--- 16:9 input, on 4:3 display --- Resolution?!

B

basslover911

Enthusiast
Output;
16:9 from my DVD player

Into;
4:3 TV

It has the "letterbox" format, but am I loosing any pixels? Or is it using the full 4:3 resolution (since there are black bars being projected) and simply "simulating" the 16:9 display without dropping pixels?
 
newb

newb

Junior Audioholic
Apples to Oranges

Resolution is static...480 on a SD TV. HD TV is 720 or 1080 resolution. Aspect ratio, (16x9, most flat panels) describes the physical layout of the screen. Widescreen vs 4:3 is how a movie or tv show is formatted to fit the screen. The aspect ratio of a movie is what gives you 'black bars'. Widescreen movies are wider than they are tall and will have a rectangular image crammed into the 'square' display of a 4:3 TV. 4:3 aspect ratio movies have lopped off the ends of the rectangular format to fit the square screen.
 
newb

newb

Junior Audioholic
A little more

So when you set the DVD to display 16 x 9, it is sending the widescreen image to the non widescreen TV, hence a smaller rectangular image in a square display. You could just set the DVD to 4:3 as this will match the image to the display, but then you will be losing some image. Otherwise, You're not losing anything but your eyesight:D
 
B

basslover911

Enthusiast
So when you set the DVD to display 16 x 9, it is sending the widescreen image to the non widescreen TV, hence a smaller rectangular image in a square display. You could just set the DVD to 4:3 as this will match the image to the display, but then you will be losing some image. Otherwise, You're not losing anything but your eyesight:D
GREAT! I love loosing my eyesight...

Ok that was my question, so no less resolution but the image IS smaller... which is fine with me :)

Thanks!
 
Halon451

Halon451

Audioholic Samurai
Question: If you had a 16:9 TV, would you feed it with a 4:3 signal if you had the option not to? I'm of the persuasion that you feed a device what it is capable of delivering or displaying, and see no reason to do otherwise. :cool: Upgrade the TV. :D
 
G

Gatsby191

Audioholic
That Sub?

So when you set the DVD to display 16 x 9, it is sending the widescreen image to the non widescreen TV, hence a smaller rectangular image in a square display. You could just set the DVD to 4:3 as this will match the image to the display, but then you will be losing some image. Otherwise, You're not losing anything but your eyesight:D
Sorry to hijack the thread. Just curious to know how another Aperion Intimus S-12 Subwoofer owner, likes his sub. And, if you were to Upgrade your S-12 to a supposedly better sub, which one(s) would it be?
Thanks! Joe B.
You may want to PM me so this thread doesn't get overly Hijacked. JB
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
People also aren't accurately answering the question.

If you have a 'widescreen' DVD, then the odds are that it has been encoded as an anamorphic image which is using the full 720x480 resolution of the DVD that is avaialble to it. For 480i CRT SDTVs, you do have a loss of image resolution and quality when you drop from the full 720x480(i) to the more common 640x480 (SDTV), and with 2.35:1 films you drop further to 640x272 which is, overall, about a 50% reduction in the total number of pixels which could be delivered by the DVD.

Yet, unless you are sitting right on top of the TV you may not see this loss of quality. Likewise, CRT displays are much more forgiving when it comes to lower quality sources than digital displays such as plasma, lcd, lcos, and dlp are.

I have many diatribes about this, but it is far more important to have good color and image processing, such as that which CRT can deliver (great black levels!), than getting more resolution. But, getting both is a big plus.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
The reason that I asked about the TV is that I seem to recall that some 4:3 CRT Sony's a few years ago could display the full resolution of a 16:9 movie.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
The reason that I asked about the TV is that I seem to recall that some 4:3 CRT Sony's a few years ago could display the full resolution of a 16:9 movie.
CRT has a unique capability of not being a fixed pixel display like our LCD and plasma displays are (as well as DLP, LCoS, etc.)

Certain (not all) CRT displays have the ability to go higher than 480i resolution and these few CRTs would very much be able to display full resolution HD material with letterboxing without any issue at all.

I would need many more pocket protectors to be able to list any CRTs which are 4:3 and capable of this, but have just enough to bet that at least one or two Sony displays could do it.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
I'm almost positive that my brother had a Sony that could allocate the full vertical resolution to a letterbox movie. That was long enough ago that I don't remember the model. I want to say that it was a 32" CRT. Pretty sweet at the time, for sure.
 
J

jostenmeat

Audioholic Spartan
Is it the XBR 960? (superior to the following 970).

I don't own a pocket protector! :p

edit: NM! 16:9 display. . . lol
 
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