Just wondering since supposedly all 4:3's that were prominent in years past (and mainly today) will be obsolete by 2006 (supposedly). I'm in the market and the widescreen is great for DVD's and such, but most programming is not there yet. The disadvantage to getting 16:9 now is that most T.V. manuf. don't recommend extended 4:3 viewing for some reason. Should I go ahead and consider the 16:9 now? I would appreciate any thoughts. ------------------ I eat nutria now..courtesy of mc mark!!!
I have one. A couple of things about it... (1) As you said, most programming isn't designed for it. On mine, you can either watch regular programming in normal 4:3 (which is what I do) and have black-space on both sides, zoom-in and lose the top and bottom of the picture, or have it stretched to fit the entire screen. (2) "Widescreen movies" still aren't 16:9, at least not the ones I've watched. Sure, you get more picture on the sides (which is never anything important), but it's still longer than it is tall, so there's black space on the top and bottom of most of my widescreen DVD's. That being said, it is really cool when fully used. If you're getting a TV for the long-term, I'd go ahead and get it. I bought a flat-panel type TV that I plan to keep for a long time, so I figure it'll be more useful down the road. If you plan to get something new in a few years anyway, I'd get a regular TV now. The black-space or distortion is annoying at times. Just my opinions. ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets.
I live by myself and have 2 tv's, how pathetic. One of them is flat screen, but how do I know if it's 16:9 ? Is that a numerical term for HDTV compatability ? ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Basically, 16:9 is just a TV that's longer/wider than your average TV. It looks more like a movie screen than a TV. If you have one, you'll know it. Here's an example of the width/height: http://www.dtvcity.com/agraphics/tvs/th-42pwd3u.jpg (Note: this is a flat-panel TV, but they come as normal TV's also. this was just the picture I found) ------------------ http://www.swirve.com ... more fun than a barrel full of monkeys and midgets. [This message has been edited by shanna (edited June 04, 2001).]
The best reason now to buy a HDTV is for the Anamorphic DVDs in my opinion. This mostly eliminates the bars on top and bottom while providing a higher resolution picture. The benefits of such noted in this excerpt from "The Big Squeeze: The ABCs of Anamorphic DVD" written by Bill Hunt over at <a href="http://www.thedigitalbits.com"><font color="red">The Digital Bits</font></a>: <span style="font-style: Tahoma; font-size: 8pt;" > "...one of the most interesting features of Digital TVs, is their shape - widescreen. The aspect ratio of a Digital TV is 1.78:1 (also referred to as 16x9 - current TVs are often said to be 4x3). This is not quite as wide as either Flat or Scope films, but the potential for much better presentation of widescreen films is obvious. This is where the anamorphic capabilities of DVD come into play (I bet you thought I'd never get to it, right?). The DVD format allows for a good solution to the problem of the black bars seen in letterboxed widescreen, on 16x9 TVs. If a studio prepares an anamorphic transfer of a widescreen film for DVD, a 16x9 TV can display it with nearly full vertical resolution, while still showing you the full horizontal film image. The improvement in picture quality is dramatic. It works like this: a widescreen film is transferred to video from an anamorphic print (the actual film frame appears horizontally squeezed), or it can be electronically squeezed after the transfer. That video is then compressed via MPEG-2, and encoded onto your DVD (I'm oversimplifying again, but you get the idea). If you were to view the actual image on the DVD, it would appear squeezed on your TV (more on that in a minute). Now, before you can play the disc, you have to make sure that your DVD player knows what type of TV set you have - a current 4x3 TV, or a new widescreen 16x9 TV. This simply involves using your remote to enter the setup menu, and making the appropriate menu selection (see your player manual for specific instructions). Once this is done, if you play the DVD on a 16x9 widescreen TV, the TV itself will unsqueeze the image, so that it looks normal and fills the frame vertically, while still showing you the whole widescreen image. If you have a normal 4x3 TV, your player performs a clever digital trick - it unsqueezes the picture electronically, then deletes about every 4th line of horizontal resolution, and adds black bars on the top and bottom, to create a standard letterboxed image. So the first advantage of utilizing the anamorphic widescreen capabilities of DVD, is that the discs you buy today will not only look great on your existing TV, they'll look even better in a few years, when you get around to buying a widescreen Digital TV. On the flip side, DVDs that are not presented in anamorphic widescreen, but just regular letterboxed widescreen, will look terrible. That's because in order to have them fill the display on a 16x9 TV without the black bars, the TV will have to electronically magnify the image. Every flaw on the print will be enhanced, and the lack of resolution will become much more visible. The difference in quality between anamorphic and non-anamorphic widescreen on a 16x9 TV is stunning. Bottom line - in a few years, you'll want to throw away all of those non-anamorphic DVDs, and you'll be very happy that some studios were thinking ahead."</span> There's a great looking Panasonic 47" HDTV for like $1800 that's been getting pretty good reviews. I was thinking about possibly getting one. That is the cheapest I have seen on at that size. Surf [This message has been edited by Surfguy (edited June 04, 2001).]
What's the model number please ------------------ I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
Surf, is that the new Panasonic? If so, Jiggaman, its model number is PT47WX49. If not, I have no idea which one he's talking about. ------------------ "Light travels faster than sound, so some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak." -- Brian Williams (now Bison Dele) commenting on Isiah Thomas.
