analogue tv not showing correct aspect on widescreen tv

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merve0o0

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Ultimate Geek

#19571 21-Feb-2008 22:00

Hi after getting sick of the sides of programs getting cut off on a 4:3 tv after tvnz and tv3 switched to widescreen i decided to get a widescreen tv.

but i have found that the sides are still cut off. but also stretched as well(i don't like pillerbox).

is it something i have set up incorrectly or is it just broadcast with the sides cut off and letterboxed. i cant understand why it is not just broadcast as 4:3 letter-boxed. 99% of people have got used to letterboxing and have more of a problem with center-cut.

i was planning on just getting freeview but then i find that i will be unable to get HD. i am not going to pay for a dish and decoder when i already have perfect reception with an aerial.

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Master Geek

#112190 21-Feb-2008 22:11

Terrestrial analogue TV transmissions are still 4:3, "pillarboxed" (a bit of blank space either side of pic) is currently only way to view analogue TV with correct aspect on 16:9 display.

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#112191 21-Feb-2008 22:12

You can't get true widescreen TV from an analogue source in New Zealand. All analogue terrestrial broadcasts (ie from an aerial) are broadcast in 4:3 ratio.

To watch content in proper 16:9 widescreen you need to either have a Sky Decoder, Freeview STB, TelstraClear Digital STB or a Freeview DVB-T terrestrial set top box (due for launch within the next 6 weeks).

Where in NZ do you live? 75% of the population will receive Freeview DVB-T once the official transmissions begin and this will also deliver HD content.

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#112192 21-Feb-2008 22:13

All analog transmissions are 4:3 and will remain so. How would your old tv know to cut the sides off all by itself. If analog transmissions had switched to widescreen then everyone watching analog would have suddenly noticed an incorrect aspect ratio as 16:9 anamorphic is scanned (horizontally) in the same time as 4:3.

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merve0o0

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Ultimate Geek

#112193 21-Feb-2008 22:17

im not to worried about the pillar boxing its just the fact that alot of the image is chopped off the sides even with the tv set to 4:3.

e.g. harvy norman ads turn to arvy normo, and that samoa ad has no a on the end.

i can put up with stretching or pillarboxing its just the image getting cut off i dont like.

i understand that in nz 16:9 cannot be broadcast unless digital. but surely if it was broadcast 4:3 letterboxed then it would work on 4:3 screens and 16:9 screens could just zoom to get rid of the black bars. instead now we get leterboxed, centercut, (and because i have it set to 16:9) stretched

grant_k

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#112195 21-Feb-2008 22:21

merve0o0: im not to worried about the pillar boxing its just the fact that alot of the image is chopped off the sides even with the tv set to 4:3.

e.g. harvy norman ads turn to arvy normo, and that samoa ad has no a on the end.

It sounds like your TV has a severe case of overscan.

You need to get inside and tweak the width control.

merve0o0

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Ultimate Geek

#112196 21-Feb-2008 22:24

can you do that on a LCD.

the screen is a Samsung LA32R81BX

grant_k

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#112199 21-Feb-2008 22:47

merve0o0: can you do that on a LCD.

the screen is a Samsung LA32R81BX

On LCD monitors for PCs there are various adjustments like Phase and Sync etc, but I'm not too sure about LCD TVs as I haven't had the chance to play around with one yet.

Cyril could no doubt tell you.

I know exactly the problem you are referring to though. My mother-in-law has an old CRT TV set that we gave to her when we got a bigger one. Ever since TV1/TV3 went to widescreen, part of the sides of the picture is cut off and you cannot read the temperatures properly on the weather any more because the left-hand digit is cut off. Even though her Sky Digital decoder is set to 4:3 Centre Cut, this problem still happens. Before they went to widescreen, everything was fine. Obviously, there is a timing difference in the video signal somewhere.

I have been meaning to tweak the width control one day, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

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#112202 21-Feb-2008 22:56

Not so. The problem is the 14:9 zooming of 4:3 programs which TVNZ have made a art of (I call it disgusting). The resulting centre cut on the 16:9 frame is obviously going to contain less width of the original content.

richms

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#112213 22-Feb-2008 01:59

The ad's in question are widescreen, they are just made with no regard for the 4:3 safe area, whereas tv programs usually are.

Get digital or accept that you are missing image on the analog transmission.

Richard rich.ms

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#112227 22-Feb-2008 07:41

merve0o0:
im not to worried about the pillar boxing its just the fact that alot of the image is chopped off the sides even with the tv set to 4:3.

You don't have the TV set to zoom at all do you?

On the WS topic what really annoys me at present is Sky News - they broadcast in 4:3 however when they switch to the Sky News UK feed it's a center cut 16:9 feed which loses a great deal of the picture. It's very annoying!

I'm still amazed at the number of ads and promotional videos that are still in 4:3 on both channels and I know that TVNZ have gone for 14:9 to try and keep a compromise for all the people who complain about 4:3 content and somehow think that it should fill their whole screen.

merve0o0

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Ultimate Geek

#112228 22-Feb-2008 07:50

no just set to 16:9.

i wat going to get digital but then i found out HD will not be coming here so the only advantage i will have is that i will get to see the whole image

cyril7

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#112230 22-Feb-2008 08:03

I think everyone has pretty much told you as much as their is to know on this matter. It seems pretty crazy to me to take a 16:9 source (in the studio) have TVNZ/Canwest cut the sides off for you to fit the old 4:3 analog transmission system, then you take that 4:3 cutout and stretch the buggery out of it to fit your 16:9 screen. Seem like a good idea to you, yeah right!

Having just shelled out for new 16:9 TV you should seriously build into the mix purchasing a digital source to go with it so you can get proper 16:9 transmissions.

A FreeView DTH satellite box will set you back $200 plus a dish install (about $200 depending on install), or if you are in a DTT coverage area hang around for a DTT HD box, I see the first have just been released at $549 for a basic box. Personally I would wait on DTT HD boxs at this point, only one in the market (guess we will see more next month), far too expensive at this point, and most likely full of teething problems.

If you have a 16:9 screen you are completely wasting your investment in it if you dont have a 16:9 digital source to feed it.

Cyril

merve0o0

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Ultimate Geek

#112283 22-Feb-2008 13:10

ok thanks everyone i thought it was because it is broadcast like that, but i was hoping it was just a setting i had to change.

I will just have to put up with it for a while. I live in nelson so will not be getting freeview HD in the near future. i dont watch alot of tv but will get it if prime ever goes to freeview as that is what i watch most.

i use the tv for xbox and dvds mostly so its not a huge problem.

i just wish that they would broadcast widescreen letterboxed in 4:3 with nothing cut off.

richms

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#112376 22-Feb-2008 21:23

The problem with transmitting widescreen letterboxed is that you are wasting so much bandwidth on black lines, and the final resolution gets so low that it starts to make 1990s streaming video look good in comparison. You have had the sides chopped off programs for years, its only now that advertisers are supplying them with FHA widescreen spots that you are seeing problems since they are made with less concern for cutting things off then TV shows.

Richard rich.ms

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Master Geek

#112394 22-Feb-2008 22:56

The Samsung does offer a couple of options for zoom - try "wide zoom" the blue button on your remote. But yeah, spend the very small amount of $$ and get Freeview and watch in 16x9. On the Samsung it does look very, very nice.

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