Page 1 of Widescreen TV Question...

Hi,
In the coming months i might upgrade my tv. I was wondering if you could clear up the following for me.

Why should I buy a widescreen tv?
To me a 28" Widescreen TV looks like a 28" normal tv with bits cut off the top and bottom. I seem to be getting less tv for my money.

Am i missing something here, if i dont mind the black bands at the top and the bottom, arent i better off with a normal tv for those programs that use my `extra` bits of the screen at the top and the bottom?

Or are widescreens higher definition or something?

Yours, hoping not to sound completely ignorant,
--thanks.

Not good time to buy a WS TV.

Recommend you wait until more digital models come out then prices should come down on both digital and analogue tv`s.

With the above in mind also,
Digital or analogue and why?

It`s only worth paying the £100 or so for a digital set if you want to be able to receive the free to air channel through your ariel. If you are using Sky digial or another digital provider you will get these anyway.

Digital TV means that the signal is digitally encoded (1 & 0`s). It`s a little like the difference between CD & LP`s. In real life it means you get a very clear picture with no nasty effects like ghosting. BUT - when the reception drops right off you get weird effects like a frozen picture where as with analoge you will just get a really crappy picture (but you`d still be able to tell what`s going on).

Oh, and I meant to say that there`s nothing `better` about the picture in a widescreen TV - just that you can watch films in the correct aspect ratio. Also, more and more TV broadcasts are being made in wide screen and you are losing the `extra` bits on a normal TV. At some point in the future all broadcasts should be widescreen, but this might well be a *long* time away.

Personally, I find them nicer to watch - it`s something to do with the fact that your eyes see a rectanglar image rather than a square one, and somehow this `feels` nicer. (could be just me though!)

Nathan - your comments about it being `nicer` are not as silly as they seem. In actual fact the widescreen set is much better suited to us human beings, as the ratio used is actually pretty near to the ratio of the shape of our eyeball !!! Therefore, the eye is not straining so much to cram in and interpret the normal TV shape.

All the foregoing arguments are sound though. Yes, widescreen TV will make the most of all the widescreen formatting that telly companies are increasingly using, and this is particularly evident for people already using the digital TV services.

If you see a cheap widescreen that can handle NTSC and PAL pictures (for DVD Region 1 compatibility), and also enable you to switch from widescreen to normal TV mode (most of them do, but avoid el cheapo models like the Bush) then buy it.

However, my comments about Integrated Digital TV (IDTV, or DVB as it is now more commonly being referred to) on the Hardware forum should be borne in mind. Analogue sets will soon be a thing of the past - if you`re going to buy an expensive one, go for one that has the integrated Digital TV facility - you don`t necessarily have to be connected to Sky or On to get these, although some retail outlets may tell you otherwise !

Confused ? You will be....try getting hold of mags such as Home Entertainment, Home Cinema Choice or What TV & Video every so often to keep abreast of the changes. Also well worth visiting the websites http://www.home-entertainment.co.uk and http://homecinemachoice.com for up to date news and views.

Hope this helps.

Also don`t forget a 28inch widescreen TV gives you a 28inch screen measured across the diagonal, playing in widescreen on a conventional 28inch TV only equates to about a 23" diagonal widescreen, you`d need a much bigger normal TV to get the same size widescreen picture.

I may be wrong on this next bit, I`m sure I`ll be corrected if in error :) My unerstanding was that on a normal TV you`re only using about 2/3rds of your vertical resolution, while watching a widescreen picture ie the picture is only appearing on the middle 400 or so, the top and bottom 200 or so are black and not used. On the widescreen the 600 or so lines are all there but thinner, so you get a higher resolution picture on a widescreen TV (or do widesreen TVs have a lower number of vertical lines, in which case what I just said was wrong!)
Dave

On a widescreen TV you see the whole picture. 4:3 ratio tellys use pan & scan which just shows the important bit, leaving the outside bits missing!
Widescreen is the way to go. In a couple of years most TV programmes will be broadcast in widescreen.
Aaron

"To me a 28" Widescreen TV looks like a 28" normal tv with bits cut off the top and bottom. I seem to be getting less tv for my money. "

The opposite is true. Since movies are shown in widescreen at the cinema, when you watch them on a 4:3 you are getting less movie for your money. A 4:3 TV is a Widescreen squished into a smaller space and is hence cheaper.

:)

clayts is right.widescreen tvs preserve your natural field of visionand are the way things are going.if you can stretch the cash then a set by toshiba,hitatci or philips is the way to go-sony no longer rule the roost when it comes to good quality picture tubes! also bear in mind that if your player supports it,most new flatscreen tosh tvs now have component video inputs for the best picture this side of a projector.just swapped my hitatchi 36" for a tosh 32" with comp inputs-Toy Story 2 looks utterly fabulous,while live action movies have a wonderful `proper film` look to them.try it!
watch out for digital tv broadcast tho, some sets have difficulty coping with fast movement,so footie matches just end up looking a blurred mess,audition both 50hz and 100hz sets to see which u prefer.
4;3 will soon be a thing of the past,how many do you actually see being sold at your local dixons anymore?

happy hunting...