Those with 4:3 HDTVs, would you switch to 16:9 HDTV if you could (and vice versa)? (1 Viewer)

[Martin Rendall]

I haven't read through the other replies, so forgive me if I repeat anyone.



First, I have a 16:9, and until very recently, wished I had got a larger 4:3, simply because most of the content I watch is 4:3. It seems to me that dollar for dollar, you can get a larger 4:3 which basically makes the same 16:9 size (for movies and HDTV). The burn in issue would be less so for me.



Now, I've just got HDTV. Sadly, most of the content dished out is still 4:3. So it's a 16:9 image which is sidbarred to produce a 4:3 image. So watching this content on a 4:3 tv would yield a smaller 4:3 inside your native 4:3, barred all the way around. Think about it. On the other hand, it would still be the size of the 4:3 in the comparably smaller 16:9 tv (dollar for dollar, again), so I guess it's all phsychological.



I think the best bet is to get the best format based on your current viewing practices.



Also, when I did buy the 16:9, very few RPTV sets would do a proper squeeze for 480i and 480p. Now many do, so I would not make the same decision if I could do it over again.



Martin.

 

[Todd Hochard]

I play more games than I do watch DVDs.

If you play a LOT of games, I don't think I would get a RPTV. Too much burn in risk.

Anybody out there actually play lots of games?

How about the Sony 36XBR450, or the Hi-Scan equivalent of that?

I have a 16x9 RPTV, and there's no way I'd switch back to 4x3.

Todd

 

[Neil Weinstock]

I've got a 50" 4x3 TV. Most of my watching is TV, so for me it was a no-brainer. I guess the only way I'd consider a widescreen set would be if I could be really convinced that the stretch modes are OK for normal watching.

Certainly, with mattes (and even without), watching widescreen material on a 4:3 set is fine. I would, however, only get a 4:3 set that has a proper anamorphic squeeze mode. Mine doesn't, and that is my primary regret (didn't realize how important it was at the time.)

So, for now, I probably wouldn't switch.

 

[elMalloc]

How many 4:3 HD sets do have a proper squeeze? I heard it's only Sony Wega, Panasonic Tau and something else - which severely limits me (and down to directview only!?).

I watch 4:3 cable, and play video games most of the time. I would also watch anamorphically squeezed DVDs but I need to know what RP TVs have this.

Who has had burn in for RP TVs from video games or cable, I'd like to know.

Thanks,

ELmO

 

[Larry Chanin]

Hi ElmO:
I've had a first generation 4:3 HDTV for a number of years now, and as an early adopter I'm naturally always attracted to "latest and greatest" claims of the new HDTVs, but nevertheless I've never regreted my selection of a 4:3 aspect ratio.
As others have mentioned, the "correct" aspect ratio for you depends on what type of programming you do the majority of your viewing. In either case you're going to have to be careful about screen burn, but if you're watching mostly 4:3 programs (and games) then it only stands to reason that you reduce your chances of screen burn with a 4:3 display.
I have a home theater PC connected to my HDTV to scale DVDs to near HD quality so I frequently watch widescreen movies on my 4:3 HDTV. I also get all the terrestrial HD network stations in the Washington, DC area, as well as an HBO HD satellite station. Sounds like a lot of widescreen programming, doesn't it? Not really, I estimate that 80% of my viewing is still standard old 4:3 programming. There simply is not enough HD programming to convince me to switch yet.
Having a PC permanently connected to my 4:3 HDTV makes for a pretty good 60" desktop for surfing the net. After all what's the aspect ratio of your computer monitor?
An other plus is that 4:3 HDTVs continue to be bargain-priced when compared to similarly sized 16:9 HDTVs. As was mentioned previously, it is important that you make sure any 4:3 HDTV that you select can do an anamorphic squeeze.
Larry

 

[elMalloc]

OK good post man!

But which 4:3 HDTVs can squeeze, for example so I can take a look at a few?

How do widescreen movies look on your 4:3?

