> So, my DVD question is, is it too old to take advantage of the HDTV
> capabilities?
>
> BTW, I really don't want to hear that my problem is "using an Olevia
> TV." I'm sure that has nothing to do with my question and is merely an
> opinion. I'm looking for information and assistance, not a flame war.
Your TV has a fixed aspect ratio. Meaning the width to height ratio
is always going to be the same (duh, the screen doesn't change
size!). That ratio is 16 to 9. For every 16 inches wide, the screen
is 9 inches high.
Programs that you watch can be all over the map as far as their
ratio. Older TV programs (and current programs that are not shot in
HD) are 4 to 3 (or, by multiplying by 3, 12 to 9). A 12 to 9 picture
is short 4 inches on the width, which is why it doesn't fill the
screen and you have black bars on the sides.
Some movies are the opposite, where the ratio is 2.35:1 or about 16 :
6.8 (2.35:1 is only one example). Now you have a height that isn't
filled all the way, and you'll have the black bars on the top and
bottom. Some movies are modified so that some of the picture is cut
off on the sides. This will make the picture fill your screen, with
sacrafice of you not being able to see some of the picture.
If a TV show is shot in HD, by definition, the HD aspect ratio is
16:9. That's why all HD programming fills up the screen fully.
|
