Re: Hi-Def not always full-screen ?

> "Let's say I am watching a football game in hi-def, 
>on my 32' LCD TV. I don't really know if it's 720 
>or 1080 - the point is, the image fills every pixel 
>of the screen at 16:9, and it looks fantastic."

That is because the material has either 720 or 1080 lines of vertical
resolution.

> "Then, I switch over to PBS and watch, oh, Nature 
>or Masterpiece or something like that. I know PBS 
>is broadcasting in hi-def but the image is often letter-boxed 
>16:9, with several inches of black space all around."

That is because the source material has only 480 lines of vertical
resolution.  Subtract 480 from either the 720 or 1080 lines of the
high-definition picture, and the difference is your "black space."

> "Sure, I can expand it in some fa****on using the 
>TV aspect controls but then it either is distorted 
>or else has a certain fuzziness that detracts from 
>the quality."

If the broadcaster were to expand that picture for you, it would *still*
have only 480 lines of vertical resolution, and you would end up with
that same fuzziness.  The way you currently receive it, you have a
*choice* of either viewing with the fuzziness *or* viewing
"letter-boxed" *without* the fuzziness.