Widescreen issues

I think noggin probably knew that

Yep - though the fact it is made in the US (where 16:9 non-HD production is less common) and consists of lots of 4:3 EPK clips is also a reason I think.

A question that I want to ask is, I have bought a wide-screen TV, 28" for my sitting room. I've went through all the different picture ratios, and what I don't understand is why would you want to watch something in 4:3? I'm very muddled up on what all of these things mean. I watch all my programmes on 16:9 (I think) and that was the auto on my TV.

When a programme comes on screen, does your TV auto change Ratios to suit that?

Yes, your TV should auto change.

Make sure the TV is connected to your digibox via SCART in the AV1 socket on the TV. The digibox picture settings should be 16:9, SCART control ON and RGB (not composite).

Go to Sky News and change the aspect ratio on the TV to 4:3 (so you should be seeing black bars at either side). You will now see all 4:3 material without any cropping or stretching. Now change to BBC News 24. The TV should switch mode to 16:9 and you will see the full 16:9 full-height anamorphic picture. Your TV and digibox are now set up correctly and will auto switch.

If you find there is some other setting instead of 4:3 that you prefer for displaying that shape of material then fine (my parent's TV is a Hitatchi and is set to 14:9 zoom), but any other setting will distort or chop off bits of the picture in some way or other.

Check te picture settings on your digital box. No end of people have a widescreen TV, but leave the settings in 4;3- therefore are onlys eeing the 4:3 centre-cut, and stretch it to fill the screen.

Without being rude, you appear to have a common confusion over what picture ratios are in themselves and you wording sounds familiar to what my Dad's been asking me.

The main basic is that TV programmes are generally filmed in one of two shapes. 4:3 (square) or 16:9 (rectangular) - widescreen. These may be cropped and zoomed by the broadcaster but best not to think about this now. A TV set cannot convert 4:3 shaped material into 16:9 material, it can stretch the picture to fill the 16:9 shape or zoom in so the screen is filled giving the alusion that you are watching a widescreen picture.

You indicate that you watch everything in 16:9 and you don't see the point in watching things in 4:3 when you can do this. The thing is you aren't always watching 16:9 pictures, older footage and the likes of ITV News and Sky News would be stretched or zoomed if you are seeing them in "widescreen".

There is therefore, a point to watching 4:3 shaped pictures with black bars at the side so that you are seeing the original shape with no stretching or zooming making short fat people or removing heads(!) It is perfectly fine to watch 4:3 programmes stretched or zoomed BUT you are not watching widescreen, you are just having a square picture manipulated to be rectangular.

I was suprised to find that quite a few people I know from a variety of age ranges thought that widescreen TV was just normal TV stretched with no extra picture at the side.

Hope that clarifies some points Roy!

Gareth

Well, tis post just says that more needs to be done to tell people what widescreen actually is. The fact is many (and I wouldn'tbe suprised to find most people) just think widescreen is the normal picture stretched out. Unaware that digital boxes allow different aspect ratios, SKY & Cable installers often just leaving it on the default setting, which is 4:3 pan/scan. The broadcasters doing nothing as well- banging on about widescreen, but enver giving any details to how it actually works. It seems only us tecchy bods actually are aware of the facts.

It's not "pan and scan". It's centre-cut-out.

[/QUOTE]There is therefore, a point to watching 4:3 shaped pictures with black bars at the side so that you are seeing the original shape with no stretching or zooming making short fat people or removing heads(!) It is perfectly fine to watch 4:3 programmes stretched or zoomed BUT you are not watching widescreen, you are just having a square picture manipulated to be rectangular. [QUOTE]

Thanks for all that information, and taking time in posting it all. When I go into 4:3 picture, its a tini picture, with bars at the side and top.. a small square on screen. Do you put that ratio on and then stretch it? What kind of programmes use this? I know you guys named a couple. Agree with you all about people not knowing what widescreen is all about (including myself) there needs to be alot more information placed out there.

Thanks.

It sounds to me like your digital box is set up wrong. It sounds like it's set to 4:3 letterbox. I don't know what paltform or digitalbox youhove, but basically, you have to try and find the picture settings menu, and set the aspect ratio to 16:9.

If you're watching on analogue, then quite simply,t here's no point having a widescreen TV.

There is therefore, a point to watching 4:3 shaped pictures with black bars at the side so that you are seeing the original shape with no stretching or zooming making short fat people or removing heads(!) It is perfectly fine to watch 4:3 programmes stretched or zoomed BUT you are not watching widescreen, you are just having a square picture manipulated to be rectangular.


What sort of digibox do you have? It needs to be set to 16:9 and if there is a "letterbox" setting, make sure it's switched OFF.

It's bad enough the BBC often screen a 4:3 programme in a 16:9 frame - so on boxes like my Sagem the ratio doesn't switch automatically from 16:9 to 4:3 meaning you get black bars all around - but lately I've noticed with BBC2 films (the films this afternoon being an example!) they put a 16:9 picture in a 4:3 frame in a 16:9 frame.

Ridiculous - ITV, C4 (especially) and five manage ratio switching properly, why can't the BBC - the corporation that's suppost to be at the forefront of the digital revolution!