Aspect Ratio

[kolias]

My 38" HD Toshiba TV has a 4:3 format. Some of the DVD's I buy are 4:3 format (Full screen) and some are 16:9 (Wide screen). Is there an easy way to convert my 16:9 DVD's to 4:3 format? Thank you

[Salva Veritate]

Depends, are you looking to make the video letterboxed, or do you intend to chop off the sides of the 16:9 video? I'd advise against the latter, because the way 16:9 videos are shot, the faces are sometimes all the way to the side so they would repeatedly be chopped off.

[guns1inger]

HD is widescreen, so your TV either isn't HD, or isn't 4:3.

Regardless, your DVD player can send letterboxed 4:3 material to your TV form any 16:9 disc.

As for butchering perfectly good movies to fill a screen (and showing less at the same time) - you'll get no help from this little black duck.

[jagabo]

Set your DVD Player to output 4:3 Pan and Scan.

[FulciLives]

HD is widescreen, so your TV either isn't HD, or isn't 4:3.

I hate to say it but it is true that some 4:3 aspect ratio HDTV sets were made. I remember SONY had a 40" model as well as a 36" model and yes both were CRT tube type televisions but also capable of 1080i although the real resolution wasn't 1920x1080 but then again alot of 1080i HDTV sets can't really display the full 1920x1080 anyway so that's nothing new.

Also these HDTV sets had the ability to "decompress" 16x9 video material so it would look better than 4:3 video material even though the end result is still a 4:3 image that is Letterxoed (black above and below the image).

There were also some non-HDTV sets at 4:3 with this same "decompress" ability. Generally these were touted as being 480p capable as they were progressive scan at 480p but incapable of doing 720p or 1080i and 1080p wasn't even around yet.

SONY discontinued the 40" model way back but the 36" model was still around in 2005 ... I know because I almost bought one.

So yes it is possible to have a 4:3 HDTV set but of course they were NOT designed to make a WIDESCREEN video into FULL SCREEN as that is just plain stupid.

I think the reasoning behind them was that it would still fill the screen when watching 4:3 and then have black above and below the image on widescreen videos. Thus it was more "normal" and perhaps easier to "digest" for the standard consumer who couldn't (and apparently still can't) understand that proper 4:3 viewing on a 16x9 WS TV means that you have black or gray etc. on either SIDE of the image. Case in point ... I went over to my uncle's house for New Year's and he ordered a pay-per-view movie that was 4:3 and he insisted we watch it "stretched" so that it filled his HDTV's 16x9 screen. I watched it as it was a "family" moment and it was a movie I hadn't seen and wanted to see but damn it really ruined the movie not to mention my eyes.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[guns1inger]

I have a Loewe SD tube that does 16:9 switching - love it.

The things we do for family. I hope you rolled your eyes constantly, both for the exercise, and in silent disgusted protest.