Widescreen and Normal Content

Nov 25 2006 Published by under Ramblings

Here are some tips on getting the most out of your widescreen set when displaying older content.

The main problem with 4:3 sets is getting the rectangular “peg” of wide-screen programming to fit the squarish “hole” of a standard TV. 16:9 TVs have the opposite problem: decades’ worth of TV programming has been produced to fit the squared-off 4:3 aspect ratio, not the luxuriously wide space of a 16:9 display. There are several solutions, but you’ll need to decide which sacrifices you’re willing to make: deforming the picture, losing a portion of the horizontal image, sacrificing the resolution, or a combination of the three.

CNET’s quick guide to aspect ratio

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