Do you ever play any games on your 4:3 and how do 16:9 look on them, and can 480P be full screen?

Thanks,

ELmO

 

[John Royster]

All I can say is gaming on a 65" 16x9 is pure heaven. Xbox and progressive plus DD5.1 make me quiver in my boots everytime I play. PS2 - Original SSX is stunning as are others. I have yet to see an arcade game provide any where near what my basement does. That and I can get a beer from the fridge and waste no quarters.
tough call lately as it seems the entire industry (gaming) is sitting on the fence.

 

[Jed M]

Sony does the squeeze, I have a 53 inch and that was the primary reason I chose it at the time. As for other companies, Im sure someone else will fill you in. And no I wouldnt switch to 16:9 because I like sports, but if more programming like CBS college football, perhaps I would. My next tv will be a fptv anyhow. Ive always wanted one.

 

[elMalloc]

Front projection tV?

What's a FTPV?

Also yes I found a Toshiba 50" HDTV 4:3 that does vertical squeeze. I've always liked Toshiba's DVD pictures (1200 lines of resolution).

Yes I watch a lot of sports, but I worry more about video games. DVDs are also very nice but I can live with black bars for some time.

Again I will use the above link to try to compare a 16:9 picture on 50" with a 16:9 picture on a 50" 16:9, and then 4:3 on both to see. Considering I'm mostly 4:3 I would still buy the 4:3 HDTV....

-ELmO

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Jantzen - check out this link:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=40422
Jay Mitchosky has posted a nice review for a JVC component switcher that may answer your needs.

 

[Larry Chanin]

Quote:

I'm sorry I haven't played any 16:9 games on my HDTV. I do recall one occasion when my grandson brought his SEGA over. That day my wife, grandson and I had tickets to a Redskin vs. Dallas football game, so before the game my grandson set-up a Redskin vs. Dallas game on his Madden software. We were only viewing 480i through the front mounted s-video connector, but the picture and graphics were so good that my wife briefly thought we had gotten the kick-off time wrong and were actually watching the real game!
On the Mitsubishi HDTVs any 480 line source, either interlaced or progressive, locks into full screen mode. In fact I use my HTPC to deinterlace all 480i programming and scale it to 848 x 480p. I use this resolution for my Windows desktop as well.
Larry

 

[elMalloc]

Are there any switches out there that will automatically switch to the correct input when you turn on your xbox or gamecube? By active what do they actually mean? I have too many thingsto turn on (receiver, tv, corret input) the macro programming on my receiver remote isn't that great. A component switch is gonna eat me.

So your TV is 55", 4:3. When a widescreen movie turns on, are you saying it's as large still as a 55" 16:9 TV? I would think the black bars would shrink the diagonal size because then the width stays the same but height gets decreased.

It's not a big deal to me at all though because I really just play games and watch TV.

Thanks again for the input!!!

-ELmO

 

[elMalloc]

I've found a couple models now that squeeze fine.
I've been looking at this Toshiba:
Toshiba 50" RP HDTV 4:3
I know in normal TVs the PIP makes the TV cost a bit more (and I never use it), and this thing has PIP but I can't do much about it (they don't have any other models). Onecall.com has it for $1800 so I can price match that at sears.
If people can suggest a different HDTV to look at I would be much obliged. I consider panasonic as well because I own a panasonic right now and love it for everything.
-ELmO

 

[Michael St. Clair]

All the 4:3 HD Toshibas (end in '71')

All the 4:3 HD Sonys (end in HSx0 plus all the XBRs)

All the 4:3 HD Philips

The Zenith with the 9" guns

All do a true 'squeeze'. In fact, many sets are now optimized for their 16:9 mode (in terms of beam spot size) and the 4:3 mode is S T R E T C H E D upwards. They really are nothing but taller sets, not narrower. Like I said in my example, I don't have room as far as set width goes, so no matter what 16:9 set I would buy, the 16:9 picture would not be larger than the 16:9 picture on my current set. Not that I would switch, no way!

