Question about widescreen tvs
06-04-03, 05:17 PM
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Question about widescreen tvs
I'm looking to buy a new tv. I'm a little lost on all the different types out there: flat screen, wide screen, hdtv, plasma. So I'm at best buy looking at the wide screens when I notice that some, or possibly one, of the wide screens is showing more of the picture than the other wide screens. All the tvs were showing "Discovery Planet HDTV". In the lower right hand corner the DP HDTV logo was in the picture, but the full logo only showed up completely on one the tvs. On some of the others all you could see was half of the logo.
So, I guess my question is "are there different size wide screens"? Are some "wider" ratio-wise than others?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
So, I guess my question is "are there different size wide screens"? Are some "wider" ratio-wise than others?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
06-04-03, 05:38 PM
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WIdescreens usually have a 'zoom' mode to reduce/eliminate the black bars on top & bottom (and lose picture from the sides), in addition to stretch modes to fill the widescreen with a narrower 'regular' tv image. The sets you saw may have had different modes activated.
Also, all tv's have 'overscan' which means they don't show the entire image, thus eliminating blank/black stripes at the edges. Some sets from the factory have this set too high, which can cause noticeable loss of some of the picture. A good value for overscan is 4.5-5%, but some sets can be as high as 10-15% from the factory. You can often get into service menus and set the proper overscan using a test pattern, so it's not a defect.
To get back to your basic question, there are different 'sizes' of widescreen tv's (measured as inches on the diagonal), but they all have the same width/height *ratio* of 16:9. So, if set up properly, they should all show the same image.
Also, all tv's have 'overscan' which means they don't show the entire image, thus eliminating blank/black stripes at the edges. Some sets from the factory have this set too high, which can cause noticeable loss of some of the picture. A good value for overscan is 4.5-5%, but some sets can be as high as 10-15% from the factory. You can often get into service menus and set the proper overscan using a test pattern, so it's not a defect.
To get back to your basic question, there are different 'sizes' of widescreen tv's (measured as inches on the diagonal), but they all have the same width/height *ratio* of 16:9. So, if set up properly, they should all show the same image.
06-04-03, 07:00 PM
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Amel,
What you saw at the store is commonly found at most electronics store. In theory, an HD feed should look exactly the same across all the tv's..... but since there is only one connection from the HD box (generators like sencore, etc), often one of them will have the proper signal (i.e. you see the full D- HD logo) and in others you see it stretched, etc (i.e. you see half of the logo).
The best way to check if the picture is really showing an HD picture is to hit the info button on the remotes. On the sets like the mitsubishi's, it should say (480i, 480p, 1080i, etc). If it says 1080i or HD standard, it is getting a HD signal. If it is anything else, most likely its getting a Standard definition signal...
hope this helps.
What you saw at the store is commonly found at most electronics store. In theory, an HD feed should look exactly the same across all the tv's..... but since there is only one connection from the HD box (generators like sencore, etc), often one of them will have the proper signal (i.e. you see the full D- HD logo) and in others you see it stretched, etc (i.e. you see half of the logo).
The best way to check if the picture is really showing an HD picture is to hit the info button on the remotes. On the sets like the mitsubishi's, it should say (480i, 480p, 1080i, etc). If it says 1080i or HD standard, it is getting a HD signal. If it is anything else, most likely its getting a Standard definition signal...
hope this helps.
06-05-03, 02:55 AM
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Originally posted by drmoze
Also, all tv's have 'overscan' which means they don't show the entire image, thus eliminating blank/black stripes at the edges. Some sets from the factory have this set too high, which can cause noticeable loss of some of the picture. A good value for overscan is 4.5-5%, but some sets can be as high as 10-15% from the factory. You can often get into service menus and set the proper overscan using a test pattern, so it's not a defect.
Also, all tv's have 'overscan' which means they don't show the entire image, thus eliminating blank/black stripes at the edges. Some sets from the factory have this set too high, which can cause noticeable loss of some of the picture. A good value for overscan is 4.5-5%, but some sets can be as high as 10-15% from the factory. You can often get into service menus and set the proper overscan using a test pattern, so it's not a defect.
