Comments on: World widescreen web http://www.geebobg.com/2007/03/20/world-widescreen-web/ Americlecticintellectica Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:47:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: bobg http://www.geebobg.com/2007/03/20/world-widescreen-web/#comment-622 bobg Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:31:26 +0000 http://www.geebobg.com/2007/03/20/world-widescreen-web/#comment-622 I watched my first 4:3 title last night on our new 16:9 TV (<i><a href="http://www.dixiechicks.com/06_dcmovie.asp" rel="nofollow">Shut Up and Sing</a></i>, highly recommended) and, using the TV's automatic aspect-adjustment mode, it looked <em>awful</em> -- the height of the image was preserved, and the width was stretched to fill the entire screen, making everyone look 33% fatter than they should have. (Which, in the case of some of the many ignorant rednecks in that film, yikes.) The TV has another aspect-adjustment mode that widens the image but loses some detail off the top and bottom, like a vertical version of <a href="http://www.reelclassics.com/Techtalk/panscan-article.htm" rel="nofollow">pan-and-scan</a>. That was a little better. But I was happiest to watch the movie pillar-boxed in its correct aspect ratio. I watched my first 4:3 title last night on our new 16:9 TV (Shut Up and Sing, highly recommended) and, using the TV’s automatic aspect-adjustment mode, it looked awful — the height of the image was preserved, and the width was stretched to fill the entire screen, making everyone look 33% fatter than they should have. (Which, in the case of some of the many ignorant rednecks in that film, yikes.)

The TV has another aspect-adjustment mode that widens the image but loses some detail off the top and bottom, like a vertical version of pan-and-scan. That was a little better. But I was happiest to watch the movie pillar-boxed in its correct aspect ratio.

]]> By: dkuznick http://www.geebobg.com/2007/03/20/world-widescreen-web/#comment-612 dkuznick Fri, 23 Mar 2007 20:55:46 +0000 http://www.geebobg.com/2007/03/20/world-widescreen-web/#comment-612 Though many 16:9 TV's can upconvert a 4:3 signal so it can be displayed pretty well in 16:9 without looking stretched/squished. My TV does a good job of this. Personally, I think if you watch DVD's at all, you'd have to be nuts not to get a 16:9, and there is a lot of HD programming nowadays as well. Though many 16:9 TV’s can upconvert a 4:3 signal so it can be displayed pretty well in 16:9 without looking stretched/squished. My TV does a good job of this. Personally, I think if you watch DVD’s at all, you’d have to be nuts not to get a 16:9, and there is a lot of HD programming nowadays as well.

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