Silly 16:9 question about my Sony WEGA (1 Viewer)

[Rod Melotte]

It barely comes under the term Home Theatre because it's only a 27in tube BUT it does have a "16:9 enhanced mode". I THINK I manually have to engage it

BUT

The question is . . .I already see widescreen, what will engaugeing this mode do for me.

I assume I'll have to go into the setup of the DVD player to change a setting or two and then find the correct setting on the Sony.

What's the advantage and will I actually be able to tell?

thanks!

(there is always one more tweak it seems like! lol)

SORRY - I suppose this should go into the Display/devices area.

 

[Mark Hobbs]

On my Sony Wega (kv-27fs13), I go to the "settings" tab in the menu of the TV and turn on the "Enhanced 16:9" mode.

If, after you do that, your screen gets squished, then you need to go into your DVD settings and make sure 16:9 is selected there too.

It should increase your picture quality noticeably. It will not change the viewing area. You will still be looking at a widescreen picture, but it will be clearer.

 

[Mark Hobbs]

One other thing...on the lower end Wegas (like mine), you have to make this adjustment manually each time you view a DVD.

 

[Rob Dawn]

Well, I'm no expert on this since my 32" Sony is old and doesn't do the 'squeeze', but . . .

Yes, you would have to tell the DVD player you have a 16x9 TV and set the 'squeeze' mode on the TV.

What you get is increased resolution on all your anamorphic DVDs. Whether you can tell the difference on a TV of that size . . . guess you'll just have to try it and find out - shouldn't take more than a few seconds to make the changes and check the difference.

Good luck,

Rob

 

[Rod Melotte]

Mark - that's the model I have. I just calibrated it last night and WOW! much much better. I thought it was a great picture before but . . . .

I'll try it tonight! hmmmmm what to watch. hmmmm

 

[Michael Reuben]

Rob, just remember that the 16:9 enhanced mode only provides benefits if you have a DVD that's been 16:9-enhanced (a/k/a "anamorphic"). For a very good explanation of what that means, try here:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articl...c/welcome.html
M.

 

[Mark Hobbs]

I can tell the difference even on my 27". It is just slightly less "grainy" with the enhanced mode.

I am waiting on my AVIA disk to calibrate. I can't wait to get this thing calibrated. I heard bad things about the Wega's (geometry, pink lines, 1/3 of screen brighter than rest, etc,etc) but mine looks very nice right out of the box. I did see some with problems at Best Buy, and was nervous that I would get a bad one, but except for a very very slight uneven line at the far left and right bottom of the screen (when watching CNBC for example), mine looks fine. And I wouldn't have even noticed the geometry if I hadn't read about it here first.

One might say that there should be zero geometry issues, but I have the same very slight geometry problems with my flatscreen monitor on my comp and it doesn't really bother me. Getting perfectly straight lines on the edges of a perfectly flat screen is a very difficult task evidently.

 

[Rod Melotte]

Mark - I found what most people find after calibration, I was to sharp, and to bright. The red hue was not THAT bad (compared to most I guess). The color is now deep and rich with more texture.

Make sure you put everything on STANDARD display and Neutral color temp.

-------------

Getting perfectly straight lines on the edges of a perfectly flat screen is a very difficult task evidently

________

LOL - evidently as I have those also.

I WISH I would have forked out a few hundred more for a 32inch but at the time I didn't know I was going to go ape-shit over HT. Heck - I was even anti-DVD. I never purchased a VHS tape, what's the big deal over DVD (I know own 26 LOL - although several are going back to ebay)

I think the Sony flatscreen is a great set. No complaints what so ever.

 

[Rod Melotte]

Got home and made all the right selections and here is what I come up with. Some good some bad (for me).

27 inch Sony WEGA (yes yes I know it's freaking small)

Tombstone (2.35-1 ratio) in NON-16:9 mode.

my viewing area is 10" x 21". Sitting 14 feet away it's OK.

Adjusting both the DVD player and TV to handle 16:9 the colors are outstanding, grain (what there was) disappears, HOWEVER, the viewing area shrinks just a tad to 9 1/4" x 21", it's not squeezed - looks great!!!

Now that might not seem like much but at 14 feet we are at the edge of the viewing envelope with NON-16:9. What we would need to do is lug the couch closer if we want anamorphic. hmmmmmmmm

Can't justify a larger TV . . . YET! This one is only 6 months old.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Hey Rod, don't knock a 27" screen!
I have the same size VVEGA as you, and i'll tell you this, after calibrating with AVIA and doing a few things in the service mode menu, my VVEGA SINGS like a 60" 16x9!
You get 33% more resolution from your dvd's when veiwing them in 16x9 mode which yeilds a more film-like picture.

 

[Allan Jayne]

RE: 4:3 TV with squeeze, comparing:
Both DVD player and TV in 16:9 mode,
Both DVD player and TV in 4:3 mode,
The finished picture dimensions are theoretically the same, but may differ due to minor calibration differences. For the TV 16:9 mode, also look for a service menu electronic matting adjustment used to hide annoying flashing speckles or stripes at the top and bottom but might have cropped off some of the picture as well.
16:9 TV set owners are not exempt from this problem. Here, the 4:3 mode may have some electronic matting at the sides.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Kevin Deacon]

You should see the difference with enhanced mode on a 36" wega. Outstanding!!

 

[Rod Melotte]

I see a MAJOR difference but am still trying to digest Allan's post.

When in 16:9 mode (both) I see the BLACK letterbox bars and then SLIGHTLY less black bars.

The diff is only 3/4 of an inch overall and does not look squeezed. BUT - still - small from 14 feet away.

Mark - have you seen this Service Menu on your Sony? I sure would love to get that 3/4 inch back.

 

[Mark Hobbs]

I haven't gone into the service menu. There is a site that I'm sure someone here can point you to where a lot of discussion and tips can be found on the Wegas. If someone can give you a link to that site, it will describe in detail how to get into the service menu and what to do when you get there. Sorry I don't have the link.

 

[Jack Briggs]

There seems to be a misunderstanding here. With a 4:3 WEGA adjusted for 16:9 mode, the scaling and proportions of the image are going to be the same as if you were watching a standard letterboxed presentation. The difference will be that your player no longer needs to downconvert the 16:9-encoded image into standard letterbox format. The result means that all 480 lines of resolution will be present in a 16:9 window, with the black bars above and below being "dead" space. The aspect ratio will remain the same. Therefore, you will always have black bars.

Is this clearer?

 

[Allan Jayne]

Oops I forgot to mention that playing with the electronic matting would only recover material lost at the very top and bottom of 1.77:1 and in some cases, 1.85:1 movies.

Also play with the vertical size (sometimes labeled VSIZ) control. This will reclaim the 3/4 inch of picture height you say you are missing, but if the TV does not memorize the settings for 16:9 mode separately, the 4:3 unsqueezxed picture height may also increase by an additional 3/4 inch resulting in more overscan.

 

[Rod Melotte]

Jack - that was understood. I don't havea problem with black bars. I was just surprised that the picture was . . slightly smaller (not squeezed) by 3/4 of an inch.

I was assuming it would be exactly the same.

Of course there is another alternative .

 

[Jack Briggs]

Oh, I see what you're saying. Well, there have been numerous threads here vis. the WEGAs "over squeezing" in the 16:9 mode--a problem correctable in the service menu. This situation does exist. You will need a certified calibrationist to help you there, unless you're willing to go into the service menu yourself.