16X9 Anamorphic Question
 

Hey everyone...I just got a 27" 27FS17 Sony Wega TV and a Toshiba SD-3750 DVD player for my birthday.

From my understanding, Im supposed to set the dvd player to 16x9 and also put the tv in 16x9 mode. Is this how to watch the dvd in its best possible way (well at least the 16x9 enhanced ones)

The thing is, I havent really noticed any difference in quality gain or more side picture when I am in 16x9 as opposed to 4x3
Is there something else I need to do?

Thanks for all your help

As others will probably tell you also, the size of the television makes a big difference, as well as how close you are sitting to it.
The resolution difference is much more noticeable on a large widescreen television.

And of course it also depends on how much of a videophile you are. You may not notice little flaws in video quality whereas others might notice every grain and speck.

There is no extra "side picture" with anamorphic video. Instead of having your DVD player perform the down-conversion, it sends the video signal (interlaced in this case) to the TV. Then, when you turn on 16:9 mode on the Wega, your TV "squishes" the picture vertically. You don't lose any of the resolution from down-conversion in the DVD player.

And as said above, if you have a larger TV, the difference will be more noticable.

Well, unfortunately my 52" Panasonic HDTV only allows u to go into 16x9 mode if you have a digital signal.

You might also want to try an A/B comparison with a few DVDs.

For instance, if I'm not mistaken, the machine in Contact has a lot of catwalks. In 4:3 downconverted mode, the long vertical lines in the catwalk noticeably artifact with scanlines, but in 16:9 mode those artifacts disappear.

The difference is small but perceptible. Or you could just take our word for it -- 16:9 is better.

And the disc you are looking at must be anamorphic for there to be any difference.

My own conclusions
 

I don't know if my own conslusions can help you but:

One example: If you have an anamorphic 2.35:1 film (made for 16:9 tv's) it will NOT fill upp the entire screen unless you use the overscan features of your tv. (which may lower the picture quality a little bit)

But.. if you have an anamorphic 1.78:1 film it WILL fill upp the entire screen.

Conclusion: 1. If it's going to fill up your entire screen on your new cool widescreen tv's has to do with the actual format of the dvd you are watching. 2. On most modern tv's you can watch full screen even if the dvd is in 2.35:1 (for example), if you use the tv's overscan features. Sometimes mentioned as aspect ratio auto or you can manually set it to zoom, just or whatever. Play around a bit with your tv. But I believe for best picture quality you should keep the setting to 16:9 on your tv, so it displays the movie according the the dvd's format. You will then in some cases have to live with the black areas above and under your picture.

Also, if you don't worry about the size of the picture, if you only refer to the quality of the picture then I belive that the quality effect you gain by watching an anamorphic will be easier to see on a larger tv... (so you'll have to buy change it to a bigger one;-). I have a 36 widescreen tv but it already feels small. People are spoiled by nature. We strive for better and bigger all the time. ;-)

End of conlusions: Anamorphic gives you better picture quality what ever format it is made in, 2.35:1 or 1.78:1 for example...

If i'm wrong in my conclusions, please correct me.

/Mats

Re: 16X9 Anamorphic Question
 

To summerize: as nice as your 27" Wega is, it's small enough that you probably can't tell the difference between anamorphic and non-anamorphic DVDs (unless you have *very* critical eyes and sit up very close). Anamorphic DVDs are mastered to have higher resolution than non-anamorphic DVDs (because part of non-anamorphic DVDs' resolution is used up by the black bar), and on larger wide-screen TVs or projectors you can tell the difference (all other things being equal).

I have a 10 ft diag 16x9 screen for primary movie viewing, and any blemishs and artifacts on the picture caused by anything are easy to see.

Beeeil

Ok, so i guess my next question is why do they make such a small tv in 16x9 mode? isnt it a waste of money?

You're not saying your Wega is 16x9 are you? Wega series is Sony's top of the line 4x3 sets (decendent of XBR^2 line from a few years back if I am not mistaken), all the way up to 40".

Beeeil

no, its a 4x3 set, but with the optional 16x9 mode. Im wondering why they offer the option if there is no difference in quality. Seems kinda silly

Put it on a dolly
 

If you have had the opportunity to see a picture without scan lines, at a B&M, for example, you will probably find that the image without the scan lines invites you to look closer, and the sets with scan lines suddenly become very unpleasant. It only takes a second to compare.

You can relax your eyes and watch something wide instead of staring at a small light. Perhaps you might have a way of bringing the 16x9 image closer to your eyes and a way to distance it when you are watching the news.

Wait a sec. I also have a 27" Wega. The difference is so noticable (sp) between anamorphic and non that my parents decided they needed the same tv. I have a Sony 360 and it is set to 16:9/4:3 letterbox. I "squeeze" the picture and voila! If your settings are correct I promise you, you'll notice the difference. I only wish I had a bigger TV to see what I'm missing :)

Cheers
Lox

On a small TV, the difference is probably hard to notice.

RD