Our ever so brillent Panasonic only gives you the choice of Auto (I.e. Anamoric) and Stretch-O-Vision when you are connecting via SCART and you tell the Sky Box you have a 16:9 set.

If you say you have a 4:3 set, and want letterboxing you can get it in the correct proportions, the same is true regardless of Sky Box settings in UHF mode. Highly annoying though.

Yea we have a panasonic set too, its usually left on auto with 4:3 default unless anamorphic widescreen detected or if its 4:3 with black bars at top and bottom then it'll stretch it out..for example the ads on the music channels

You may be amused (or horrified ) to read that we bought a 29" 4:3 Sony WEGA TV specifically so that we could watch the majority of Cable programmes in 4:3 “Letterbox” mode.

This gives us an effective "letterbox" picture of 21.25" x 12.75" with a diagonal of 25"

This also (of course) gives us a 4:3 picture of 21.25" x 16" with a diagonal 26.75"

But why didn't we buy a 24" Wide Screen ?

Well the 24" W/S and the 29" 4:3 Sony WEGA TVs were pretty close to being the same physical width (W/S=69cm / 4:3=60cm) and they had to fit into the 32" space between our chimneybreast and the wall !!

When myself and my wife compared the 4:3 image on the 24" W/S (with the vertical black sidebands) and the Letterbox image on the 29" 4:3 (with the horizontal top and bottom bands) we decided that we were getting a better deal with the 29" 4:3 - especially as both TVs were priced the same at £500

Visitors think that we are mad watching 4:3 Letterbox and like those reported in previous threads most of the visitors hanker after a "fully-filled" screen, immaterial of the aspect !

As a (tongue-in-cheek) “test” (of a visitor’s ill perception) I demonstrated “Wide-screen” mode on the 29” 4:3 to one visitor - and would you believe it - he was really impressed !!! (of course he was completely blind to the fact that heads and feet were cut) he asked "if every TV had a zoom control?" as he thought it was a “cool” feature and he couldn’t wait to get home and muck about with his own set (god help his family) !!!!!

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Quote:
“Remember, there are 10 types of people in this world.
Those people who understand Binary, and those people who don't !!

Please Note: No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant free message.
However, we do concede, a significant number of electrons (or holes) may have been inconvenienced.”

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I've noticed that Channel 4 News and Big Brother both use Plasma screens on their sets and have them set to stretchyvision mode - as they are both broadcast in 4:3. What hope have we got of explaining to people about true 16:9 widescreen when they see this as part of these programmes?

i have a wharfdale m5 dvd player and play r1 dvds on it. when i have set to multi region instead off pal it wont go to widescreen. has anybody got any answers about this. my tv is thomson 28 widescreen on auto.

Could be related to another problem - widescreen switching (and the lack of any standards). With widescreen switching signals being sent either via RGB scart (pin 8) or embedded in the video signal (good old line 23), you do get the problem that not everything which produces a widescreen picture bothers to tell your telly, and I guess this adds to people leaving their TVs in 16:9 mode not the proper auto mode. It doesn't help that SKY etc only provide WSS via the RGB scart.

Incidentally digibear, I have a similar problem with my old pioneer player (via s-video and set to auto pal/ntsc output) - PAL works fine and delivers the WSS over line 23, with NTSC the TV switches into NTSC but NOT into wide mode - I have to do that myself. Pain.

I have a plasma screen, and used to watch 4x3 broadcasts (i.e. most things on sky till now) with black bars down the side...BAD MOVE - this has now left "screen burn" on either side of my screen which is particularlly noticeable when watching any widescreen content with pale colours (skies, snow etc)

If you are contemplating buying a plasma screen or have just got one, DO NOT watch in 4x3!

Apparently, this screen burn is irreversible...
...unless anyone knows differently?

We could draw them a 16:9 ratio box and then trying fitting a 16:12 box into it.

Anyone that I ever try to explain 1.33:1, 1.85:1, 2.35:1 to just gets lost but then these are the type of individuals that would say "...what do you need to learn Maths for in school? It's dated." People just want it to easy. They are just not interested in the technicalities. Many thinking it's beneath them when really it's miles above them.

Luckily enough I am mathematical which is probably why I, like many, even know the pixel definition of said screens. 704x576 etc etc. I did say said and not sad...

I use that THX thingy on the Star Wars DVDs to set up my contrast and brightness, but I don't have the specs to set up colour so I put a scene on with lots of red (eg. clone war in SW:AoC) and try and get the fleshtones not looking too pink. The problem is I can't seem to get a good balance between 'natural' flesh tones and vibrant colours (i.e. not washed out; this may have something to do with using s-video rather than RGB as my widecreen tv (Thomson 28" with pointless Virtual Dolby) has weird interference* across the screen when using RGB???). So, does anyone have any advice on how to set up a tv up with 'perfect' colour that might help?

h

*contours of light and dark moving across the screen, kinda like lots of vertical lines of light grabbed at two or three points on the left of the screen and pulled rightwards in a wave-like pattern... any help on this would be great too (I don't think it's the scart or the DVD player -- Toshiba 220e -- that's the issue but the tv; they are still there but only very faintly in s-video and composite)

This may be a solution :[color=red] R1-DVD “Sound and Vision Home Theatre Tune-Up (HTT)”[/color]

*** N.B. this DVD is “Region 1” Please check compatibility before ordering ***

Suggested Retail Price of HTT is $19.95 (UK£17.99)

