2 questions (1 Viewer)

[Damien]

1.I have a aiwa subwoofer that's worked fine for 3 months. The only problem is there is an auto-power off feature on the unit, but it doesn't work.(it's a design flaw in the unit). I have the sub behind the couch so i either forget or don't feel like reaching behind the couch to switch it off. So somethimes it can be left on for 6-20 hrs. straight on accident. Will this shorten the life or is it not as bad as i think.

2. I wan't a 20" flat screen. The issue I have is on DVD playback. I was going to get the new toshiba 20Af42 at bestbuy but bestbuy.com has the new samsung tsl 20 flat screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. I just have a regular 4:3 stereo tv. I don't like watching DVD's with bars on the top and bottom, so if i would get the toshiba would it still have the bars when i set the dvd player to 4:3? if i get the samsung with 16:9 will it fill the whole screen? the samsung is hard to find, so i would have to order it off the net. I'm basically wondering is the Samsung's 16:9 feature worth the wait of shipping from an online dealer instead of walking in and buying the toshiba from best buy. look at small tv's at bestbuy.com to see what i mean.(the samsung and toshiba flat screens.)

Thanks

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

1) Probably no big deal. It being "on" and not supplying audio means the speaker and amp are doing no work- so I doubt it would do much to reduce the life of the sub.

2) Anytime you watch a DVD with an aspect a different shape than your TV, you'll get bars somewhere. With widescreen material on a 4:3 set, you'll see bars top and bottom. With a 16x9 set, you will still get some bars top and bottom for films wider than the TV (i.e. films shot 2.35:1)-- and will get bars on the sides when watching 4:3 material.

So, buying a 16x9 set doesn't eliminate black bars- it simply gives you a wider aspect set. If you watch only 16x9 (1.78:1) aspect material, you'd never see bars-- but since many films are wider, and most TV is narrower- you'll never completely eliminate them.

So, it's best to watch the program, not the bars.

That said, if I had to pick I'd opt for a 16x9 set- as I persoanlly watch mostly widescreen material... so a 16x9 set is the closest aspect to the majority of my programming choices.