THE BEST WAY TO WATCH 4:3 on 16:9?

[antonkk]

I feel like going widescreen in the nearest future but I have this (typical I think) concern - how to watch your usual 4:3 picture -TV programs (we don't have widescreen TV programs here in Russia) and 4:3 DVDs (most music DVD are 4:3). Is this a big problem to you, guys? In what format do you watch them?

[tomcat]

4:3 flix remain 4:3, only with black areas on the left and right edge of the 16:9 screen. No problem at all (only for plasma, see according threads in this forum).

[SamS]

I typically like to watch 4:3 programs completely filling my 16x9 screen by cropping the top and bottom of the picture with NO stretching.

This gives me the biggest overall image with no chance of burn-in via black bars, and no unsightly distortions. Yes, I've lost a bit of picture, but it's usually minor. I've only owned a couple of DVD players that can do this "scaling" of 4:3 discs internally, allowing me to keep my TV in the regular 16:9 mode. Unfortunately, this feature is hard to come by.

[GregY]

It depends on the material for me. If it's something where I care about the composition of the material, I watch in "Normal" mode on my Toshiba which puts grey bars on the sides of the 4:3 image. grey is supposed to prevent burn-in by being halfway between black and white. If I don't care about the composition of what I'm watching, I zoom in using "TheaterWide 2" mode, chopping off the tops and bottoms.

[BradOlson]

For pre-widescreen material, I do not like the stretched look.

[ubsman]

I typically like to watch 4:3 programs completely filling my 16x9 screen by cropping the top and bottom of the picture with NO stretching.
This may be a cool way to get rid of the bugs on broadcast material, or do you still see them?

[Cliff]

For pre-widescreen material, I do not like the stretched look.
I don't either, but it beats potential burn-in...

I like the "Panoramic Mode" for NTSC Broadcasts (little or no stretching in center, and more as you go outwards). There is too much material still done in 4:3 to warrant black bars and burn-in. As for DVDs, I'll usually use the dreaded even-stretch mode. But, the only time I'll even buy a 4:3 DVD, is a live concert (since most are STILL produced that way).

[RetroSmith]

I hate the stretch mode...everyone looks like Lou Costello.....

[rpd]

you really have to keep 4:3 in 4:3...

[SamS]

This may be a cool way to get rid of the bugs on broadcast material, or do you still see them?

Yeah! It's a great way to kill annoying logos. It really only gets frustrating on news channels with tickers. For normal TV, it works great. Without sounding foolish, I rarely watch SD material anyways. There's enough on HD now that its hard not to find something enjoyable on.