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Letterbox question

225 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by  Bandito
OK, I haven't taken the HDTV dive just yet, but I was wondering something. Several shows (ER, Angel, West Wing) have been broadcasting the NTSC in letterbox (16:9). In particular, I noticed the WB logo on Angel was partially in the lower black bar on my 4:3 TV. If I get an HDTV, will it expand those picutures so they appear full screen? I realize it won't be HD, but will it expand or give me bars on 4 sides of the pic. Also, will any brands sense this automatically and switch from 4:3 to 16:9?


Thanks guys!
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Unfortunately, NBC has yet to pull their heads out and convert the shows you mentioned to their proper aspect ratio on the digital broadcast. So yes, you will get 4 black bars on each side. Since the 4 black bars are being broadcast, most, if not all tvs or projectors will think this is a proper 16x9 broadcast and it will not be able to convert it automatically. I have a Mits HDTV and I cannot zoom on 1080i content even if I wanted to. I understand that many HDTVs have a zoom feature for 1080i which would be great for the NBC situation. Good luck, and don't let this joke of a network keep you from going high def.
Here in Salt Lake, our local NBC affiliate, KSL, zooms all of the letterbox SD programs so that they fill the screen on their digital feed! I guess we're luckier than I realized.
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