Toshiba D-R560 - Aspect Ratio Question

PeterWT · Member Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Location: United States

HI,
New to the forum.
I am considering purchasing this unit to replace a Lite-On LVW-5115GHC+ which is starting to give me problems. The Lite-On is connected to my HDTV via component cable.
The aspect ratio question I have is:
If I connect the D-R560 to my 16:9 aspect ratio HDTV via HDMI and play one of my DVD movies (upconverted to 720p or 1080p), will it allow me to view the DVD in its original 4:3 aspect ratio, with sidebars? Or, will it force the aspect ratio to be "stretched" to 16:9?
I do not want the image to be "stretched". I want it to be displayed in it's original aspect ratio, as my Lite-On unit currently does.
I ask this because I purchased a Toshiba D-KR10 at Costco a while ago, connected it to my HDTV via HDMI and it "stretched" the 4:3 DVD image to 16:9. I could not figure out how to get it to display in 4:3. I had to return it.
Is this just a nasty by-product of "upconverting" and connecting via HDMI, or am I just missing something?
Thanks.

Krispy Kritter · Member Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Location: St Louis, MO USA

It is typically a setup issue. The player should be set to output the same AR as your TV (in this case 16:9) and the TV input should be set to normal (ie: not stretch or zoom).
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PeterWT · Member Joined: 29 Dec 2008 Location: United States

Thanks Krispy Kritter. I figured that, but couldn't seem to get it to work on the D-KR10 I got a while back. Not sure why.

BTW, I emailed Toshiba customer service and received a response. Here it is:
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Dear Peter:

Thanks for writing!

Yes, you will be able to watch the DVD in 4:3 screen size.

For further assistance, please write back or call our Customer Solutions Department at 1-800-631-3811. They are available Mon-Fri, 8AM to 7PM Central time.

Deandre
Toshiba Customer Service
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Sounds like it will work.

Now I just have to decide between the Toshiba D-R560, which is in my price range (150USD), or one of the following, which are both more expensive: PHILIPS DVDR3506/37 or Panasonic DMR-EZ28K.

Any opinions and/or suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.