USA Website : http://www.ovationsw.com/

UK Ordering Website : http://************/e8n9

List of Independent Reviews : http://************/e8jy

DVD players have up to four different options for video connections and three for audio connections, each offering a different signal quality. If you are new to DVD and home theatre, HTT contains background information and step-by-step installation instructions to help you choose the best connections for your components. Additionally, TVs and surround-sound systems require precise adjustment to achieve their best performance. HTT's user-friendly video patterns, audio tests, and easy-to-follow procedures will help you accomplish this. The video test patterns on HTT are similar to those used by professional technicians to calibrate the studio monitors used in broadcasting and home video mastering. The patterns have been customized by Ovation Software to make them easier to use. By setting your TV as close as possible to industry standards, you insure that you're seeing what a movie's director or mastering engineer intended. This procedure can noticeably improve picture quality on both DVD movies and regular TV broadcasts. The first thing you'll notice is that the picture looks a little darker than you're probably used to, particularly with full room lighting. If you've properly calibrated your TV, you've made your adjustments in subdued light that mimics movie-viewing conditions. As your eyes adjust to the new picture, you will notice greater overall clarity, more details in shadows and dark areas, and purer, more "film-like" colour. Priced at under $20, HTT also costs about half the price of similar products that came before it, see : http://************/e8k4 for a Review of the $50 version !!! which is now selling for $37.50 at Amazon, see: http://************/e8jm

For the Beginner : Documentaries on Home Theatre Basics, Installing Your Home Theatre, Video Tune-Up, Audio Tune-Up, Operating Your Home Theatre, Upgrading Your Home Theatre, Resources. The documentary itself is probably where those not as experienced with HT should begin (although the actors playing the couple do get annoying after a while).

Those who are more experienced will be pleased that the test patterns available in the documentary (as well as additional, more advanced ones) are also included on their own in the menu section, so you don't have to sit through the documentary once again to get to them. The additional audio tests even include 6.1 channel balance and ID tests. The more advanced tests also include explanation.

Additional video test list: 20 IRE Window, 30 IRE Window, 40 IRE Window, 80 IRE Window, 90 IRE Window, 100 IRE Window, Crosshatch, Focus, Backlight level, Grey Ramp, Blue Bars, Black Bars + Log Steps, Circle Hatch, Gamma Chart, Anamorphic Resolution, Resolution 200 TVL.

VIDEO/AUDIO: The presentation is full-frame and the video quality is quite good, with a slightly soft appearance but no real noticeable flaws. Audio for the documentary is Dolby Digital 5.1, as the discussions by the two hosts come through the centre channel.

EXTRAS: Dolby Digital Trailers: While I've seen DVDs with the earlier four Dolby trailers ("Train", "City", "Canyon", "Egypt"), this one has not only those, but the latest ("Aurora" and "Rain"). "City" remains the most aggressive and exciting of the first four, while "Rain" is the more enjoyable of the two latest ones. DTS DEMO: A clip from Studio Voodoo's album, "This Beat Is Voodoo" in DTS 6.1. THX Demo: The "Cavalcade" (glass ball breaking into shards, thunder, rain sounds) trailer in 4x3 pan & scan, 1.85:1 widescreen and 2.35:1 widescreen. Also: Credits

[color=red]Final Thoughts: "Sound and Vision: HTT" is a very nicely done DVD, especially for the $19.95 / £17.99 price tag. It has something for everyone; a documentary to help those new to Home Theatre and a number of tests easily available for those who are already experts.[/color]

[color=red]Hope this has been of mild interest.... "ersking"[/color]

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Thanks for that -- it sounds just what I need!

h

I've just had a Sky "engineer" round to replace a faulty digibox. His idea of setting the box up was firstly to plug the TV scart into the VCR scart socket and the VCR scart into the TV scart socket, which meant that the single RGB signal would not reach the television set, even though he specifically set the new digibox to output an RBG signal. When I pointed out that what we were watching was actually composite video, not RGB, he firstly told me it wasn't (it obviously was, from the PAL artefacts) then that I'd have to read my TV manual (I wouldn't – though maybe he should). Finally, he wormed his way into the setup menus on the TV set to switch the 4:3 default from its correct setting of 4:3 (so that the television would automatically switch from traditional to widescreen picture aspect ratio) to 16:9, which would force permanent stretchyvision! He told me I'd got it set up wrong! Unbelievable.

Can it really be true that so many people never bother to read the manual? If so, they deserve all they get. They are not the best written publications that you will ever encounter but they can be decyphered with a bit of care and patience. I installed my TV, DVD and amp myself with only the literature to hand - as, I imagine, did many others on this forum. The brightness, contrast and colour on the TV were way out on delivery but a quick look at the book told me how to access the menu and put them right. Is that so hard?

Well, reading the manual would certainly be a start. But I'm guessing there's nothing in most manuals explaining that RGB is superior to composite PAL. That anamorphic 16:9 is higher resolution than zoomed 4:3 letterbox. That pillarboxed 4:3 on a widescreen set might not fill the screen, but it's better than distorting the image. That the digibox's TV scart output features an automatic widescreen switching signal but the VCR scart output does not. That you need to set up your TV properly (choosing the 4:3 default, the optimum AV source, etc.) to get the best picture, rather than assuming that if you can see something it's necessarily as good as it could possibly be. In an ideal world, I feel, Sky engineers and high-street TV shops should make it their business to ensure equipment is performing as well as it can. That's partly what they're paid for – or at least it ought to be. Not everyone chooses to be (or wants to have to be) an expert on setting up AV equipment, they just want to switch on their TV and know it's working properly.

Do telewest digi boxes have a 4:3 / 16:9 option? or do they jst stay on 4:3 ?

ALL digital services have options for widescreen/4:3

Well someone tell me where the menu is to do this and i will belive you

I've got telewest in the bedroom - I found the menu cause when I got my box it had it set to 4:3 letterbox

Its in the customise (yellow) menu I think when you are in TV guide - i might be wrong though!
Unfortunately I can't check cause my partner has gone to bed early and I don't want to disturb her! :sleep: