Page 1 of bowing & bending of the picture!

Having just bought an ex rental widescreen TV ( very cheap)that you guy`s helped me to buy I have been looking much more closely at the images now. Maybe it`s because it`s a wider screen but you do tend to notice things more. Anyway, my question is concerning how films/broadcasts etc are filmed. The geometry seems okay on my telly but I have noticed on some friends widescreens tellies there are bends on what should be straight lines & bowed window frames that should be straight on certain images. Is this the way certain films etc have been filmed, or the angle of the camera maybe?
I`ve now started to look at my telly & have noticed certain similar curves etc......especially when programmes are filmed inside a house the windows, walls & doors seem to bow at certain angles, I am getting
slightly worried now!
Can someone explain this?
Doesn`t seem to be a fault with the telly ( I hope) as there is a grid pattern that is displayed on a disc I have & that seems to be okay.

welcome to the wonderful world of widescreen tvs(dont worry,most of them are like it to one extent!)

This item was edited on Monday, 18th June 2001, 00:23

And if you own a Sanyo widescreen with auto widescreen detection there is nothing more annoying than the following types of shots, where the picture resets itself (and `Auto` flicks up on the screen) :

inside a house
inside a car
the 18 yard area camera angle on a footie pitch (dunno why ?!)
when `The Simpsons` watch a TV programme

Drives me to distraction...

It`s not necessarily a problem with the TV...

I`ve seen good ol` macrovision have a `bending` effect on a picture on some hardware combinations. Try a disc you know DOESN`T have macrovision and see if this solves it...

DanB

Popped into Scottish Power today during me lunch break.
Every single TV (including 4.3 ones ) displayed bends & curves at some point or another! I was looking at ITV on all televisions ( not all at once mind) & when the adverts appeared there was definite instances of various points in the picture that were bending!
Surely this must be the way some programmes/adverts are filmed?
It`s as though they have filmed stuff with either a convex or concave lens!
Did seem to be MORE obvious on the flatscreens though!!
Does anyone know what I mean?
I switched a couple of TV`s onto teletext & all the lines & geometry looked okay & then switched back to telly &...........wavy lines & curves!
Don`t make sense!

a friend of mine (that repairs TV`s) tried to explain the reasion for this to me in detail.
I think got the basics of what he was on about, but not the details.

The one of the main reasions, but not the only one is down to the transformer in the TV being overloaded. That is the tube is drawing more power that the transformer can supply. this can be down to a bad transformer, but again there are other factors that can cause the tube to draw more power than the transformer can supply.

to test if this is the case, turn you contrast and brightnes down quit a bit, and you shoulds see the image strighten out. (hence the reasion for the teletext thingy as there a no bright images on screen)

Of couse another reasion is a duff / out of spec tube. Which some makers are renouned for with there WS TV`s. And not just the budget brands, some big names are guilty of this also.

lees - If you mean what I think you mean, then what you`re noticing isn`t specific to any T.V. Shots of Skyscrapers where the top 3rd is bending over a little? Shots of interiors where the upper parts of walls/doors/windows are straight except for the top part?. I`ve noticed this too and have seen it evident on several combinations of hardware. It doesn`t matter what ratio the picture is either, as 2.35:1 images still have the bend at the upper parts of the image. You`d have to have it pointed out to you to notice it for the first time, but it can bug you once you`ve seen it. I don`t know why it happens, but my DVD player is macro disabled, so I`d dismiss that option. Altering the contrast doesn`t help either, but to be honest it`s not a major concern. It`s one of those things that some people don`t ever detect, or can happily ignore.

That`s exactly the things I mean, it doesn`t apply just to widescreen TV`s either..............I think maybe it`s more noticeable though.
Took me mate in the shop today & he confirmed that it was appearing on square tellies as well.
Like you say " once you notice it". He`s really peeved at me now coz he`s got a square telly & when he got home he looked for this &............it does the same on his !!!!!!!!
Oh dear! What have I started?

Like I say though it`s not always apparent!
Just watched The Mask on DVD & NO instances of bending or curves whatsoever ( apart from the obvious Jim Carrey ones) Maybe it`s to do with the lens the cameraman uses?

got it in one it`s the distortion created by using wide angle lenses for interior shots. it will get worse the wider the angle of the lens until you get to a lens thats called a fish eye because it actually looks like a fishes eye. the other effect you mentioned is known as converging verticles and is caused by looking up at buildings from the ground. you can see the effect if you photograph an office block with most cameras

Excellent description Kevin........exactly what I mean!
Thanks for that.