need help with new Widescreen RPTV!?? (1 Viewer)

[JasonKrol]

Hey all,
I dont know if this is the correct forum to post this, but you seem the most knowledgable. I just got the Toshiba 50H81 widescreen RPTV the other day and its just extremely awesome. I have 2 questions though. First, it has multiple view modes to force regular tv to widescreen, TheaterWide1, 2, 3, and Full. Im wondering if Full is the mode that I should watch regular DVDS in?
Second: I noticed (mainly because im very anal) that when watching 2.35:1 DVDs, or any DVDs with bars at the top and bottom, it almost seems that the picture is taller on the right side than the left. Here is an extremely exagerated example of what i mean:
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Now again, that is extremely exagerated, its difficult to explain using text, and the actual problem is very slight. Any ideas on how this might be fixed. It almost seems like you need the Trapezoid function that most monitors have that you can adjust the height of each side of the pic. Are there tools that technitians use to fix this slight problem? Im wondering because if so, I will call the place I bought from and see if they can send a tech out to fix it.
Thanks a lot for listening and any advice!!
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- Jason
My DVD Collection | My Home Theater
"what ya got here is two people dragging a third..."

 

[JasonKrol]

ok, and i noticed that the text example looks all messed up, so here is an image explaining what im experiencing, again pretty exagerated:
Link Removed

 

[Allan Jayne]

Choose whichever mode (theaterwide 3, etc.) that looks best for you when viewing ordinary 4:3 TV shows and movies. Remember, though, that you will always be stuck with at least one of the following:
(a) Picture content cropped off the top and bottom,
(b) Unused bars at the sides,
(c) Picture is stretched somewhere if not everywhere
For 4:3 programs I prefer the 4:3 mode, with black side bars except I use the Full (16:9) mode with stretching when people are sitting way off to the side.
Regarding trapezoid distortion, keep in mind that it is usually difficult to keep all three of the following under control:
(d) Convergence
(e) Geometric distortion
(f) Overscan
For ordinary TV's, manufacturers have long been using overscan to hide geometric problems.
Other video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm
[Edited last by Allan Jayne on September 19, 2001 at 08:39 AM]

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Jason,
Here's how I use each of Toshiba's viewing modes (I have a 56H80, but the modes should be the same):
NORMAL - For any 4x3 material where you want to preserve the proper aspect ratio and picture geometry, such as classic films or critical viewing of TV programs.
FULL - Anamorphic widescreen DVD material
TheaterWide 1 - Casual 4x3 TV viewing, such as sports, news, etc. This mode stretches the 4x3 picture to fill the screen, with more stretching at the edges than in the middle of the picture. This will help prevent burn-in of the gray/black side bars.
TheaterWide 2 - For non-anamorphic widescreen DVD material or TV programs broadcast in widescreen (letterboxed films on TCM, etc.)
Theaterwide 3 -- I never use this mode. It's similar to TW1, but stretches the image evenly across the screen.
However, if you add a progressive scan DVD player that supports aspect ratio control and scaling, you can leave your TV in FULL mode for all DVD material -- anamorphic, non-anamorphic widescreen and 4x3. The player will automatically scale and zoom the image for you (and provide a better picture than the TheaterWide 2 zoom mode on the Toshiba). I have a Panasonic RP-91 DVD player that performs this function.
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 5