my new 40h80: tv modes questions (1 Viewer)

[Simon Hamelin]

Hi all!
Just got my new toshiba 40h80 and, being new to 16:9 tv's, I have a few questions concerning the tv modes. I've been reading these forums for the past 2 months and I have learned a lot.
I will buy a Panasonic rp91 in the near future, but for now I hooked the tv to my Playstation 2, and set the console in the 16:9 mode.
The tv have a normal, theater wide and full mode. I understand that the theater wide mode should be used to view non-anamorphic movie, is that right? I tried this (tw2) with non-anamorphic There's something about mary and it seemed to work great (for me at least!).
Here is what I don't understand: someone told me that the full mode should be used to view anamorphic movies. I tried that , but the movie seems to be "stretched" horizontally, instead of filling more of the screen. I mean that the black bars have the same height in normal mode than in full mode, in which the picture is wider (no grey bars). Is this normal?
So, did I missed something? Is it the dvd player? I set the ps2 to 16:9 in the console menu, but I am unable to set it to 16:9 in the dvd menu (only the "4:3 letterbox" mode is available). Could this be the cause?
hope some of you can help me!
thanks, Simon

 

[Francois L]

You definitively need to set the PS2 to 16:9 for DVD playback. I'm not familiar with the playstation but I think the 16:9 mode for game is only adding black bars to give the picture a movie look.I don't think that the games for PS2 are available in anamorphic transfert yet.
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"My god, it`s full of stars!"

 

[Ernest]

DVD players are computers reading software and like computers you have to tell the unit what type of TV the data will be displayed on. The PS2 will operate the same as a standard DVD player and must be setup for the type of TV. In your case you need to setup the PS2 to display DVD's in the 16 x 9 format. Once that is completed you will notice a big difference. Not only will the leterbox bars be much thinner, but the picture quality will be much better.

 

[Greg_Y]

Simon, I just got a 40H80 too. See Ryan Pream's response to my question about the different viewing modes here:http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/007568.html
Good luck!

 

[Simon Hamelin]

ok..
So I went back to the dvd menus of the PS2. Under the Setup menu is the "tv mode" option, which is currently set at "4:3 Letterbox". The problem is that I'm not able to change this option. I looked in the manual and they say that I should have the choice between "4:3 Letterbox", "4:3 Pan and Scan" and "16:9", but when I press the button to change the selection nothing happen.
Anybody ever had this problem with the ps2?
Thanks,
Simon

 

[ThomasL]

Simon, go to USENET archives and search the alt.hometheater.misc group for PS2 and using it as a dvd player. I recall from a few months ago that some people had problems getting their dvds to display 16x9 anamorphic. The fix if I am recalling correctly is to do this. Make sure your tv is in the right mode and start the movie...when it starts, pause, go into the PS2 menu and choose 16x9, then resume the movie. A search of the archives should turn up the posts regarding this. Actually, check the archvies of this forum since I recall pointing someone at that USENET post about a month ago.
good luck,
--tom

 

[ThomasL]

Simon, here is the thread from about a month ago:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/039619.html

 

[Simon Hamelin]

I just tried it and it worked!
wasn't very obvious though...
i would never have found it just by looking in the ps2 manual!
so i'm off to watch my first "real" 16:9 movie!