How will older 4:3 programs be broadcast after 2006? (1 Viewer)

[Lew Crippen]

when watching a broadcast movie that's OAR, on a 16x9 set, what happens to the black bars? do you simply zoom the pic? i've always wondered that...

Two (sort of) answers Ted. If the broadcast is HD and in an aspect ratio other than 16:9 (1.85:1 fits on my display, as I have just a bit of overscan), you get the black bars as a part of the transmission, meaning that a 2.35:1 movie has black bars at the top and bottom and a 1.33:1 movie has black bars on the sides.

My display always locks into ‘full’ when it detects an HD signal, so even if you wanted to stretch or zoom a 1.33:1 film, you are not able to do so (unless you watch the film in SD). I’m sure that there are some displays (and perhaps some HD tuners) that allow for altering the picture.

If the broadcast is in SD and it is a 1.33:1 movie, you have the same choices that you would on a DVD. You can (and should, of course) watch with the side bars, but they are not a part of the transmission, so you can alter the picture by a zoom or stretch if you so choose. If the movie is in 1.85:1 or 2.35:1, the telecast does incorporate the top and bottom unused space (black bars) and on the 16:9 display it looks as though you are also getting side black bars. A zoom takes will fill the screen in the case of a 1.85:1 movie—of course you will still be left with some top and bottom black bars, just as in a DVD.

 

[Ted Lee]

thx lew - that clears it up perfectly!

i almost typed "perversely" ... boy ... that woulda made for an interesting tangent....

 

[Michael St. Clair]

You are correct Michael and that is why I specified of the formats current being telecast.

Lew,

Here in Cincinnati there are hundreds of hours of 4:3 ATSC being broadcast every week. Not the 'big 3' on their 'main' feed, and not during prime time, but hundreds of hours nonetheless. In fact, WAY more hours of 4:3 ATSC programming are broadcast here than 16:9 ATSC programming.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Interesting Michael. All of the 4:3 programs on the local major network stations are sent encapsulated in 16:9. To be accurate there are a number of independent stations that have digital channels here that I never watch. They may well be using one of the ATSC 4:3 formats.

If I’m ever sitting around with nothing to do, perhaps I’ll check it out.