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Do most people watch 4:3 content on widescreen TVs stretched or with black bars? |
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#1 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 79
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Do most people watch 4:3 content on widescreen TVs stretched or with black bars?
I've been wanting to know for some time if the majority of people with widescreen (16:9) TVs tend to watch old 4:3 programmes stretched into the 16:9 ratio, causing the picture to look wider than it really is, or do most put it into its proper ratio with black bars at the side, which is what I do.
I've been wondering this for some time now because when I use many other people's TVs and put it temporarily into 4:3 to watch something old, they question why the image looks all tall and not right, meaning that they have got used to seeing that programme fat. Is this the case for the majority of people, where they watch 4:3 stretched, or do most get the TVshow the black bars at the side (which is noticeable at first but soon you forget that they're there)? Also, another question regarding 16:9 CRT tvs, since I switched directly from a 4:3 CRT tv to a HD 16:9 LCD display. Were these TVs able to display 4:3 content with black bars at the side like the modern TVs are, or could they only display old content stretched? I know that they could display 16:9 content well, but did they offer support for correct 4:3 viewing too? |
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#2 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Edinburgh
Posts: 7,839
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Black bars every time.
I wouldn't want to watch a sideways-stretched picture or lose the top and bottom of the picture when zooming it. I went from 4:3 CRT to a widescreen LCD, too, so I can't help with your query. |
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#3 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 79
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Quote:
I wouldn't want to watch a sideways-stretched picture or lose the top and bottom of the picture when zooming it.
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#4 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 14,718
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Grey bars for me as I have a plasma. Always 4:3 though never fattyvision.
If you have a Pace Sky box though you may not have a choice as some TVs do not allow you to manually alter the aspect ratio on HD HDMI. |
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#5 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: TheEssexSunshineCoast Clacton
Posts: 15,224
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I hate it when its stretched would rather have the bars than for it to be zoomed in to.
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#6 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Quote:
Also, another question regarding 16:9 CRT tvs, since I switched directly from a 4:3 CRT tv to a HD 16:9 LCD display. Were these TVs able to display 4:3 content with black bars at the side like the modern TVs are, or could they only display old content stretched? I know that they could display 16:9 content well, but did they offer support for correct 4:3 viewing too?
You need to be aware though that all broadcasts were only 4:3 - 16:9 were simply broadcast with black bands top and bottom. The 16:9 CRT set then stretched it to fit vertically, so it was lower resolution than normal 4:3. This is one reason the USA never went widescreen (prior to HD), because their pictures were lower resolution to begin with, and they couldn't afford to lower it even more. |
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#7 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Kent
Posts: 8,955
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I always used to watched stretched more so with DVDs, but since Netflix, Blu Ray & HD channels 4:3 with black bars down the side is the norm and doesn't bother me in the slightest.
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#8 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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Nowadays I always have 4x3 displayed as 4x3, no stretchy vision.
However if you have a tiny LCD, 4x3 will look very small, so stretchy mode is prolly ok in that situation. Btw, by tiny I mean screen size of say under 20inch. |
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#9 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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We could widen this discussion to say why do so many people like their picture burned out or over vibrant.
Ex. When our friend and neighbour got a new large screen LCD, she could barely see the difference between sd and hd (due to how it was setup). After I checked and fixed the settings such as putting the digi box into 1080 output, she agreed she could see the difference. Then I put a film on, and put the TV is Movie mode display - and this didn't go down well......too dark, too dark! But that's how it should be I said, no no no, too dark.... |
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#10 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Cornwall (at last!)
Posts: 5,641
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We seem to have come a long way. It wasn't so many years ago that people were demanding on DS that everything should be stretched (and writing to the broadcasters).
The thrust of the argument being that they's paid a lot of money for wide screen real estate and they wanted it filled. They hadn't paid to watch black bars. |
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#11 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 625
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I used to be a stickler for ensuring everything was displayed in the correct aspect ratio. But nowadays, almost all my "serious" viewing is HD anyway, so displays correctly. As for the rest, the SD stuff that's most likely to be in 4:3, well it's a crappy picture anyway (compared to HD), so I'm not so bothered now if it appears in fatty-vision. It also makes channel-surfing quicker as there's no lag when the set switches from one ratio to another.
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#12 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 14,718
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Quote:
You need to be aware though that all broadcasts were only 4:3 - 16:9 were simply broadcast with black bands top and bottom.
