Help with 16:9 and 4:3 distinctions (HDTV). (1 Viewer)

[elMalloc]

I've heard a lot about 16:9 and I still really don't understand.

What exactly does 16:9 give you that 4:3 doesn't? Since if you watch a widescreen movie on a 4:3 TV you get black bars, is that the only reason to have 16:9 to remove the black bars on widescreen video? If an HDTV is 4:3 and 16:9, what are the benefits of getting either?

When games/dvds are progressive scan, is that a 16:9 thing only, or can these be done on 4:3?

Do black bars appear when playing games on a 16:9 TV, can this produce burn in (as I've heard), how do games look when stretched to fill the screen? It just all worries me.

Almost all of the DVDs I own are in widescreen format on my 4:3 TV, I don't mind the black bars at all - I just want to see the full movie as the director wanted, but for video games, and cable broadcasts - they would appear full on a 4:3 TV without any stretching.

So I just say what are the benefits of getting a 16:9 HDTV instead of a 4:3 HDTV? Or is it a preference? I wouldn't know how to decide if I didn't know the advantages of either though...

-ELmO

 

[wally]

I too have many of the same ?s as ELmO. I was going to post the question about 4:3 games (Playstation, PS2 soon) how do they look, and any word that future systems (PS2, Cube, X) will be widescreen?

 

[NickSo]

What exactly does 16:9 give you that 4:3 doesn't?
-it gives you a wider screen... I dunno how else i can put it... Less black bars on Widescreen movies
Since if you watch a widescreen movie on a 4:3 TV you get black bars, is that the only reason to have 16:9 to remove the black bars on widescreen video? If an HDTV is 4:3 and 16:9, what are the benefits of getting either?
- HDTV isnt in 4:3, its a standard 16:9. The reason that 16:9 developed was to watch HDTV programming mainly.
When games/dvds are progressive scan, is that a 16:9 thing only, or can these be done on 4:3?
- Progressive scan isn't directly connected with 16:9 aspect ratios. Most people think these are related because only HD-ready TVs do Progressive scan, and most HD-ready TVs are 16:9
Do black bars appear when playing games on a 16:9 TV, can this produce burn in (as I've heard), how do games look when stretched to fill the screen?
- If games are programmed for widescreen most likely they're in 16:9 (1.77:1 ratio), so no you wont see any black bars.
- Black bars MAY produce burn in, but in a different way. The area with video will be used more, and the black bars less, so the area with video will be burned in more than the black bar area. But remember, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE YOUR TV SET AT AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL, BURN IN SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM!
- When you stretch video game video to fill a 16:9, sometimes it looks good, sometimes it doesnt.. Go check out the stickey'd thread about 16:9 in video games in the software section.
Almost all of the DVDs I own are in widescreen format on my 4:3 TV, I don't mind the black bars at all - I just want to see the full movie as the director wanted, but for video games, and cable broadcasts - they would appear full on a 4:3 TV without any stretching.
- GREAT! The HTF promotes watching films in their ORIGINAL ASPECT RATIO, or how the director really wanted it to be.
- Since Cable TV and most video games are in 4:3, and if you watch it fullscreen on a 4:3 TV, you are watching it in its OAR, how the developers of the games intended for you to play it in..
So I just say what are the benefits of getting a 16:9 HDTV instead of a 4:3 HDTV? Or is it a preference? I wouldn't know how to decide if I didn't know the advantages of either though...
- 4:3 Vs. 16:9, its mainly preference i would say. The price is cheaper on 4:3's, you're more future-proofed with a 16:9 TV.
Some pros and cons of each kind of TV (my views):
4:3 Pros
- Most Cable/DBS/Video games are in 4:3 aspect ratios, so if oyu have a 4:3 TV, you'll get the full picture without stretching or bars.
4:3 cons
- Bigger black bars in widescreen movies (but i've gotten used to it, since i've been watching widescreen movies on LD since i was born!)
- Future video sources will most likely be mostly in 16:9, so you'll have to watch most of the future video with black bars.
- Widescreen movies wil have to be downconverted in the player to shown in letterbox, whcih degrades video quality (though some 4:3 Tvs have vertical compression, which cancels out this con)
16:9 pros
- Futureproof. (well almost)
- Smaller black bars on materials more than 1.77:1 wide, no bars in 1.77:1 movies (or anamorphically enhanced movies)
- They're so damn impressive!
16:9 Cons
- Cost more
- Currently not much suppport
Hope this helped... Some of this info maybe unclear, i spent the whole afternoon studying, so my mind isnt with me at the moment...

 

[Allan Jayne]

Currently the advantage of a 16:9 TV set or a 4:3 TV set with 16:9 mode is to get the best resolution (sharpness) on program material produced in 16:9.
All video material has a finite number of scan lines. If the material is 16:9 and the TV does not have 16:9 mode, the material has to be digested (downconverted) so it occupies the fewer number of lines contained in a 16:9 shaped space on the screen.
For example an anamorphic DVD picture has 480 scan lines representing a 16:9 shaped space. A 4:3 (only) TV has 480 scan lines covering the entire screen (assuming no overscan) and 360 of those scan lines are within in the biggest 16:9 shaped space on that screen. So the DVD player dutifully converts the picture to fit on the inner 360 scan lines, and some resolution is lost.
If the TV has a true 16:9 mode, all 480 scan lines can be squeezed into the 16:9 shaped space and the player does not need to do conversion and no resolution is lost. (A small number of TV sets have a fake 16:9 mode whereby the TV does the downconversion, losing resolution.)
Note: Except for calibration differences or manufacturing tolerances, the 16:9 mode does not produce a bigger or differently shaped picture after all the correct adjustments and selections are made. Non-anamorphic letterbox DVD's are really designed for 4:3 screens and no benefit or disadvantage is had if the TV has only one aspect ratio mode, 4:3.
More:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm