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Aspect Ratio, Education
Rick Shutterman
16-04-2009
I'm a professional photographer by profession and as such I visit many people's homes for portraits, pre wedding shoots etc. And one thing that I spot more with peoples' TVs,more often than not, especially with a Sky or Cable box and a 16:9 screen is that invariably the box is obviously set to 4:3 and the TV is zoomed for the picture to fit the screen. Consequently there are great chunks of picture missing either side and people seem to think that this is normal!

Now I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that the installers of the set-top-box, whether it's satellite or cable, aren't taking the care to set up the box correctly or in some cases, possibly don't even realise that aspect ratios exist.

Just an observation that frustrates me

Richard
Deacon1972
16-04-2009
Originally Posted by Rick Shutterman:
“I'm a professional photographer by profession and as such I visit many people's homes for portraits, pre wedding shoots etc. And one thing that I spot more with peoples' TVs,more often than not, especially with a Sky or Cable box and a 16:9 screen is that invariably the box is obviously set to 4:3 and the TV is zoomed for the picture to fit the screen. Consequently there are great chunks of picture missing either side and people seem to think that this is normal!

Now I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that the installers of the set-top-box, whether it's satellite or cable, aren't taking the care to set up the box correctly or in some cases, possibly don't even realise that aspect ratios exist.

Just an observation that frustrates me

Richard”

If the 4x3 image has been zoomed to fit a 16x9 screen there will be no loss of image, this is because the 4x3 image is just being stretched to fill the screen.

Loss of image occurs when they zoom a 2:35:1 ratio, or one of the other wider aspect ratio presentations - those with bars top/bottom. Image is lost to the sides as it has to zooms the image in to fit the screen top and bottom.

Yes it looks strange and it's not the way I watch TV, but there will be those out there that prefer it that way, no amount of education will persuade them to change their view which is basically their own personal preference/choice.

So long as I know I have the correct ratio selected that's all that really matters to me.
Rick Shutterman
16-04-2009
The bits that are missing are the detail that would be there with a 16:9 broadcast. You're quite right, the stretched 4:3 image will still be all there, but it's when there is a 16:9 broadcast that it looks all wrong.

I still think that possibly the easiest thing to do, especially now, when most TVs are 16:9 is to have the boxes set to 16:9 by default
Deacon1972
16-04-2009
Originally Posted by Rick Shutterman:
“The bits that are missing are the detail that would be there with a 16:9 broadcast. You're quite right, the stretched 4:3 image will still be all there, but it's when there is a 16:9 broadcast that it looks all wrong.

I still think that possibly the easiest thing to do, especially now, when most TVs are 16:9 is to have the boxes set to 16:9 by default”

This is where it can get complicated or confusing, especially with multichannel TV.

Some channels will broadcast the content in it's OAR, some don't, others will stretch the image and there will be no way you can get the original AR to show on screen.

The TV I have is set to 4x3 on Freeview but it auto switches for 16x9.

My Sky HD box is set to 16x9 but then there are some channels like Sky Sports that refuse to transmit the OAR, so I'm stuck with a total mess onscreen.

I agree it should be a case of one setting on the stb/TV and everything should auto switch to the correct ratio. I also agree there should be features on the stb/TV to allow viewers to watch it how they like - and most importantly broadcasters should always broadcast the content they have been given in it's original state without messing about with it.

While we have SD/HD and a mixture of 4x3, 4x3 letterboxed, 16x9 the aspect ratio debate will carry on for many years to come.
Orbitalzone
16-04-2009
I suspect that many installers either don't understand the various widescreen aspect ratios or they can't be arsed to explain them.

Also it's quite clear that many people don't seem to notice or mind when 4/3 is stretched out to fill the 16/9 screen... they want to fill the screen regardless of what's technically correct. After all they paid for widescreen and that' what they want even if it's squashed, zoomed, distorted and usually max colour and contrast for good measure.
Nigel Goodwin
16-04-2009
Originally Posted by Orbitalzone:
“I suspect that many installers either don't understand the various widescreen aspect ratios or they can't be arsed to explain them.”

Going round installing new TV's it's amazing how many Sky boxes are set to 4:3 on the old 16:9 CRT set, and to PAL as well. Mostly it's where Sky have replaced the customers box, they just chuck the box in, and don't bother setting it up at all. New installs are most often OK, it's mostly the replacement boxes that are set wrong.
josephcavor
16-04-2009
Originally Posted by Deacon1972:
“If the 4x3 image has been zoomed to fit a 16x9 screen there will be no loss of image, this is because the 4x3 image is just being stretched to fill the screen.

.”

I know you are a bit of a pedant yourself so I'm sure you wont mind me pointing out that if the picture is "zoomed" then it is not stretched.

A 4:3 image zoomed to fill 16:9 WILL lose image from the top and bottom.

Similarly a 16:9 letterboxed image on a 4:3 broadcast will not lose image but will lose quality when zoomed

Its the "panorama" or "auto" or "wide" or "16:9" mode on tv's that will stretch or distort the image to varying degrees.

But another example of some of the people for whom HD is an irrelevance
StoppingService
17-04-2009
Hi

Originally Posted by Rick Shutterman:
“I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that the installers of the set-top-box, whether it's satellite or cable, aren't taking the care to set up the box correctly...”

Isn't it much more likely that the consumer had a 4:3 TV when the STB was installed, they then bought and installed a 16:9 TV themselves, without adjusting the STB to suit?

Regards
bobcar
17-04-2009
Originally Posted by StoppingService:
“Hi



Isn't it much more likely that the consumer had a 4:3 TV when the STB was installed, they then bought and installed a 16:9 TV themselves, without adjusting the STB to suit?

Regards”

In the 4 cases I've corrected the set up (I'm not in the trade so only see friends and relatives) the STBs (SD) were all set up as 4:3 with the TV on forced widescreen so all programmes widescreen or not were viewed in fattyvision. These were all as left by the Sky installer. I've also corrected 2 NTL installations with the same problem.

P.S. Am i the only one who finds the use of the roll-eyes smiley rude? This is more so when it seems to be used to indicate the OP has missed something obvious when in fact it's the smiley user who may not be correct.
Orbitalzone
17-04-2009
I agree.... the rolled eyes icon is utterly awful... it suggests sarcasm, smugness or being an arse .....when often it's really used in jest or kind of like a virtual 'sigh'. I asked DS to remove it or change it as it bugs me so much and seems to cause much confusion and irritation on the forums.

edit- I note that when you hover over the icon it says 'Rolls Eyes Sarcastic'
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