect ratio. So that you are aware, it works the same way when 2.35:1 films are telecast in their proper aspect ratio on a digital channel—the 2.35:1 frame is put inside one with a 16:9 aspect ratio, resulting in a picture that has unused space (black bars) above and below the picture.

I’m not sure what you mean about ‘flexibility’—I have two 16:9 sets and don’t use the stretch or zoom features except sometimes when watching a ‘talking head’ show. Or to get a movie (for example) on a SD channel into its proper aspect ratio.

¡Time is not my master!

Michael St. Clair

1) 2006 won't happen until at least 2007, probably much later. Even Japan isn't shutting off analog until 2011, and they have a lot more early adopters.

2) Only ten of the eighteen different ATSC modes are widescreen, the rest are 4:3. Some 4:3 material will be windowboxed widescreen, some will be tilt-and-scan widescreen , and plenty will be simply broadcast in 4:3 704x480 or 640x480 (both available in 60p, 60i, 30p, and 24p).

Frank@N

I was under the impression that some (?) 16x9 HDTVs force you to use stretch or zoom to avoid damaging the product.

Is it safe to say that most current 16x9 TVs allow you to watch 4:3 signals windowboxed?

Douglas*A*R

Just to pick the nit, The Sopranos OAR is 1.78:1 and has been since season 1. If you look at the standard-def broadcast, you'll see black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. The high-def broadcast will fill the whole screen.

Steve Phillips

Oh, you are absolutely going to see old movies and TV shows cropped and/or tilt and scanned for 16X9 quite often, I assure you.

Don't count on them being run in their native ratios on a routine basis.