16 x 9 enhanced mode on regular 1.33 sets?
 

Starting to shop for a new set. 16x9's still beyond my budget but I notice brands like Sony and Sharp now have a 16x9 "enhanced" mode on some 27 and larger standard screen models. This mode claims to give better resolution. I understand the concept behind it and it makes sense but have never actually seen how it looks. Anyone got one? How do you like it?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Btw...this has been around for years. It's not a new feature. I got my TV about two years ago and it has it on it.

I have this not new feature on a 36" and a 27" Sony Wega. Wonderful feature.

Well it's the first time I have shopped for a TV in many years and I don't know anyone who has it on their set, so for me it's a new feature.

I'm glad to hear it's worthwhile. With letterboxing on a normal TV you give up some screen real estate and therefore have fewer lines to generate the image. As I understand it, the enhance function compresses all the scan lines into the 16x 9 area of the screen so you get the full resolution of the set back when watching an anamorphic DVD letterbox image. Right? Nice idea. Basically it's almost like having a real 16x9 TV sitting inside a regular shape screen. Gotta see a demo somewhere.

I love this feature on my Wega. I bought a Mid-Level Wega 3 years ago and my only complaint about the 16x9 mode is that it doesn't autodetect. There also isn't a remote option to switch, it's (as the Macro on my remote can attest) 10 keypresses down. Now this isn't a big deal when watching a movie, but it is when watching extras on DVDs as they tend to switch between animorphic and non rather frequently. Take this into consideration when looking at a TV. I would assume most do auto 16x9 switching now, but if the one you're looking at doesn't, see how difficult it is to switch.

I have the anamorphic squeeze option on my 32" WEGA and absolutely love it. Go with the SONY!

Sony KV-36XBR250 and I love it. It also autodetects. :D