[mythtv-users] Is Wider better?
DM - MythTV
mythtv at tazman.net
Mon Apr 30 15:24:26 UTC 2007
Peter A. Daly wrote:
> I think I've decided to go the LCD computer monitor route rather than
> the LCD TV route. We watch exclusively (right now) SD recorded from
> TV content.
>
No DVDs?
> I don't currently own a widescreen, but have heard they are not great
> for SD content. However, it looks like widescreen's are all the
> rage. Thanks for any advice.
"not great for SD content" could mean a couple things:
1> the vertical letterboxing annoys some people (like my wife). Not
much you can do about that, it's a fact of life when watching 4:3
content on widescreen (unless you want everyone to suddenly gain 200 lbs
by setting it to stretch to one of the widescreen ratios).
2> Not all HD TVs have exactly spent much engineering time on their SD
tuners. Therefore, picture quality can suffer (even beyond the fact
that it is SD and not up to HD standards to begin with). This would
vary by manufacturer and shouldn't affect you (at least not in the same
way) since you are using an external tuner and a monitor.
My 2c are that if you watch any DVDs on this display, you probably want
the widescreen.
If you don't and only watch TV, the 4:3 is probably the better choice if
you look only at today. If you look into the future tho, the FCC is
pushing hard on getting all broadcasts to HD, so you new 4:3 monitor
will become the non-preferred format pretty quickly. Even if cable
sticks with SD (I don't think they are affected by the FCC changes quite
the same way as broadcast), program formats are already switching to
widescreen in SD in our area (and I'm guessing nationwide). This
letterboxes on SD, and double letterboxes (horizontally and vertically)
on our widescreen (see below). Unless you plan on replacing this
monitor in the next 2-4 years, long term you may be happier with the
widescreen (even it it's not the preferred choice for the short term).
We just got a new widescreen for our main TV this year and I haven't
gotten around to switching out the cable service to HD, and the double
letterbox is pretty annoying sometimes... :) (I know, we can manually
switch the settings, but that's annoying for me and I'm sure not going
to try to teach my wife how to do it.) In the end, I'm pretty sure we
will be happier with the widescreen long term (and already are when
watching DVDs).
HTH
Dan
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