The fat lady may sing, but she needs to lose weight (or how can I see 4x3 on my Sony 40S5100?)

 I don't regret the money spent on my Sony 40S5100 but I watch older movies and even some (HD) cable t.v where  everyone seems short and fat. I really didn't like "letterbox" view on my old 30"crt, it seemed a tragic waste of real estate . But on the other hand, I wouldn't mind black bars on the sides if I could force 4x3 when necessary.


Zooming cuts off too much on the top.

Suggestions?

Len

Hmm. My DVD player is an old Zenith combo DVD/VHS player with component output (no hdmi) going into a Sony HT-CT500 and then via HDMI to the TV.  I doubt that I can change the output of the  DVD player other than zooming.
 
Len

Hmmm.  I believe the CT500 does up-convert. That would suggest I should connect a second output from the DVD player directly to the TV and when the source is 4x3 I should select that input and bypass the CT500 if I don't want fat people.  Right?

Well, there was one more set of outputs on the back of the DVD/VCR player for yellow, red and white RCA plugs.  (There is also an S-Video output).  I connected those directly to the TV, so when I the fat lady syndrome is too annoying I can switch to 4x3 output.  But then I lose the advantage of the HTCT external speakers.   

I wonder, if I use only the yellow, composite video connection,  is there a way I canl use the optical digital audio already connected from the DVD to the external HTCT system for sound?

I thought I posted a response Thursday, but I don't see it. The DVD player is connected to the CT-500 with component (RGB)(video) cables  and and optical digital audio cable.

The DVD player is also connected directly to the TV with Yellow, red and and white audio/visual cables. 

When I watch the direct setup I see 4x3 video in the correct aspect without up conversion by selecting the correct video output for the television on the television's setup menu. The sound also comes through the TV. But there is no option I can find that would allow me to send the sound through CT-500 when the video is going first through the TV.

I wonder if I sent the TV's output to the CT-500 and then exported it again to the tv, if that would work... or would the CT-500 upconvert the signal again and put me back where I started?

 Thanks.. I had tried that with the composite video cable and the optical digital, as you suggested. Substituting component cable was going to be my next step, but first I took the CT-500 manual to bed with me and studied it more closely. The instructions were there in black and white. "Converting the resolution of analog video input." I still didn't understand it but I looked more closely at the "GUI Menu" on the CT-500.  I tried various menus and then saw a downward carrot at the bottom of the screen which led to several options I hadn't seen before which led me to a video settings menu that allowed me to select 480/576p instead of "auto" which had been the default setting. 

Voila! or rather D'uh!

RTFM AND try everything.

When I switched back to CATV input the unit automatically switched back to its automatic setting, showing the wide screen view. I was interested to see what the menu would show for those options. Since the CATV input was HD, it did not show the options but simply said "not in use."  When I switched back to the DVD the 480/576 setting had been retained.  I don't know what will happen when I try a different DVD, but at least now I know where to go to change it.


Thanks both Robert and Matt for your patience and help.

By the way, the test DVD was of a live theater performance of Hamlet with Richard Burton.  Watching it in proper aspect was with the CT-500's speakers was wonderful.  I had seen the performance live when I hitch-hiked to New York for the World's Fair in 1964. A short fat Burton would not have been the same.