Do both TV and DVD player need "16:9" mode...?
 

Do both the TV and the DVD player need "16:9" mode to take advantage of the Higher Resolution feature when watching widescreen DVD on a 4:3 TV?

Or does the TV only need the feature turned on and the DVD will just send out the widescreen picture to 4:3 that "Thinks" it is widescreen when the featured is turned on?

Thanks for any advice.

let's start with the tv: either you have a 16:9 or a 4:3 screen. it sounds like you have a 4:3. a 16:9 tv is the only tv that can take advantage of an anamorphic transfer (usually the disc will say 'enhanced version for 16:9').

your dvd player is probably the setting, in your case, that is more important. you should have a preference for either 4:3 (i.e. pan/scan), letterbox, or 16:9. this setting is what tells the dvd what format to play out to your television.

i don't know if i answered your question clearly, but hopefully it shed some light on it.

This is not true. A few TVs that are 4:3 feature a 16:9 mode that will show an enhanced picure from an anamorphic DVD.

To answer the original question: The DVD player should be set as if the TV is 16:9 and the TV (when set to the 16:9 mode) will detect this and react accordingly.

my bad. i guess i'll have to investigate some of those tv's.

To expand upon what BSTNFAN wrote, all DVD players are capable of outputting in 16:9. To take advantage of it, you do need a TV that has a 16:9 mode.

not all DVD players are capable of outputting in 16:9...only progressive scan DVD players can do this.

Incorrect. Any DVD player can output in 16:9 format but unless your TV is a 16:9 widescreen model or a 4:3 model with a 16:9 vertical compression mode it will look distorted.

Thanks.

I am going to buy a TV with 16:9 mode, so I will not need to purchase a new DVD player.

Wouldn't it be cheaper to buy a new DVD player?

Because you need a TV with 16:9 Mode (turns your 4:3 TV into Widescreen) to display the widescreen picture from the DVD.

16:9 mode will take most of the resolution from the Black Bars and shift it into the "Widescreen" picture that is displayed in the 4:3 screen.

Either way you don't need to buy a new DVD player, and you do not need a TV with a 16:9 mode to display the widescreen picture from a DVD.

If your TV does not have a 16:9 mode, set your player to output 4:3 letterbox.

Right, that's what I was thinking. I have a 27" Sony WEGA with the 16:9 mode, but IMO it doesn't look good enough to warrant a new TV purchase. Just my 2 cents.