movies and aspect ratio: If you're watching a 4:3 movie on this and go full screen, does it stretch/distort the movie or do you get the black bars on the sides?
1349177
That would depend on your DVD software. Unless the movie is "matted" the software will automatically maintain the original aspect ratio, and place black bars on the left and right. For instance, all current DVDs that are in widescreen no longer "matt" the black bars on top and right, and allow the software to put them in. Some old movies, bought back prior to '02 or '03 (for instance, I have this issue with "Terminator 2" and "Hunt for Red October") the widescreen is matted, so on this monitor I will get black bars on top and bottom from the "matt" and left and right from the software. There is an easy fix if you have this problem: change the resolution. I have a widescreen laptop, and when I watch anything in matted widescreen, I simply change the resolution from 1280:800 to 1280:1024, and the monitor crops the black bars off the top and bottom of the screen. When the movie is done, I switch back. This is in the graphic card setup, not the monitor, so just change the Display Properties. Hope this helps.
2070207
I checked the manual for you to be sure. The Blu-Ray player has at least 3 settings affecting aspect ratio. TV Type lets you select 16:9 or 4:3 depending on the physical design of your TV. Screen Format is the one you are most interested in, which has Full and Normal options. Normal will adjust the output to the original format, while Full will stretch a 4:3 image to fill a 16:9 display. Then there is DVD Aspect Ratio which is similar to the Zoom function on many HDTVs (letter box vs. zoom in which will cut off the sides).
839191
I have not found any settings yet for that but do not notice it very much or at all now. The screen looks so rich from all angles that I decided the keep the set since its one of best looking screens I have seen at this price range. I almost sent it back as other have noticed them as well, but at the end of the day I kept the set. If someone knows how to fix the issue post it here.
1119115
I think we're experiencing image burn-in on our 2 1/2-year-old 1080p LCD TV. When an HD show is on, there are now visible vertical lines marking where the sidebars of standard definition programs would be, almost as if a standard size screen were placed over the widescreen. There's also some shadowing in the top half of the standard screen area. This is most noticeable when the picture background is light colored. We had no idea this would happen. We were considering buying the Samsung model you've got, but we spend more than 5% of our TV time watching standard definition programs, and many of our DVD/Bluray movies have black bars on top and bottom. Maybe we'll just get by with our current set until the image burn-in problem is eliminated.
1313440
Great question. I use the aspect ratio on the remote or in the TV's menu, and select the ratio that best fits the picture that is currently playing. Hope this helps you out!
1744162
Did You ever get an answer on this. I have the same deal, including 4:3 aspect DVDs which are stretched to what I call "fatscreen". I have fussed with everything imaginable. If you have an answer, please email me at <michael.steeno@us.army.mil>
34895
You might want to try the following using the Screen Settings in the Settings Menu (pp29-30 of the manual):Wide Mode - FullAuto Wide - On4:3 Default (grayed out)Display - Full PixelHorizontal Center - 0Vertical Center - +3This seems to resolve the "over-scan" issues with 1080i. The downside, depending on your point of view, is that everything is displayed in its true aspect ratio (there are a variety of wide screen ratios used even on the same channel.) This could be a distraction, though I got use to it very quickly and don't think about any more. Anyway, give it a try. You can always change it back if you don't like the results. You might want to try the following using the Screen Settings in the Settings Menu (pp29-30 of the manual):Wide Mode - FullAuto Wide - On4:3 Default (grayed out)Display - Full PixelHorizontal Center - 0Vertical Center - +3This seems to resolve the "over-scan" issues with 1080i. The downside, depending on your point of view, is that everything is displayed in its true aspect ratio (there are a variety of wide screen ratios used even on the same channel.) This could be a distraction, though I got use to it very quickly and don't think about... » Read More You might want to try the following using the Screen Settings in the Settings Menu (pp29-30 of the manual):Wide Mode - FullAuto Wide - On4:3 Default (grayed out)Display - Full PixelHorizontal Center - 0Vertical Center - +3This seems to resolve the "over-scan" issues with 1080i. The downside, depending on your point of view, is that everything is displayed in its true aspect ratio (there are a variety of wide screen ratios used even on the same channel.) This could be a distraction, though I got use to it very quickly and don't think about any more. Anyway, give it a try. You can always change it back if you don't like the results. « Show Less
818183
Does this DVD allow older 4:3 content on disks to be displayed on my HDTV in original 4:3? I saw a post on a LG DVD that forces all 4:3 content to be stretched to 16:9, and I loathe that distortion. Any experience with other upconverting DVDs?
952610
I use 16:9 aspect ratio and can see the entire screen. At first, I had it set on "cinema zoom" and my screen was zoomed in and lots of my picture was cut off. I haven't had that problem since switching to 16:9. Hope this helps!
142691
The resolution of the VGA signal can be set to make the picture looks either like a 4:3 picture or a 16:9 image (also depends on whether your HDTV is a 720p or 1080p). Some autoformat function on your TV might be able to stretch enough but you may still see portions of the black bars on both side of the screen if it is a 4:3 video.
142692
No, the unit will not distort or stretch a 4:3 input signal to fill a 16:9 screen. To test this, I fed it a "4:3" 1024 x 768 signal and that's what the unit displayed on my TV. Most TV's have the ability to stretch the signal for you, if you want/need it stretched. Look for this button on your TV's remote; it may be labeled 'pic size', 'p.size', 'aspect', 'view mode' or 'format'.
261780
HD is so good that it is going to magnify low resolution and you are going to see the defects. The best way to minimize this is to not stretch programs that are in the 4:3 ratio. Go to HOME, SETTINGS, SCREEN SIZE and then set 4.3 default to "Normal". If you set it to anything else, it is going to stretch the screen and make things worse. Also make sure your cable box is set correctly because you can change how it outputs from the cable box. The third thing you need to watch is to use the correct mode with the correct program. For example, the vivid mode can cause eye strain. Reserve this mode for the simpsons and other similiar animated programs. Use standard for standard programs. Use cinema or customize the setting for sports. If you picture is too sharp for sports, you are going to see a fuzzy screen. If you reduce the sharpness and the brightness, the picture will look smooth and give you a better sense of motion. Also, even though it has nothing to do with the picture, be sure the crank the voice boost feature and the sound is incredible when you do this. Hope this helps.
1153479
There are five different settings that the viewer can choose from to set the aspect ratio according to his/her desire and according sometimes to the aspect ratio of the movie/video being broadcast. Those setting are normal, 16:9, wide, zoom, and movie expand.
1063467
I use a displayport cable for the best quality. When reduced to 1920x1080 it still takes up the whole screen and somewhat stretched the image out. I dont think its possible to put black bars on the side
1602591
In my experience, it depends on the station you're watching. Some have higher pixels, some smaller. Movies as a rule are truer to 1080.
1043120
Most games black out all other monitors when they enter full screen. If you play the game in windowed mode or you're just browsing then it works like any other monitor, and you can of course use it for watching movies.
1013812
As for the distortion %, I do not know. But I personally cannot detect any distortion during any of the movies, game or television.