Toshiba widescreen Theatre Wide 3 setting (1 Viewer)

[Doug Smith]

This seems to be the way to go when viewing DVD's that are very widescreen, right? Rather than theatre wide 2 which stretches disportionally. This in in Toshiba's newer models HDX83?

 

[Jack Briggs]

"Very widescreen"? If you stretch, say, a 2.35:1 image to fill a 1.78:1 screen entirely, you lose the extreme right and left portions of the film. Why do that?

 

[Doug Smith]

Yeah, sorry, I meant 2.35:1 anamorphic. I have looked at the same scene in "full", and "theatre wide 3" modes, and do not see any loss of image. Whereas in theatre wide 2 mode it seems stretched out of proportion, and some image is lost. I was told that the 2 mode was the one to watch. I'm wondering if Toshiba has added this theatrewide 3 mode to compensate for these 2.35:1 DVD's, which seem to be becoming more commonplace?

 

[Jason Charlton]

2.35:1 is just one of many commonly used aspect ratios - some movies are even more "widescreen" than 2.35:1, and others are less. I don't have any firsthand experience with the Toshiba sets, but in general, if you are feeding a progressive scan, anamorphic signal to your 16:9 display, you really should not use any "stretch" modes at all. The "Full" or "Normal" mode on your set should display the image in it's entirety without any unwanted distortion.

If the "black bars" are annoying, you could use your set's "zoom" mode (or equivalent) which will zoom in on the image (without adding distortion), eliminating the black bars, but at the cost of chopping off much of the image on either side.

Sorry I can't help with specifics to your set, but I think virtually ALL 16:9 sets have a "full" and "zoom" mode to them.

-Jason

 

[Doug Smith]

That's what I'm thinking. I'm wondering if this is Toshiba's answer, as there doesn't seem to be any picture being lost in Theatrewide 3 mode. In this mode there are still tiny black bars on the top and bottom, but not nearly as wide as in full mode.

 

[Stephen Tu]

For "enhanced for 16:9" aka "anamorphic" DVDs, regardless of actual movie aspect ratio (1.85:1, 2.35:1 or whatever), the only mode on that will display w/o cropping or distortion is "Full". This will be right for a large majority of DVDs. Your DVD player also has to be set for 16:9 output. These DVDs can be identified reliably (as opposed to relying on the labeling on the package, which is occasionally incorrect) by putting the set in the mode with the side bars for 4:3 viewing; everything will appear too tall & skinny. "Full" will stretch them back into proper proportion. 2.35:1 movies will still have substantial black bars, but much smaller than they would be on a 4:3 set.

For 4:3 letterboxed DVDs, non-16:9 enhanced, "Theaterwide 2" is the usual mode to use; it is supposed to stretch evenly in all directions if the set is adjusted properly. If played in the 4:3 side bar mode the picture will be in proper proportion. Thus you need the even expansion both directions.

Theaterwide 3 definitely is either cropping or distorting the picture in some way. Put in a geometric test pattern from something like Avia or Digital Video Essentials & you will be able to see exactly what it's doing. It won't be correct for any DVD, unless you prefer an altered image.

 

[Doug Smith]

Are you sure? I was told this was the case for the old Toshiba's but last year and this year may have changed. Eg. 4:3 letterboxed material is supposed to be played in Theatrewide 1 mode according to the manual. I'll try the Avia suggestion to see if anything is being cropped.

 

[Stephen Tu]

Fairly certain ... what exact wording does the manual use about "tw1" that suggests to you that it's right for letterboxed material? I glanced at the Toshiba manual on the web for the 57HX83, still looks like "tw2" is the right mode for 4:3 letterboxed material.

Easiest way to tell what mode to use is to watch some show like "Enterprise" or "ER" or "West Wing" that is broadcast letterbox on the standard non-HD channels. Or find some non-anamorphic letterbox DVD. In the right zoom mode, "tw2", you'll see the top & bottom bars get cropped off, but everything will stay in proper portions. "TW1" the bars wouldn't get cropped off, and you'd see objects get stretched out at the sides. "TW3" would crop some, but also add some uneven stretching.

Remember these are for *non-16:9* DVDs & ltbx TV shows. Most DVDs are 16:9 enhanced. You should use full for those, and 2.35:1 movies will still have black bars taking up about a quarter of the screen (as opposed to ~ half the screen on a 4:3 set). If the black bars are tiny, the picture is being distorted.