[steven1977]

Watched something on ITV last night and when a advert came on because they showed old clips of the history they makers decided to shrink the screen by having horrible black boarders on the left and right side.

Was their really any need for this. It irrates the hell out of me when they do it with old wrestling footage because they broadcast it in HD or widescreen what ever the heck it is a little offputting.

Challenge doesnt do this. They any plenty of other channels air old programmes but they arent clipped like that.

[gottago]

They weren't shrinking it, that's how it was originally filmed. It's only really been in the last 15 years that TV programmes have been filmed in widescreen. They put black bars at the side because there's nothing else to show there. Looks much better than stretching the whole thing out to reach each side of the screen.

[steven1977]

Originally Posted by gottago

They weren't shrinking it, that's how it was originally filmed. It's only really been in the last 15 years that TV programmes have been filmed in widescreen. They put black bars at the side because there's nothing else to show there. Looks much better than stretching the whole thing out to reach each side of the screen.

It looks horrible on tv though. Id rather not see the boarders. Challenge did it once with PYCR and people complained and they fixed it the next day.

[degsyhufc]

And others would be upset if they steched the picture and made it look squashed.

[Charenton]

I find that if an old ITV programme made in 4:3 format is shown on our HD TV on the ITV HD channel then it displays black borders down the edges. If we switch it to the ITV SD channel the TV automatically stretches the picture to fit the screen.

[Fran Blakes]

I like to watch films/television shows as they are intended to be seen whether it's 4:3 16:9 or 2.35:1.

[Alrightmate]

Originally Posted by steven1977

It looks horrible on tv though. Id rather not see the boarders. Challenge did it once with PYCR and people complained and they fixed it the next day.

But if they filled the screen keeping it proportion you'd lose a lot of the picture.
The only alternative would be to stretch it horizontally.

I really don't think you'd have preferred either of those two options and the broadcast they actually gave you really was the best option.

[steven1977]

Originally Posted by Alrightmate

But if they filled the screen keeping it proportion you'd lose a lot of the picture.
The only alternative would be to stretch it horizontally.

I really don't think you'd have preferred either of those two options and the broadcast they actually gave you really was the best option.

Not one picture on challenge looks horrible.

[Alrightmate]

Originally Posted by steven1977

Not one picture on challenge looks horrible.

I thought you said that it was the black borders on each side which you didn't like.

What was it about the picture you found horrible?

[-GONZO-]

Originally Posted by steven1977

It looks horrible on tv though. Id rather not see the boarders. Challenge did it once with PYCR and people complained and they fixed it the next day.

Is your TVs aspect ratio set to 'AUTO'?
Try setting to a fixed 16:9/Widescreen ratio.

[flashwilson]

Originally Posted by -GONZO-

Is your TVs aspect ratio set to 'AUTO'?
Try setting to a fixed 16:9/Widescreen ratio.

This, when you see the borders change your tv's aspect ratio until it looks more to your liking.

[zx50]

Originally Posted by Fran Blakes

I like to watch films/television shows as they are intended to be seen whether it's 4:3 16:9 or 2.35:1.

Fully agree with this. Films etc aren't going to look very good when switched to an aspect ratio that it wasn't made for. Stretched isn't really a good look.

[MeicY]

Steven obviously works in Currys.

[steven1977]

Originally Posted by Alrightmate

I thought you said that it was the black borders on each side which you didn't like.

What was it about the picture you found horrible?

those black boarders.

[Andy2]

Programmes should be shown in their original format. If the show was made in 4:3, then it should be shown in 4:3. Attempting to fill the screen will result in distortion (making people look fat) or cropping (losing top and bottom of picture).
There is no other way. You cannot fill a 2:1 ratio with a 1.3:1 picture without distorting it.
Also, zooming a 4:3 pic up to fill the screen will make the picture quality plummet. Grain and noise becomes much more visible.
There's more to watching a TV picture than having it 'fill the screen at all costs'.

And it's BORDERS, not 'boarders'. A boarder is someone who stays in your house.

[James2001]

Originally Posted by steven1977

It looks horrible on tv though.

It doesn't, that's how I've been watching 4:3 content for years. Get used to it, because it's the standard way of showing 4:3 programmes on HD channels.

[steven1977]

Originally Posted by James2001

It doesn't, that's how I've been watching 4:3 content for years. Get used to it, because it's the standard way of showing 4:3 programmes on HD channels.

I dont have HD.

[D.Page]

The best way to set a widescreen TV, in my opinion, is to set aspect ratio switching to 4:3 (assuming your widescreen TV behaves in the same way, when set like this, as my Panasonic Viera TV). Whenever the TV senses the widescreen switching signal (the thin row of dashes just inside the vertical interval, but seen if you set your TV's overscan off) it displays the anamorphic picture in 16:9, and so with its correct proportions. When a 4:3 aspect ratio programme is being shown, it senses that there is no widescreen switching signal, and displays it in it's correct proportions - i.e. 4:3, with black bars either side. I'd rather watch a 4:3 programme in its correct proportions than having it like a 'hall of mirrors', with everybody too fat!

[StargateNerd_24]

Black bars are best.