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zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

post #1 of 29
7/11/06 at 7:57am
Thread Starter 
just got my first HD widescreen and watching HD is VERY nice. i am wondering how you prefer to watch regular TV shows and TV movies that are not shown in widescreen on a widescreen TV? stretched, zoomed or 4:3 with vertical bars? i sort of like zoomed because it fills the whole screen without much distortion if any. stretched is OUT for me but 4:3 is a good picture but i don't care for the bars that much. nothing written in stone here for me and may change mind mind later on but would like to hear other peoples opinions on this.
i do watch as much as i can in HD but was wondering about the other channels. william
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post #2 of 29
7/11/06 at 8:03am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

For the first 5 years I had my widescreen set, I used a stretch mode.

Once I upgraded to Direct TV's HD-Tivo box a few years ago I only watch in n 4:3 mode now and quickly got used to the black bars.

My set has been calibrated a few times so I am not too worried about burn in. And even if it does happen, the set is pretty old now anyways, as I purchased it back in 1999.

Andy
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post #3 of 29
7/11/06 at 8:16am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Most sets have a setting that gives a slight stretch on the sides, and maybe crops the top and bottom a little. On my set it's called panarama mode, but some brands give it different names. It's not perfect, but my wife and I have gotten used to it. Basically, it allows 4:3 material to fill the 16:9 screen with minimal distortion and cropping. It's worth a shot, but you may or may not actually like it.
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post #4 of 29
7/11/06 at 8:35am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

It really depends on what I'm watching. If I'm watching a DVD of a 4:3 TV show, for instance, with some semblance of artistic integrity, I'll leave it at 4:3. The vertical bars on the side don't distract me at all. But if I'm watching a sporting event or a game show or something where artistic merit is a non-issue, I'll stretch it to what my TV calls Wide Zoom.
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post #5 of 29
7/11/06 at 9:27am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

I watch all regular TV in 4:3. I don't like to distort or rob myself of picture space. Burn-in on CRT is very unusual especially if you don't have your contrast/brightness set too high.
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post #6 of 29
7/11/06 at 9:32am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rocky F
Most sets have a setting that gives a slight stretch on the sides, and maybe crops the top and bottom a little. On my set it's called panarama mode, but some brands give it different names. It's not perfect, but my wife and I have gotten used to it. Basically, it allows 4:3 material to fill the 16:9 screen with minimal distortion and cropping. It's worth a shot, but you may or may not actually like it.

I think that's my setting is too...on my TV I believe it's called "Just." I normally use that one, or the one called "Full."
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post #7 of 29
7/11/06 at 10:26am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

It depends on what I’m watching. I am likely to use some type of zoom, streach or combination for ‘talking head’ shows like Meet the Press. For movies, most other TV shows and sports, I only watch 4:3.
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post #8 of 29
7/11/06 at 10:53am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Films or TV shows, it's always OAR for me.
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post #9 of 29
7/11/06 at 11:03am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielHEN
Films or TV shows, it's always OAR for me.
Same here!
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post #10 of 29
7/11/06 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

thanks for the responses fellas. was just wondering and wanted to get an idea of what others are doing. william
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post #11 of 29
7/11/06 at 4:32pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

OAR all the way for me. Whatever is intended is the way I view any source material. Horizontal bars never bothered me on the old 4:3 TVs and the vertical bars sure don't bother me now.

I will admit to, every now and then, running a 4:3 DVD in a "zoom" mode, just to check the framing, but I always end up back at 4:3 with vertical bars.

Harry
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post #12 of 29
7/11/06 at 6:16pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

OAR, baybee... Drives me nuts when I walk through a Best Buy or Circuit City and they're demo'ing widescreen sets using a stretched 4:3 image....
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post #13 of 29
7/11/06 at 8:41pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

4:3 shows in 4:3 TV shows or DVDs.

The zoomed with the cutoff edges make me edgy and the stretched picture I just can't stand. I've been watching Letterboxed movies since LD's started the trend and I just don't notice the bands at all.
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post #14 of 29
7/12/06 at 12:34am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

On my widescreen TV stretching doesn't bother me, I don't bother to switch to 4:3 for 4:3 stuff. But I draw the line, when networks crop old 4:3 film/TV material to present it 16:9, it's an abomination...
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post #15 of 29
7/12/06 at 7:08am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

When I'm watching TV w/o an OTA HD signal I use the 'justified' setting mentioned above. TV with a HD signal and TV on DVD I view OAR.
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post #16 of 29
7/12/06 at 8:35am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

You know, folks, it seems more appropriate to discuss this topic in TV/HDTV Programming rather than Software/TV Shows. Thread moved. Carry on.
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post #17 of 29
7/12/06 at 8:38am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

I always watch in OAR.
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post #18 of 29
7/12/06 at 9:14am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

I sidestepped this issue with my HDTV because I still have one of those 4x3 HDTVs from 4 years ago.

