I'm new to widescreen tv's. I have a 50 inch plasma now and have a question about the black bars top and bottom. Primarily because its recommended not to have them to prevent burn ins.

My screen is 16:9, my video is 16:9 yet there is extra space. One thing I can do is zoom in, but that causes clipping. So where is the feature to stretch the top and bottom to match? Or more importantly why dont they match?

Would I point my fingers to the DVD player or my tv.

tv: 050s601 hitachi
dvd: pioneer ultra dvd player (not sure of the model)

They don't match because some movies are shot extra wide, therefor you see more picture side to side. I guess its a plus and minus.

Stretching top and bottom, wouldnt that stretch your picture?

get a projector, add an anamorphic lens, then you will get a true cinematic picture without the bars................this isnt a cheap solution. nothing really else to do for tvs....................

I'm new to widescreen tv's. I have a 50 inch plasma now and have a question about the black bars top and bottom. Primarily because its recommended not to have them to prevent burn ins.

My screen is 16:9, my video is 16:9 yet there is extra space. One thing I can do is zoom in, but that causes clipping. So where is the feature to stretch the top and bottom to match? Or more importantly why dont they match?

Would I point my fingers to the DVD player or my tv.

tv: 050s601 hitachi
dvd: pioneer ultra dvd player (not sure of the model)

Welcome to OAR, or "Original Aspect Ratio". Only movies in 1.78:1 or 1.85:1 will completely fill your screen. All others will have black bars, since your TV is a fixed 16:9, and the image is sized to fit the screen at its largest dimension (width) only. As you mentioned, you can use the screen zoom feature. Be aware that many sets won't allow you to zoom if the signal is HD (720p, 1080i/p), so it would be up to the player's capabilities in that case (many of those don't either). :)

thx all for your replies, ya as I learned its not always 19:9. For the most part it never is. I need to stretch to prevent ghosting and burning( just being precautions, not sure the severity yet.) I found my dvd player was set to 4:3 that being the biggest problem, and I found a way to get my computer source to stretch it. For now its working out for me. Thx again.

Burn-in is more of a threat if you watch programs that continuously display logos or ticker-tape running displays. Say, FOX News or CNN. The National Geographic Channel used a solid bright logo when they first started up and they got a LOT of complaints. Unless you watch all your movies in a single aspect ratio and they stay on-screen continuously-like in a store display-I wouldn't worry too much about burn-in from them. If your set's contrast is maxed out it will accelerate any burn-in and shorten its life, so I'd start by lowering contrast until whites look gray then raising it until they just look white again.