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GrahamD · 09-01-2004, 15:42

I don't want to drag up the whole wide vs full screen argument again, but I still prefer 4:3 for TV's and 16:9 for projection. That being said, many analogue broadcasts are 14:9, which is a sort of compromise between the two. On digital, the same transmission will be in 16:9. I believe there is a signal present which can indicate if the essential content is contained in the central 4:3 region. If this is the case, and if the STB is set appropriately, it will zoom in to the central region to fill a 4:3 TV. Compared with the 14:9 analogue signal, you lose a bit of information from the sides. What I should say is that you lose a bit more information as the 14:9 image is also cropped.

As I have a whopping great 4:3 TV, I prefer the NTL 4:3 digital transmission to the analogue version. Occasionally text gets cropped, but I can live with this. The point is, the STB gives us the choice, so everyone should be happy. If you don't like cropping, switch to letterbox, but you'll lose a bit of vertical resolution. If your TV is dual standard, as many modern 4:3 TVs are, set both it and the stb to widescreen.

09-01-2004, 15:42	#9
GrahamD Inactive Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 15	Re: NTL TV Picture bigger than Analogue? I don't want to drag up the whole wide vs full screen argument again, but I still prefer 4:3 for TV's and 16:9 for projection. That being said, many analogue broadcasts are 14:9, which is a sort of compromise between the two. On digital, the same transmission will be in 16:9. I believe there is a signal present which can indicate if the essential content is contained in the central 4:3 region. If this is the case, and if the STB is set appropriately, it will zoom in to the central region to fill a 4:3 TV. Compared with the 14:9 analogue signal, you lose a bit of information from the sides. What I should say is that you lose a bit more information as the 14:9 image is also cropped. As I have a whopping great 4:3 TV, I prefer the NTL 4:3 digital transmission to the analogue version. Occasionally text gets cropped, but I can live with this. The point is, the STB gives us the choice, so everyone should be happy. If you don't like cropping, switch to letterbox, but you'll lose a bit of vertical resolution. If your TV is dual standard, as many modern 4:3 TVs are, set both it and the stb to widescreen.