"Yeah....that's the one, DoD!" says Surfguy, after digging through his kitchen trash to find the mail advertisement from OneCall where he originally saw it. From that moment on, Surfguy would never be the same. The smell was all around him; he couldn't breathe. With my last gasp, I stab at thee that <font style="Tahoma" size="1">"...I think you still need the HDTV tuner...cough...cough"</font> and fades away as the trash consumes him. Surf [This message has been edited by Surfguy (edited June 04, 2001).]
I just bought one in January. Its the Mitsubishi 73905 HDTV. This thing is just awesome. The reason one is not suppose to watch 4:3 programming on a 16:9 TV is because the black bars on the side of the screen can burn the screen up after quite some time. Get the TV if you plan on watching movies on a Progressive Scan DVD player or if you are thinking of purchasing the RCA HDTV reciever. Otherwise there is not much use for it. ------------------
You guys seem like you know a lot about tv's. here is my problem. Im looking for a good tv, not necessarily hdtv, but good and willing to spend some cash (no more than 2500 or so) but I have size constraint. Where I live there is a built in spot for a nice 16:9 tv. However, the dimensions are about 35 H, 24 D, and 54 W. Now the obvious problem is the height. All of these good tvs, especially the projection ones, are too high because of the bases which are often speakers that come with them. Any ideas? The one solution I have thus far found is the RCA F38310. It has a built in HDTV receiver. However, Im not necessarily sold on HDTV yet. My parents have it on a Mitsubishi and there just isnt enough programming at the moment. Perhaps for the future there will be, but Im the type of guy who is willing to buy and even newer, more advanced, better tv in 4-5 years if HDTV has finally caught on. Thus, I dont want to pay the extra price for the RCA cause the receiver is built in. Anybody now of any really good tube tv's that would fit well in the space mentioned above? Thanks in advance. ------------------ I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
anybody??? ------------------ I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
Check out this TV: http://www.toshiba.com/tacp/tv/CW34X92.html Pretty good ratings too: http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/TV_Large/product_48237.shtml Here are some on ebay right now: http://cgi.ebay.aol.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1243674926 http://cgi.ebay.aol.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1242331807 And yeah HDTV does not have alot of programming (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, HBO, and a HD demo channel) but man oh man there is a big differnce when you watch program on these channels. I say the NCAA Finals on CBS and let me tell you its better then being there in real life. There are suppose to be more channels on HD soon, but I dont know exactly when. This TV also is capable of utilizing a progressive scan DVD player. The clarity of a good progressive scan dvd player is about as good as HD. So even if you dont get to watch any HD stuff your tv is still good to watch movies in progressive mode. With a progressive scan dvd player you dont have the problem of strecthed images. The clarity is just AWESOME! Also be sure to get DirecTV with your TV. they have this one demo channel that is just awesome to watch. This tv is out of production, but I am sure you could still find one. This does not fit your criteria for width, but its the best I could do. I am no expert on hightech video-audio stuff, so be sure to check up on things on audioreview.com ------------------ [This message has been edited by R0ckets03 (edited June 06, 2001).]
JayZ, also check out the Sony Vegas, I think the dimensions will be within your needs and great T.V. ------------------ I eat nutria now..courtesy of mc mark!!!
Not yet... still have to do some shopping around im very anal on things like that dont want to buy a big piece of crap you know. probably go with the 36 inch sony wega though, maybe an xbr if im willing to spend the cash. i just cant find any other good tv's that fit the previously mentioned dimensions i would be more down with hdtv, but as of now, basic time warner cable is included as part of our HOA fees. I figure, myswell save some money on that and upgrade to a good digital package versus going ahead and getting satellite. if in a few years im still living there, i might make the switch to satellite and a good hdtv then which should be more advanced, possibly in terms of broadband, satellite internet, etc. For now I just want a real good tv to watch clear digital cable on. any other suggestions would be appreciated. question: on those projection tv's, ala Toshiba 40X80 (or something like that)...the bottom parts are necessary, correct? ------------------ I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
I seem to be keeping this thread alive myself, but if anyone cares, I went with the Sony 36inch XBR Wega-- being delivered on MOnday. ALso got a nice SOny DVD player--I think the 5700 model, and a reciever--surround soud is already built in. The DVD player works great so far and has even made a crappy tv look good. Cant wait till the whole system is set-up. Serious question- Everybody north of town who has Digital Cable says it really sucks. DOes it suck down here too---Memorial area?? Has anyone tried HDTV off of digital cable?? Thanks in advance ------------------ I hope, when they die, cartoon characters have to answer for their sins.
I was looking for a flatscreen tv and two stores I went to, Computer City and Best Buy, had reps that told me the Wegas were initially among the most-returned products. He also said they get a lot of returns on flatscreens. I compared a Panasonic Tau series to the Sony's and thought the Panasonic looked far better. One of the guys at Best Buy told me "wait till you see when we get the Toshibas; I think those have the best picture out of all of them". For me, it won't matter... I'm sticking with my piddly 27" ProScan until I get a house... then all hell's breaking loose. 65" 16:9 Sony Widescreen-in-the-middle-of-my-media-room, here I come... ------------------ "Light travels faster than sound, so some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak." -- Brian Williams (now Bison Dele) commenting on Isiah Thomas. [This message has been edited by Dr of Dunk (edited June 09, 2001).]