tv question.....

[attgig]

what's 4:3?
and what's the diff btw 4:3 & 16:9???

I'm checkin out this tv: http://www.outpost.com/product/3051229
seems like it's pretty good....
anyone have any comments on it?

[Leon]

The they are the ratio of the screen's resolution of width to height. Like the resolution of 800x600 has an aspect ratio of 4:3. HDTVs are going with 16:9 because it's more like our natural field of vision.

[attgig]

Originally posted by DarkFury

4:3 look more like a square (although not perfect)
and 16:9 looks like a rectangle.

4:3 is "normal" viewing mode and 16:9 is "widescreen" (with the black bars on the top) for us "regular TV watchers". :hihi:

hmmm, so some of my vhs/dvd's have the 'black bar' thing..
if I were to get a 16:9 tv, would those black bars disappear???
and what happens if you rent a movie 'that has been formatted to fit your tv' or watch normal tv that does that..
does everything on your 16:9 tv look screwed up????

[Leon]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think you need a HDTV signal or an anamorphic DVD to have the whole screen filled with a 16:9 TV.

If you are watching a 4:3 movie/show on a 16:9 screen, you will get vertical bars on each side.

If you are watching a non-anamorphic movie/DVD on a 16:9 TV, then you will get the two vertical bars AND the two horzontal bars. Talk about a double whammy!

Some of the newer TVs should probably be able to stretch the image, though.

[attgig]

Originally posted by Leon
If you are watching a non-anamorphic movie/DVD on a 16:9 TV, then you will get the two vertical bars AND the two horzontal bars. Talk about a double whammy!

*CRINGE*

nasty....

4:3, here I come~! :P

so, why do people like 16:9 tv's anyways?
is that only for future hdtv junks?

[Leon]

Well, 16:9 TVs are basically the future. The double-whammy thing won't happen to you too much because most new DVDs are anamorphic. The only real bad thing about 16:9 sets are the price.

[SpeedEng]

Originally posted by attgig

so, why do people like 16:9 tv's anyways?
is that only for future hdtv junks?

Well in 4 years (I think) the govenment is making digital broadcast a Standard

[attgig]

i c....

thanks for the info guys.....

now, how about that tv?
there's an ebay for that tv, at around 350 now...thinkin about gettin in up to 450....

whatchu all think?

[spigidygak]

I know its all stated all above but I was a lil' confused. So just trying to clear it up a bit. 4:3 is standard broadcast ratio for NTSC right now. HDTV standard is 16:9. Movies don't have a standard for aspect ratios since it is considered "artistic" or something. Anyhoo, most movies are shot at 16:9 but there are a bunch that aren't. Such as Crouching Tiger. I believe the 16:9 tv's won't stretch the image and just have bars.

[Heihachi]

If you have the money for a 16:9 TV then by all means get it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all 16:9 tv's come w/ HD ready? When you're watching regular TV or movies that are 4:3 then like Leon says, there will be vertical bars to make the ratio correct. That's not annoying at all. DVD's have to be anamorphic to fit on 16:9 screens, so you'll see PURE movie, w/ out any vertical or horizontal bars. Also like Leon said, I believe almost all 16:9 TV's have an option to make an artificial 16:9 w/ out the DVD being anamophic. 16:9 is how the director originally wanted you to watch the movie. So if you have the money to make it happen... Go for it.

[ArkiStan]

I believe when you watch non-anamorphic DVD's on a 16:9 screen you can beat all the nasty bars by zooming into the screen with your DVD player's zoom function. You can pretty much still fill the screen that way, but you'll lose tons of resolution and it'll look horrible. That is why you should ONLY buy anamorphic DVDs if you have a choice. If you see a movie that you like that's non-anamorphic, wait and they'll probably re-release it anamorphically. That's why it's a such a bad time right now to buy older movies on DVD. If you can hold out for a while, you'll find it as a better edition sooner or later.

[Black Francis]

I have owned a 16:9 TV for about a year now, and can say that I have loved every minute. Not all movies fill the screen. Some have small black bars on the top and bottom if the aspect ratio is wider than 1.78:1 (I think 2.39:1 or something close to that is widely used). There are many movies like this, but the size of the bars is extremely small compared to a standard 4:3 set. Also, you need a progressive scan dvd player to take advantage of anamorphic DVDs. Regular broadcast channels can be viewed in three formats on my TV: normal (bars on the sides), full (stretched to fill the screen, so the people are short and fat), and theater wide (three different zoom options which basically fill the screen but may cut off a bit on the top and bottom). I use the last, and the small amount of info that I can't see is usually not noticable.

If your primary viewing is going to be DVDs, then I recommend a 16:9 set......if you mostly watch tv, then get a 4:3 set. Or better yet, get both and put the 16:9 set in a dedicated home theater like I did, and just use it for movies and game playing :)

Just for reference, if a dvd says "Enhanced for 16:9 (or widescreen) TVs", then it is anamorphic.

[attgig]

Originally posted by Heihachi
If you have the money for a 16:9 TV then by all means get it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all 16:9 tv's come w/ HD ready?

I don't think that this is true...

all wega's are 16:9 but not all wegas are hdtv

[Heihachi]

WEGAS? they're not 16:9 for sure. They're not your standard 4:3 but they are DEFINITELY not 16:9