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2 questions (1 Viewer)

Damien

Supporting Actor
Joined
Mar 29, 2002
Messages
508
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

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 18, 1999
Messages
6,500
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.
 

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