It bugs me to no end when I'm at a sports bar and they have all these 16x9 sets all over the place, and most of the stuff is still 4x3, but they use the stretch mode, and all the people are fatter than usual, plus it makes the sports look funny when it's in 4x3 as well.
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post #19 of 29
7/12/06 at 9:37am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Question:
Is there a way to avoid 'burn in' on a Plasma TV?

I've had mine for about 3 weeks and I noticed a faint burn in while a DVD was paused on a totaly black scene during a fade out. I always watch regular TV in 4x3 mode, ...or used to since noticing the burn in. I pulled out the manual and I found a warning about possible burn in if always in 4x3 mode, but it does not say if it can be avoided.

Is turning down the contrast/brightness all that is needed?
How about changing the side bars from black to light grey?

Is the burn in that's already there permanent? (Not a big deal, it's very faint)

Thanks.
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post #20 of 29
7/12/06 at 9:47am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Burn in would mean the damage is still there the next day. If this is the case, I don't think there is anything you can do to fix it.

The number one cause of this is not having your brightness/contrast set correctly - setting them too high can damage your set in just a few minutes (worst case scenario).

I leave my set on zoom or wide zoom all the time. It was a bit weird with regular 4:3 programming at first, but I quickly adapted to it.
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post #21 of 29
7/12/06 at 12:56pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

You can't 'fix' the burn-in, but since your TV is so new, you can probably make it less noticable. As you use the TV normally, keep a signal on the outer portions of the screen (never display the black bars again). This will over time cause those two portions to get "worn-in" also. The burn-in should become less noticable.

When you watch in 3:2 mode, definitely use the gray setting for the outer bars.
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post #22 of 29
7/12/06 at 6:43pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Quote:
Originally Posted by DanielHEN
Films or TV shows, it's always OAR for me.
AMEN!!
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post #23 of 29
7/12/06 at 8:56pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Heh, philistine that I am, I actually do use the slight stretch mode (called Wide on Pioneers) that crops a little and stretches less in the middle, on most broadcast TV.

What gets really annoying is when I'm watching something broadcast 4:3, but which has obviously been pand-scanned from a 16:9 aspect ratio, something that is getting more common with a lot of TV shows (just two nights ago, watching Criminal Minds, it was pretty obvious that the OAR of the show is 16:9).

(And before anyone asks, I make this observation in relation to TV shows only, I NEVER watch pan/scan broadcasts of movies. Just too painful.)
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post #24 of 29
7/13/06 at 5:22am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve JD
Question:
Is there a way to avoid 'burn in' on a Plasma TV?

I've had mine for about 3 weeks and I noticed a faint burn in while a DVD was paused on a totaly black scene during a fade out. I always watch regular TV in 4x3 mode, ...or used to since noticing the burn in...
Thanks.
I think that 3 weeks is far too soon for ‘burn in’ to occur. Either you have been sold a defective set, or your set has been used as a demo model on the sales floor.

I’d take it back to the store immediately.

BTW, it will help to get a calibration disk and adjust your settings appropriately. I watch a lot of classic movies in 1.33:! and have not had any hint of burn-in. I do watch news and such in a full screen mode, but for anything else, its 4:3.

Good luck.
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post #25 of 29
7/13/06 at 5:52am

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

If it's not in widescreen, I don't watch it.
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post #26 of 29
7/13/06 at 1:55pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Cause everything is LCD in the house now, it's all OAR.
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post #27 of 29
7/13/06 at 2:04pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

Now that I have LCD, I watch everything OAR, but with my old RP WSTV, I used strecth mode. It never really bothered me because I got used to it.
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post #28 of 29
7/13/06 at 3:13pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

When I first got my HD-RPTV, I played around with the "just" stretch mode and zoom, but after a few weeks I settled on 4x3 for 4x3 programming as the most satisfying presentation.
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post #29 of 29
7/13/06 at 5:10pm

Re: zoomed, stretched or 4:3 on widescreen

I got a TV with progressive zoom, so I just make the picture as big as I can without losing any of it. I'm totally sad. I sometimes get out of the chair and stand almost resting on the screen to make sure I haven't left a line of image behind...

Great for playing old video games on though
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