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Tv type

  • 31-01-2005 11:25am
    #1
    mburke
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 444 ✭✭


    Guys,

    This might sound like a stupid question but what format is the bext to buy when choosing a tv these days ??

    It is starting to bug me when watching bbc or ch4 and some of the text is of screen depending on the program (example: The West Wing). When this happens I switch to 16:8 size and still the text is off screen.

    Any suggestions.


Comments

  • #2
    SkepticOne
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,718 ✭✭✭SkepticOne


    mburke wrote:
    Guys,

    This might sound like a stupid question but what format is the bext to buy when choosing a tv these days ??

    It is starting to bug me when watching bbc or ch4 and some of the text is of screen depending on the program (example: The West Wing). When this happens I switch to 16:8 size and still the text is off screen.

    Any suggestions.
    A widescreen TV won't allow you to see more of the picture than a 4:3 set. If the TV is adjusted correctly then most of the picture that is broadcast should be visible.

    When your TV is in 16:9 mode, you are seeing what you would see with a widescreen TV except that you have black bars above and below the picture. The switch to 16:9 mode is not done to see more of the picture but rather to show the picture in the correct aspect ratio. Some broadcasts (and DVDs) are done in anamorphic mode. These appear squeezed vertically when shown in 4:3 mode. Putting the TV in 16:9 mode then allows you view the picture correctly.

    16:9 mode, of course, is the normal mode of a widescreen TV. Strangely, a lot of people watch 4:3 broadcasts "stretched" horizontally to fill the wide screen without noticing the distortion.

    I watch the BBC channels over digital satellite and these are in this anamorphic form. The TV goes into 16:9 format for viewing. I can also get BBC over analogue cable, but these signals have been converted into 4:3 format by removing the edges of the picture. There is nothing I can do to get back these bits of the picture. They are not broadcast.

    There's a possibility that your TV is not adjusted properly and your losing information that should appear even in 4:3 mode. I'm surprised with the text problem with West Wing. Even though this is recorded in 16:9, most of the US viewers would still watch it on 4:3 sets so I would have thought that any text would appear in the middle portion.


  • #3
    Ulsterman 1690
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,242 ✭✭✭Ulsterman 1690


    16:9 is the best aspect ratio if youre buying a new TV because 4:3 is being (slowly) phased out 4:3 TV's will still work but youll have those black bars

    It really bugs me when broadcasters mess up their aspect ratio signalling so much that one even gets black bars on a widescreen TV :mad:


  • #4
    SRB
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 820 ✭✭✭SRB


    You'll always get black bars on a widescreen TV if the source isn't 16:9, unless you zoom it up or the broadcaster zooms and crops the material (Look at most of the BBC's Cbeebies output)


  • #5
    mburke
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 444 ✭✭mburke


    Guys,

    Thanks for the info. I did notice over the weekend when watching the rugby on bbc that the text info they displayed (distance of shoot) was off the screen but it was fine with RTE2.

    When watching the programmes via sky satellite what format should i set the screen output to ?? There are 3 options 4:3, 4:3L, 16:9

    I reckon its time I had a look at getting a widescreen tv, anyone know of a good model ?


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