Yours must be the only one then.
What is the point ?

If you're watching 16:9 on a 4:3 tv then why not just set it to letterboxed?

The borders are slightly larger and the picture is complete

Only Philips could come up with such a feature

Sorry but they do, still, 16:9 in a 4:3 frame, Film24 and movies4men also do it, the major channels don't though.

No they don't.
If a channel airs anamorphic 16:9 material and it's in a 4:3 frame thats because the Widescreen Switching Signal has not been sent as it should be .

CBS Action did this for the first few episodes of Star Trek TOS when it had been butchered into a 16:9 version , but as the WSS was not broadcast as it should be the viewer was forced to adjust the ratio on their tv itself.

After a few days they got it right and the WSS was present although I've not looked for a while.

Mainstream channels won't do it because they are not as technically incompetent as some of the low budget channels.

What you are referring to is a cock up thats all.

Go back a few years and widescreen films were always shown in 4:3 and depending on how the credits appeared , somewere letterboxed but some had the entire 2.35;1 image squashed into a 4:3 box (because nobody had 16:9 tv's) and once the credits ended the film reverted to pan and scan rather than squeezing

Eh, where did I say anamorphic, the whole point it they are not anamorphic, they transmit 16:9 with hard coded black bars on the top & bottom, yes, they still do it as the small channels can't afford to buy anamorphic versions of everything.

People, people does it really matter? Lets all take a deep breath! And relax.............................

What an odd thing to post on a forum where debate and discussion is commonplace.

Wrong.


How so when it's in the correct ratio? It's no different than C4 in that respect.

What's wrong with the 16:9 letterbox setting on it?

Well, home screens are hardly small these days. Mine's 37".

Then the material is not squeezed then is it ?
Which is what we were talking about

That is a 4:3 broadcast with 16:9 image letterboxed - not a 16:9 broadcast.

ITV rarely show 2.35:1 films in the correct ratio.
Assuming they do sometimes , how can a genuine film fan tolerate cuts and ads when virtually all films will have a superior alternative via dvd or Bluray

Actually it's not clear, VirginMediaPhil said:

"It's no so much stretched 4:3 on a 16:9 TV I hate - it's seeing a 16:9 picture squished into 4:3 I hate the most."

which could well mean 16:9 in a 4:3 frame

A 16:9 picture that is squished into a 4:3 frame does not refer to a letterboxed image - which is what you are referring to.
This is where we are at cross purposes , but please note your definition is wrong.
I don't think anyone else has ever /will ever say a letterboxed image is "squished".

Phew- we can move on now

After the watershed they're not going to cut the majority of the kind of films they show. They used to, but they've got a lot better in that respect. Five are more likely to censor these days. Long gone are the days of the Robocop TV version.

As for ads, on a PVR it doesn't matter. I might watch the ITV broadcast and then get the Blu-ray later if I like it.

Films can be cut simply for time rather than content , but I don't know how that works today.
Late night films have the risk of having sign language on them although thats one advantage of the HD channel - no SL when the film is in HD

An IMAX screen is over 1,000 inches. Your screen (and mine) is small.

But an IMAX screen will look awful if its displaying a dvd

Some TVs also have a named 14:9 option.

And Humax, and Sagum, and Hitachi, and Technika...

Mine is most certainly not the only one. Some call it "14:9 Letterbox". And I don't want it on 16:9 letterbox because then the picture becomes too small for me and text is illegible.

Depends how late and whether it's a premiere or not (C4 once told me an overnight film that's a premiere would NOT have the SL, but a repeat of a film could do).

As for time, well, overnight most channels show stuff that can be easily eaten into like simulcast news and shopping nonsense. The biggest pain is Five's insistence to show 15-rated films on Sunday teatime, including When Harry Met Sally, of all films!, which means cuts for sure.

16:9 is not any more of a hardship for you than 14:9, and if you can't read text on a 14" 4:3 screen for a 16:9 programme/film then I have to say you do need glasses. (I'm not being flippant here, I'm getting to this point myself - not for your situation, but I've just generally reached that age )

I know, I know, I'm awkward. But hopefully these few points will relieve your anger! I'm not trying to have a joke at you by the way, I'm just saying that...
[LIST=1][*]It's my loft TV that I only use when guests come over. All other TVs are widescreen.[*]You'll probably never come to my house, and as I've seen videos of you on TV on your YouTube channel, I have never met you before either.[*]No I do not need glasses, I just prefer it that way. My eyes are actually perfect. I'm not that old, lol.[/LIST]

I have a Humax and a Sky box and a V+ , and none have a 14:9 option because its not a digital broadcasting format.

If you really want to use 14:9 then most tv's have that as a display option

Aww... I'm also in the North West and I was hoping to come over and perform my DomSezXL rants live in your house

...and while your back's turned, I'll secretly alter your digibox's settings so it goes back to 16:9

Actually, I did a similar thing when I once went to a mate's house. They had a Sky box set to 'letterbox 16:9' on a 16:9 TV. While they went into the kitchen to make dinner, I quickly grabbed the remote and corrected it so the people onscreen no longer looked like the Roly Polys. They didn't spot a thing