 

[Jantzen]

Lou,
I saw the review already of the JVC switcher - 2 problems - one is that it is a 3 in 1 out Component and I need 4 in 1 out... Also I need to switch HDTV and I believe that there is a 30Mhz limit on the JVC switch box - supposedly more bandwidth is needed to properly pass HDTV signals - I don't know all the facts but I see this debated often...
I ended up getting this switcher for $20 - it's only a composite switcher (I use the audio L/R) and it's manual so I have to get up off my butt, but it allows 4 in 1 out and it's cheap. Also, I have to get up to put in a game or movie in anyways (so I tell myself). Autoswitchers for component video seem a lot more expensive - do a search over at AVSforum to see - this is a hot topic. Plus it's mechanical so there are no bandwidth issues supposedly...
ELmO,
This is why I said look for a TV with lots of 480p/1080i inputs - I doubt that any have 4 but right now that's what I'd ideally need. I'm hoping that receivers will in a few years have high bandwidth component swithing for every input like they do for s-video now. I think this may be a way off yet... For now the manual switch has to do. It's not that bad and I labeled it up so even my wife has no problems watching a DVD or playing SSX Tricky on XBOX!
I even set up a macro on my remote control so she can easily toggle between 4:3 and 16:9 mode for widescreen movies and games...
As for screen burn in - I only use my TV about 15% of the time for videogames and I make sure to change games often enough as not to promote burn-in. Most importantly CALIBRATE with Video Essentials or Avia!!! This will most likely save you from burn-in. Some may disagree but I have yet to have any problems - and I previously played Dreamcast on my TV. But if you play a lot you may have different results... Do a search for burn-in in the gaming sections to see discussion about this subject.

 

[Larry Chanin]

Originally posted by elMalloc:[/I]
Are there any switches out there that will automatically switch to the correct input when you turn on your xbox or gamecube? By active what do they actually mean? I have too many thingsto turn on (receiver, tv, corret input) the macro programming on my receiver remote isn't that great. A component switch is gonna eat me.]Quote:

I assume this question is directed to me.
No, my HDTV is 60" diagonal in 4:3 mode. Its 48"wx36"h which yields a 60" diagonal. When the letterbox bars are applied to the display the height is reduced to 27" and, as you point out the width remains the same. This yields a 55" diagonal in HD mode.
Larry

 

[elMalloc]

I would need a TV with 3 component inputs, which I've found no HDTVs at least in my price range (

 

[Matt_Marlow]

Back to the original question: I used to own a 50" 4:3 TV and now own a 65" 16:9 TV (after owning the 57" version for a short time). I really wouldn't want to go back to 4:3 for my main TV even though a significant percentage of my viewing is regular, non-HD satellite. I use a stretch mode on my TV, and it looks just fine to me. DVDs look better than regular TV, but I still MUCH prefer watching regular TV on the widescreen set instead of my bedroom TV. I don't think there's a 4:3 HD set available that would give me a 65" widescreen picture for DVDs, so that's my main reason for not wanting a 4:3 TV. If I was looking for a smaller set, I definitely think a 4:3 HDTV that can take advantage of anamorphic enhancement on DVDs would be an option to consider.

 

[Roger Kaufmann]

I bought a 45" Mit's analog set 2 years ago without doing my homework and really wish I had gotten a 16:9 HDTV now. When finances permit I will probably upgrade both TV and DVD player.

 

[ScottH]

Elmo,

Back to your original question, about whether you should get a 4:3 or 16:9 TV, IMHO, you should absolutely, positively, no doubt about it get a 16:9. I took the plunge to 16:9 about a year and a half ago, and I would never buy a 4:3 TV again. I watch a lot of NTSC as well, but most of the 16:9 TVs have pretty good stretch modes that can stretch the image to fit the whole screen without noticably distorting it. It sounds like you're a big gamer as well, and right now at least half of the XBox games out there support 16:9, and eventually they all will.

Just my 2 cents.