Aphex Twin

Hey there!
I am seriously thinking of purchasing a 65" Mitsu WS HDTV set. However, I watch a lot of TV programming which is mainly 4x3. I was wondering how most of you with WS TVs watch full frame on your WS TV. I have heard that if you watch it with the bars on the sides that it will ruin the TV in the long run by burn-in. Is that true?
Also, I have seen it stretched and it is not a pretty sight. All the characters on the screen look distorted and stuff.
So I was wondering, what is the best thing to do in this situation?

huzefa

It depends on the show; if it's just another rerun of the simpsons, I'll watch it in widescreen, but if it's a new episode of friends or something, I'll watch it in fullscreen with the black bars on the sides. I think the key is to keep shifting the images around; ie not to stick with one or the other.

JimRochester

If you do a search there has to be a dozen threads on this subject. Comes up very frequently. I watch 4:3 material in STRETCHED mode. It leaves the center alone stretching just the edges to fill the screen. I really don't notice much distortion except when panning side to side. Supposedly burn-in is rare but I'd rather not take the chance. If the majority of your watching is 4:3 you may be better of with a 4:3 set. Or a dedicated WS for DVD watching and a 4:3 for TV.

Mammal

I use the zoom function, which cuts off the top and bottom of TV shows - since much of what we see is framed with HDTV in mind they keep all the essential material within the 16x9 area. I watch academy ratio films with the bars, and haven't had any burn-in problems.

djones6746

I would think watching widescreen dvds on a 4:3 set(53" Sony) as I have done for five years on a pretty regular basis would be the same thing you are talking about. The only difference is the bars are on the top and bottom. No problems with any type of burn-in on my set due to the use of letterboxed dvd movies.

djones6746

What is burn-in, and can video games create burn-in on my TV?

Burn-in is caused by a static(non-moving) image displayed on the screen for long periods of time which age the CRTs in that spot prematurely. RPTVs are much more susceptible to burn-in than direct-view(tube) TVs but direct-view sets can have the problem(it only takes longer). RPTVs are more at risk because the CRTs have to output at a much higher level to maintain the brightness.

Video games can cause burn-in on RPTVs with such things as life bars, score boxes, etc. Basically anything that doesn’t change.

Burn-in can also occur on wide screen TVs if the the 4:3 viewing mode is used too much(4:3 mode puts the gray bars on the sides). The black bars will also cause burn-in when viewing widescreen movies. The black bars actually casue the burn-in to happen much quicker than the gray bars.

On RPTVs the best way to prevent burn-in from happening is to calibrate your TV, keep the brightness and contrast down and limit the time playing games to 15% of your total TV viewing.
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I still do not understand what the difference would be in the viewing of letterboxed movies on a 4:3 set and why you would not experience the same problem as indicated above. I guess the key is to keep the settings on your television down so as to prevent burn-in from happening.....my contrast is actually set fairly high with my sharpness turned all the way down. I have played video games along with viewing many widescreen dvds for five years and have not had one problem. Do certain brands of televisions suffer more than others?

BabiG

Wow...after all the complaining and whining and frustration and anger about keeping OAR for movies...

"Oh, I stretch the TV picture out, I want the screen filled up" and "I cut off the top and bottom of the picture, there's nothing important there", when it's TV...the exact type of statements that supposedly "Joe six-pack" is making in his/her blind ignorance of framing and original directorial intent.

I don't mean to rag on you two, though it comes out that way, it just seems awfully funny that no one else has even commented on it when a few forums up if you mention the same thing with movies you'd get castrated...its just baffling how cultish the whole thing is...

Mammal

No, I watch movies in the original aspect ratio, with black bars. TV, which is largely junk, really doesn't matter. In sports watching the screen can be moved up or down if one wants to watch the clock and score logo.

Steve Phillips

I watch my 4X3 material on my old 4X3 most of the time. I can't stand the crop and stretch modes; and I agree that it seems strange to hear OAR advocates saying they do this.

It is outrageous that studios are starting to crop old TV shows for widescreen HDTV masters also. They should leave the cropping for people to do on their sets if they have to.