I prefer stretched. A 30" wide loses a lot of real estate on 4:3.
Tennis: ESPNHD vs. NBC
In Seattle right now, the two different French Open men's semifinals are on ESPNHD and Digital NBC simultaneously. Why can't ESPN learn from the NBC broadcast? The digital 4x3 showing on NBC is far more viewable than the stretched out ESPN HD programming. The analog ESPN is not nearly as clear on my 34XBR but is easier to watch than the stretched version.
What is ESPN's ultimate plan? Am I the only one who would prefer a 4x3 digital broadcast over a stretched 16x9? Of course, I'm waiting for 16x9 HD but...
What is ESPN's ultimate plan? Am I the only one who would prefer a 4x3 digital broadcast over a stretched 16x9? Of course, I'm waiting for 16x9 HD but...
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
(here we go again...)
I prefer 4x3, or more specifically OAR.
We have a 38" direct-view HDTV and a 115" FP.
My wife always says "it's silly to buy a widescreen display and only use the midle 75% of it! ".
I always say "it's silly to buy a high quality, high definition display and then distort the picture like silly putty! "
In my house, the argument winner is the one with the remote. However, on both of my receivers if the signal is HD, I can't manipulate it (to stretch it or unstretch it).
There's always going to be people in both camps -- the fault lies more with the receiver manufacturers assuming the type of content that will be on each format. Let me manipulate at will.
I prefer 4x3, or more specifically OAR.
We have a 38" direct-view HDTV and a 115" FP.
My wife always says "it's silly to buy a widescreen display and only use the midle 75% of it! ".
I always say "it's silly to buy a high quality, high definition display and then distort the picture like silly putty! "
In my house, the argument winner is the one with the remote. However, on both of my receivers if the signal is HD, I can't manipulate it (to stretch it or unstretch it).
There's always going to be people in both camps -- the fault lies more with the receiver manufacturers assuming the type of content that will be on each format. Let me manipulate at will.
I agree. My Sony does a better job of stretching a 4x3 picture using the Wide Zoom mode than ESPNHD. For tennis, I use the Zoom mode since a lot of the screen real estate is wasted. However, I can only stretch the analog channel and not the HD 4x3 feed. My preferences are:
16x9 HD (Sopranos, Mariners on HD)
16x9 windowboxed digital stretched with Zoom to fill screen (VOD of Six Feet Under)
4x3 Digital (Scrubs)
4x3 Analog (Mariners on analog)
4x3 Analog stretched by television to Wide Zoom or Zoom
4x3 Digital stretched by station (ESPNHD on almost all sports!)
16x9 HD (Sopranos, Mariners on HD)
16x9 windowboxed digital stretched with Zoom to fill screen (VOD of Six Feet Under)
4x3 Digital (Scrubs)
4x3 Analog (Mariners on analog)
4x3 Analog stretched by television to Wide Zoom or Zoom
4x3 Digital stretched by station (ESPNHD on almost all sports!)
I have a 32" 4:3 Sammy HD so i prefer 4:3 to stay 4:3. If all stations and networks do this, there would be no need to change wide modes so many times, even on the same channel that does both non-stretch and stretch, such as KABC and KTLA in LA. This would be beneficial to both 16:9 and 4:3 sets, as you just leave the wide mode at one setting.
1 - 6 of 6 Posts
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
AVS Forum
A forum community dedicated to home theater owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about home audio/video, TVs, projectors, screens, receivers, speakers, projects, DIY’s, product reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Top Contributors this Month
View All
WilliamR
961 Replies
BASSAHOLIC
529 Replies
bass addict
401 Replies
Recommended Communities
