Comprimises when viewing HD on 4:3 sets? (1 Viewer)

[Jerry Dreiss]

I've never been able to find the answer to this question.
On the various 4:3 sets out there that are HDTV ready, when viewing an HDTV signal I assume they do the "squeeze trick" to display the full 16:9 image. One might say the set creates a virtual 16:9 HDTV within it's 4:3 field.
My question is this; is that virtual 16:9 set displaying the full number of achevable lines of resolution? If one where recieving a 1080i signal, would all 1080 lines be displayed, or is the image comprimised?
I hope this question makes sense.

 

[CaspianM]

The resolving power of a set has nothing to do with its format. It all depend on quality of its electronics, crts, lens and screen. Having said that, most manufacturers are putting their best of bests in their 16x9 sets. Be aware though that all sets today with 7" CRTs are limited and cannot do a full resolution of 1080i no matter 4x3 or 16x9. Still, the picture is real good and close to one should get. Zenith has a set with 9" CRTs. I hope this helps.