When we got our LG 16x9 TV, I soon realized that widescreen movies I'd recorded from 4x3 SD channels did not display correctly. They can only be stretched horizontally or displayed in correct aspect ratio within a small 4x3 area in the middle of the 16x9 screen, as if we had reverted to a 4x3 TV! I keep discovering old DVDs of movies I'd bought that were not formatted for 16 x 9 TVs & thus have the same problem as movies recorded from 4x3 channels! I asked LG why they can't do what computer editing software can do: resize the picture horizontally & vertically while keeping the correct aspect ratio until the screen is filled horizontally, leaving space vertically. They said that, as far as they know, no 16x9 TV does this. This is my one big disappointment with 16x9 HD TVs.
16x9 HD TVs Don't Display 4x3 Format Widescreen Films Correctly
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I believe you answered your own question: the fact that the movies were recorded from a 4x3 source means the video is a 4x3 video. If you wanted 16x9 video, you should have recorded from a 16x9 source.
Also, just to make sure, is your dvd player set to output 16x9 and not 4x3?
Also, just to make sure, is your dvd player set to output 16x9 and not 4x3?
My DVD recorder is set to 16x9. Now that Turner Classic Movies has an HD channel, I am re-recording widescreen movies I'd recorded from their SD channel. My question remains, "Why can't makers of 16x9 TVs enable them to enlarge their display of widescreen movies formatted for 4x3 TVs, keeping the correct aspect ratio, as any computer photo editing software can do?
Our LG Infinia 42LV5400 TV has no resize keeping the original aspect ratio. It has a 4x3 choice for viewing SD channels & 4x3 movies, & a 16x9 choice for viewing HD channels & DVDs formatted for 16x9. It has Set by Program (useless), Just Scan (also useless) & Cinema Zoom, which enlarges the picture by cropping it. If I had known that it would not enlarge correctly widescreen movies formatted for 4x3 but other TVs could, I would have chosen a brand of TV that could.
It sounds like you want the TV to take a 4:3 image, enlarge it to fill the 16:9 screen without cropping it, all while still maintaining the correct aspect ratio. Since you repeatedly make the claim that any photo-editing software can do this, can you please post some samples of exactly what you are describing. Quite simply, you will either have to crop the image to maintain the aspect ratio, or you will need to stretch the image to fill the screen (retaining all the image data) at the expense of maintaining the aspect ratio.
Actually, Cinema Zoom 16 (see above, there are 16 selectable zoom levels, as well as vertical shifts in Cinema Zoom) offers the same zoom that most other HDTVs offer. I just checked it on my LG 26LE5300.
But again, read what he's actually asking for: He wants the TV to scale a 4:3 image to 16:9 without cropping or distorting it. Not possible anywhere.
But again, read what he's actually asking for: He wants the TV to scale a 4:3 image to 16:9 without cropping or distorting it. Not possible anywhere.
Thank you, kucharsk! Apparently, when LG support told me that no other 16x9 TVs can enlarge a display, keeping the original aspect ratio, they were wrong. Pugnax555 misunderstands me. Suppose I have a 1280x720 photo & think it still looks good enlarged to the 1920x1080 resolution of my computer's monitor. I can use a photo editing program to resize. Suppose I have a 6x4 photo. I can scan it & enlarge it setting the ratio to 6x4. A Cinemascope film on a commercial DVD that is not formatted for 16x9 TVs will display in correct aspect ratio only within a small 4x3 box in the middle of the screen of our LG TV. I want to enlarge it, keeping the aspect ratio, until the image fills the screen horizontally. A 1.87: 1 standard widescreen film I would want to enlarge to fill the entire 16x9 screen. Nobody else here seems to have this problem, so I must be unlucky in choosing the LG TV. Since my LG has WiFi & occasionally updates its software, I don't know why they could not update the display options.
As many of you in these threads know, I have a Panasonic DMR-EZ48V DVD recorder. This machine has an HDMI output. I have never seen what format the HDMI output generates since I have no HD sets. I am now in the market for my first HD set and I want to make sure I get one that will properly display the letterbox-format discs I've already recorded. My suspicion is that it stretches the 4:3 DVD image to 16:9. Can anyone confirm this? What does the Zoom function of the DVD recorder do with respect to the HDMI output? What other controls affect the format of the HDMI output?
I've downloaded several HDTV set manuals and they're all hopelessly lame at describing what their "Picture Format" controls actually do. I want to be able to connect my DVD recorder to the set via HDMI and adjust the picture so that the 16:9 portion of a letterboxed program will fill the screen. Can anyone guide me as to which sets have this capability?
I've downloaded several HDTV set manuals and they're all hopelessly lame at describing what their "Picture Format" controls actually do. I want to be able to connect my DVD recorder to the set via HDMI and adjust the picture so that the 16:9 portion of a letterboxed program will fill the screen. Can anyone guide me as to which sets have this capability?
Sometimes some TV’s do not give you the right options to zoom out the top, bottom and side black bars of a 4x3 letterboxed image. Mine does not. What you then need is a media player that will allow you to play DVD files and zoom/crop the 4X3 letterboxed image so it cuts out the useless black bars and fills your screen with the full letterboxed 4x3 image. Some expensive DVD/BD players like Oppos probably allow this too but you can do the same with a $50-$100 medial player off ebay too.
The DMR-EZ48V DVD recorder. has an option in the menu to set output as 4x3 but why watch discs on your expensive recorder and wear out the laser??? I would recommend getting a cheaper DVD player only and leave the EZ48 for recording only. It will last longer then. You may still need to set your TV aspect ratio as 4x3 too because sometimes when on auto like mine, it will display as 16x9 so then I need to manually set it to 4x3
The DMR-EZ48V DVD recorder. has an option in the menu to set output as 4x3 but why watch discs on your expensive recorder and wear out the laser??? I would recommend getting a cheaper DVD player only and leave the EZ48 for recording only. It will last longer then. You may still need to set your TV aspect ratio as 4x3 too because sometimes when on auto like mine, it will display as 16x9 so then I need to manually set it to 4x3
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