Noob question...not sure if I want widescreen or not (1 Viewer)

[Jan Strnad]

Dan_R_M,
There, isn't that better? Now you know exactly what to buy!
Jan

 

[Michael St. Clair]

If anything, downconverting 4:3 to 16:9 makes enhanced DVD's (which are now in the clear majority) look worse unless you have a squeeze function.

What 4:3 HD sets today don't have a squeeze function?

 

[Patrick Sun]

My Panasonic HDTV RPTV will only squeeze 1080i material, not 480i/480p. But when I get my Samsung SIR-T165 HDTV receiver, it's supposed to be able to upconvert both 480i and 480p to 1080i, so that's how I'll be watching my DVDs in their 16x9 encoded format.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Patrick,

I didn't know that...I thought after Toshiba went with the squeeze for 480p for the 4:3 sets, that nobody was left.

540p should also lock into 16:9, but I don't think anybody is making a 540p player yet.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Hanson Yoo wrote:
When I had a SD WS set, it was a problem because the scanlines were so big it could be distracting.

Most HD sets today have line doublers that correct that problem. Like I said, Titanic, in zoom mode, has a picture quality comparable to anamorphically enhanced DVD's on my set. Also, many sets have 3:2 pulldown not to mention progressive players coming in at under $200 to correct the aliasing.

Then maybe this is only an issue w/ some 16x9 HDTVs, including my new Panny. Non-16x9 DVDs, including Titanic, in zoom mode using the Panny's 3:2 pulldown does NOT look like 16x9 DVDs using the same linedoubler. I definitely see scan lines most of the time although I might be getting used to it now. Still, the picture does not look nearly as good even when I don't notice scan lines.

Since I'm trying to hold out for a new player w/ the Faroudja 2300 chip like the Philips 963, I'm actually avoiding most of my non-16x9 DVDs and sticking to 16x9 ones for now. Hopefully, the wait won't be too long.

_Man_

 

[Michael St. Clair]

The scaling function used to fill a 16:9 screen with letterboxed sources (like my laserdiscs...which no Faroudja 2300 DVD player will process) is implemented separately in many sets from the deinterlacing function. A set may have a superior deinterlacer and poor scaling.

The only 16:9 sets that I find to scale letterboxed material really well are the ones from Pioneer.

 

[Jim A. Banville]

Non-16x9 DVDs, including Titanic, in zoom mode using the Panny's 3:2 pulldown does NOT look like 16x9 DVDs using the same linedoubler.

Yes, ANYTIME you blow up an image, you decrease the perceived resolution. I could never seriously consider the opinion of anyone who said that a blown-up non-anamorphic image looks as good as straight anamorphic.

 

[Hanson]

99% of TV's shows on the air today are 4:3. That includes NEW cartoons, NEW Star Trek series, sports, news, weather, TV sitcoms, TV dramas, and on and on....

I dunno -- the new Star Trek series looks letterboxed to me. Maybe you have a magical 4:3 set.

 

[Dan_R_M]

WOW! Thanks for all the responses, everything is so clear to me now...ha! The more I think about it, I can get a 36" 4:3 Sony HS/XBR model for cheaper than the 34" 16:9 XBR and still have almost the same size 16:9 screen and still have the 4:3 for current viewing? I mean, in the future when everything is supposedly 16:9 I will just have to deal with the black bars...but I will still have about the same size screen than if I went with the 34 16:9 instead of the 36" 4:3. Is this logic correct? I mean...

34" 16:9 = 28" 4:3
36" 4:3 = around 34" 16:9

 

[KevinJ]

and then there are people like me whose a/v cabinets won't hold anything bigger[or wider]than a 27inch 4:3 HDTV ready set

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

KevinJ wrote:
and then there are people like me whose a/v cabinets won't hold anything bigger[or wider]than a 27inch 4:3 HDTV ready set

Buy a new A/V cabinet!
I certainly can't imagine letting an A/V cabinet limit me to a 27".
_Man_

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Hanson,
You have attributed a quote of mine to somebody else, or vice versa. You have specifically worded your (somewhat mean-spirited) response to make it sound like all of the quotes were made by the same person. I do not appreciate my comments being taken out of context by being mixed with the comments of others.

 

[george.Legeza]

and then there are people like me whose a/v cabinets won't hold anything bigger[or wider]than a 27inch 4:3 HDTV ready set

And then...
...there are poor college students like me who can't afford anything bigger than a 27" 4:3 non-HDTV ready set.
Oh well, I can always sell my soul or something for a widescreen HDTV.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Okay, folks, let's try to be civil, there's no need to return intended/unintended slights with more of the same. If you have a problem, please use the "report this post" and we'll try to sort it out.

Thanks, and continue on with the discussion on RPTV form factors/features.

 

[KevinJ]

it's not just my cabinet that limits the size of the tv i use the room it's in [my bedroom]is only about 10x10 btw

 

[Robert Standefer]

While Enterprise is in widescreen, it's letterboxed. That means it is 4:3, not 16:9. Don't give people the impression that letterboxed television shows work the same way as anamorphic DVDs.

-Rob