[Philosofy]

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!

 

[ADebar]

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.

 

[Bandito]

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.