Aspect Ratios

**macrae11** · **11-24-08, 07:57 PM**

Hey all

Well I don't exactly want to start another "what TV should I buy?" thread, but.... well I am.

I'm looking for a new 46"-52" LCD, for around $1500, which is becoming much easier with the recent price drops. I have a fairly bright room, so plasmas are out, and the price to performance ratio seems to be a bit higher with LCD's. So any suggestions I'll gladly take them.

However I have one different question about aspect ratios. Switching between different aspect ratios drives me nuts, especially switching between different TV shows which use 4:3 and 16:9. So I'm wondering if there are any TV's or even AVR's that will automatically switch to the appropriate aspect ratio.

Any manufacturers come up with this yet? I wouldn't think that it would be super difficult to do.

Cheers

Andrew

**lcaillo** · **11-24-08, 08:40 PM**

Some do, but you would likely find it even more annoying as it keeps changing the aspect ratio back and forth when commercials come on, and sometimes they get confused.

I don't see what the problem is with watching the correct aspect ratio for each production. When you change it you end up with a distorted geometry.

**macrae11** · **11-25-08, 10:50 AM**

Indeed I want to watch the program in the intended aspect ratio, however I'm the type that watches two or more programs simultaneously, especially with sports. So I'll be switching between different games, and maybe be checking the news from time to time, and there might be one channel in 16:9 and another in 4:3. So it would make my life a lot easier, if I had a tv that could do this automatically for me.

**nova** · **11-25-08, 12:22 PM**

Ummm,.. I thought all wide screen TV's did this automatically. With it set on normal and you are receiving a 4:3 program you get a 4:3 ratio and when changing channels to 16:9 it will go to 16:9. At least mine does. It does it on HD channels too, when watching an HD program and it goes to a 4:3 SD commercial it goes to a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I get the feeling it is not the aspect ratio that concerns you but the black bars on the side when viewing a 4:3 program on a wide screen. Or am I missing something?

**Sonnie** · **11-25-08, 12:52 PM**

Yeah... both of my Samsung DLP's do just that. When it's 4:3, we see black bars on the side... when it's HD, we get a full screen. I believe that is what most all displays do... or at least all of them that I have seen. We can setup the display to stretch 4:3, but it looks terrible IMO... I would rather see the black bars.

**macrae11** · **11-25-08, 01:57 PM**

Quote:

nova wrote:

Ummm,.. I thought all wide screen TV's did this automatically. With it set on normal and you are receiving a 4:3 program you get a 4:3 ratio and when changing channels to 16:9 it will go to 16:9. At least mine does. It does it on HD channels too, when watching an HD program and it goes to a 4:3 SD commercial it goes to a 4:3 aspect ratio.

I get the feeling it is not the aspect ratio that concerns you but the black bars on the side when viewing a 4:3 program on a wide screen. Or am I missing something?

Hey that's great. No I'm worried about aspect ratio. I didn't realize that most new displays have this feature. I have an old wide screen CRT which does not switch automatically, which is why I asked. My wife always changes it to stretch 4:3, because she can read text on the screen it drives me nuts. Going from a 32" to a 50" TV should alleviate that though.

So to the other side of the question, what's hot out there in that price range?

**tonyvdb** · **11-25-08, 02:11 PM**

Quote:

macrae11 wrote:

So to the other side of the question, what's hot out there in that price range?

There is lots to choose from, however it will still be tough to find a good display that will do 1080p in that price range. Stay away from the so called "no name" brands as they use cheep parts and may fail prematurely.

**Sonnie** · **11-25-08, 09:57 PM**

Check out Wal-Mart on Black Friday... several deals on Samsung models. One 1080p 46" model was only $798 I believe. It was in a sales paper. They have a bunch of 720p models, but I do remember seeing the one 1080p model.

**macrae11** · **11-26-08, 08:04 AM**

Quote:

tonyvdb wrote:

There is lots to choose from, however it will still be tough to find a good display that will do 1080p in that price range. Stay away from the so called "no name" brands as they use cheep parts and may fail prematurely.

Really?? I'm not looking to buy until after Christmas so I'm figuring that prices will be even lower than they are now.

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...gon=&langid=EN

Are these not fairly decent displays? I know they're not top of the line or anything, but again I'm figuring prices will drop at least another 10% after Christmas. And I could go a little over $1500. Basically I need the display, and the mount to come to $2000 after taxes.

Oh and I really don't want to shop at Walmart. I would almost rather go without a TV than buy one there.

**tonyvdb** · **11-26-08, 10:07 AM**

all Three of those will look very good. I'm actually surprised how fast prices have dropped.

**macrae11** · **11-26-08, 11:48 AM**

Yeah me too. I'm certainly glad I waited to buy. This way I should get a display I'll be happy with for a good long time.

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