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#13 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Nottingham
Posts: 5,592
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Always black bars for me.
Was demonstrating my TV to a colleague, who was interested in buying the same model, and he questioned how to change the screen mode when he saw the black bars. Told him that it was the correct aspect ratio and recommended not to use that button (keep it on AUTO), but he didn't seem to be convinced. It's like some people think they are getting short-changed if their screen is not completely full of image all the time. |
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#14 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 14,718
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Quote:
It's like some people think they are getting short-changed if their screen is not completely full of image all the time.
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#15 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 79
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It seems that the vast majority of people on Digital Spy watch 4:3 material with bars, however we need to remember that those on here are likely to be more concerned with the image looking correct than the general population. Because the majority of other people that I know seem to watch old stuff in fattyvision mode. Was it really worth buying a 16:9 TV in the early 2000's if you didn't have digital TV and even then it might not have been worth it since only the four analogue providers were using a widescreen ratio at that time. Were any others doing so?
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#16 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 14,718
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Quote:
It seems that the vast majority of people on Digital Spy watch 4:3 material with bars, however we need to remember that those on here are likely to be more concerned with the image looking correct than the general population. Because the majority of other people that I know seem to watch old stuff in fattyvision mode. Was it really worth buying a 16:9 TV in the early 2000's if you didn't have digital TV and even then it might not have been worth it since only the four analogue providers were using a widescreen ratio at that time. Were any others doing so?
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#17 |
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Guest
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 8,103
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Quote:
It seems that the vast majority of people on Digital Spy watch 4:3 material with bars, however we need to remember that those on here are likely to be more concerned with the image looking correct than the general population. Because the majority of other people that I know seem to watch old stuff in fattyvision mode. Was it really worth buying a 16:9 TV in the early 2000's if you didn't have digital TV and even then it might not have been worth it since only the four analogue providers were using a widescreen ratio at that time. Were any others doing so?
VHS had widescreen versions early 90's. DVD were widescreen when released in 1997. It's not only 4x3 that gets butchered, ratios like 2.35:1 get zoomed to full screen, I wonder if the person knows what they are really doing, losing picture information and picture quality. I suppose they are more bothered about filling the screen. |
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#18 |
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Inactive Member
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: BUDDIETOWN
Posts: 20,385
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used to have them in "cinema mode", where the edges were stretched, and was perfectly happy with it!
now i zoom the picture in and have the option of moving the screen vertically, as virtually all the old programs can be viewed centrally, but with a slight scroll up the way |
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#19 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 11,708
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Nearly always 4:3, although I'll often flip through the five or six picture formats my TV provides. I think old episodes of Family Guy are ones that I'll sometimes change to fill the screen without it being too noticeable.
I wonder how many people were trying to alter the first episode in series 2 of Utopia
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#20 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Derbyshire
Posts: 41,794
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Anyone got the boxed set of The West Wing?, we had a customer bring it in a year or two back - just one of the DVD's in the set was in a completely obscure format - with black bars top, bottom, and sides, which you couldn't get rid of. The other discs were fine.
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#21 |
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Guest
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 8,103
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Quote:
Anyone got the boxed set of The West Wing?, we had a customer bring it in a year or two back - just one of the DVD's in the set was in a completely obscure format - with black bars top, bottom, and sides, which you couldn't get rid of. The other discs were fine.
I've needed to do this on a few discs that have not got an anamorphic transfer. |
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#22 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Durham
Posts: 33
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Quote:
DVD were widescreen when released in 1997.
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#23 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: S.West England.
Posts: 18,037
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And don't forget, if something was made on studio video in 4x3 and not changed in anyway, then mastered to DVD, the picture would still be 4x3. I have many old TV progs which were originally made in 4x3 format and later sold on DVD with no changes other than a front menu screen. Those DVDs are all in 4x3 format.
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#24 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,008
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I think most people, barring DS members, watch fatty vision. Recently I've seen in two different houses satellite boxes set to 4:3 and the punters watching everything in fatty vision on 16:9 TVs. In one case the TV was a recent replacement for a 4:3 CRT.
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#25 |
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Forum Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 79
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Quote:
I think most people, barring DS members, watch fatty vision. Recently I've seen in two different houses satellite boxes set to 4:3 and the punters watching everything in fatty vision on 16:9 TVs. In one case the TV was a recent replacement for a 4:3 CRT.
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