Key Post: Widescreen TV.

Re: Cheap Widescreen Versus More Expensive 'Square' Screen

Anyone consider buying a video projector?

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If I was inclined to consider buying a widecreen telly (I'm not) I personally would certainly include projection TV in any list to be evaluated.

WS broadcast

Rainyday,

why would you ask powercity for a commitment in writing? They have nothing to do with the broadcasters and what format they transmit in, we are all waiting for RTE to catch up and transmit more in 16:9 but since we are still waiting for them to figure out their approach to digital TV, what are the realistic chances?

Re: WS broadcast

I presume Rainyday was hinting at the obvious possibility that the Power City person was taking through their hat in an attempt to scare some punters into shifting a few more units for them. Don't expect independent objective advice from a sales person. I seem to recall certain commentators a few years ago saying that we'd all need digital TV reception capabilities to supplement or replace our analogue gear around now. Don't believe the hype.

Those who dis widescreen really have no idea at all

Just to add my peice to this discussion.
Until you actually have a widescreen and watch football, movies, dvds on a regular basis i'm afraid you really dont know what you are missing.

As one poster said 'It was a truly cinematic experience'.
Well, yes it is.
So you have to watch normal broadcasts with black bars.
Lucky you. You dont get the black bars and you get a tiny widescreen picture for your widescreen stuff.
More and more stuff is broadcast in widescreen now and it will only increase.

As for whoever was touting Nicam as even coming close to 5.1 sound, its yet another case of someone not having a clue.
Ok, so you like Nicam because you can hear a helicopter fly from one side to the other. With 5.1 you can hear it flying all around you, into the screen, straight back over you and hovering behind you.
There reall really is no comparison here and to pretend there is is just foolish talk.

Have you ever sat in one of those rooms in arnotts, peats, harvey normans and watch a movie in widescreen with the surround sound.
Go into one of those places early when there arent 40 people standing around you and check it out.
Well this is not a gimmick. This is what you really do get at home. It'll blow your mind.
Price : about €600 for a good 32" widescreen telly. €400 for good 5.1 sound.


Anyway, Its sooooo worth having widescreen and 5.1 that you wouldnt believe it. But its also true, that what you never had you wont miss. So if you want to miss it dont get it.
If you do want the experience go for it.

Re: Those who dis widescreen really have no idea at all

Hi Diddly - Can you quantify your comment that 'more & more stuff is broadcast in widescreen now' - How much? What stuff?

Also, the benefits you highlight of surround sound depend on the material having been recorded with surround sound and being transmitted with surround sound. How much material that you watch meets this requirement? Or does the benefit only really come when watching DVD's?

Don't forget the 28" widescreen is about the same screen height as a 25" standard ratio, so make sure you are comparing like with like. And tell us more about where you can buy a half-decent 32" widescreen for €600 - [broken link removed] it is more like €750 for a Philips and more again for a Sony.

Don't get tetchy rainyday.

Everything said there makes perfect sense.
I have seen nice 32" widescreens for around the €600 in arnotts.
Only looking at one web site rainyday will only get you one price. Shop around as hearney says

In my opinion widescreen is the way to go too. Do some more of this 'research' you were talking about.

Just to help you here.

SKY digital broadcast their movies in widescreen with most being 5.1
Channel 4 almost all movies in widescreen.
BBC over 50% widescreen.

With all major channels (including RTE, but who cares) planning a move to the widescreen format.

DVD - most rentals are widescreen, 5.1, AC3, DTS nowadays.

And here's the clincher

IF YOU DONT WATCH YOUR MOVIES IN PANORAMIC OR WIDESCREEN THEN YOU DONT SEE IT AS THE DIRECTOR INTENDED. Pan and scan conversion cuts out half the movie.

Like the man said, anyone praising Nicam above 5.1 shows a severe lack of knowledge here.
This post will be deleted if not edited immediately, this thread is like lagging behind with the Joneses.

And i would go further, get yourself a widescreen projector if you really want to say WOW everytime you sit down to watch a movie (around €1000 though).

Re: Don't get tetchy rainyday.

BBC over 50% widescreen.

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Hi Holygod - Can you help me with that research by clarifying your source for this nugget of information regarding the BBC? Do you mean 50% of everything or 50% of movies?

Re: Don't get tetchy rainyday.

I've made the same argument for the past couple of years with 'the brother' as Rainyday continues to make now. However, like many of the other recent contributors to the thread I have come round to the argument for widescreen. I have digital TV and like to watch a bit of footy. Over the past 6 months or so I've grown tired of seeing even the tiniest player look as tall as Kanu because Sky are broadcasting in widescreen. Alternatively, going to letterbox format makes them look like midgets.

Increasingly, I’ve noticed heads missing or titles chopped at either side of the screen when watching BBC. I can't clarify whether they now broadcast 48, 50 or 52% of their output in w/s, but to quibble over the exact quantity is to miss the point. It is increasing at a rate of knots and this trend is not going to change.

I’ve run Dolby pro-logic through my stereo system for digital movies and it is streets ahead of NICAM. Having recently bought a DVD player, I’m throwing in the towel and heading for the sales to find a 100hz 32” w/s for €750 if possible. Oh, and a sub-woofer speaker too, I guess. It’ll help keep us out of those damn overpriced pubs anyway.


I was a similar late convert to CDs, and argued that the hiss and crackle of vinyl added to the ‘warmth’ of the listening experience. On the odd occasion I still put a record on I can’t believe how poor the quality is….. so come on Rainyday and other doubters, abandon the flat-earthers and embrace the 21st Century!

Re: Don't get tetchy rainyday.

I have seen nice 32" widescreens for around the €600 in arnotts. Only looking at one web site rainyday will only get you one price.

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Strange - If I look at [broken link removed] webpage, it shows a Philips 32" at 800 in the sale, down from 900. What brand of 32" did you see for 600? Was it some dodgy Panafonics or Shonee brands?

I don't think the issue is whether the percentage of widescreen material is 48% or 52%. I reckon is it more like 20%-30% - And I've been hearing for three years that 'everything will be widescreen in six months', but it just never seems to happen.

Having said that, I reckon this is a personal decision. I don't watch much sports at all, and we would rarely take out a movie on DVD. It is usually just good drama & current affairs

Was in arnotts yesterday

I was in arnotts yesterday and saw a a few phillips 32 inch widescreens for €550 - €700.
Powercity has several makes for this price including the major brands.
And yes the percentage is growing rapidly with widescreen braodcast.
I reckon its over 50%.
and even if its not you are missing the widescreen programs which really should be seen the way the makers made them.
BBC are making making more than 50% of their own programs in widescreen. hell even eastenders is in widescreen.
I think they are showing at least 50% of movies in widescreen these days and growing.
I also think that if you watch only current affairs and drama and dont rent many dvds you shouldnt get widescreen. Why dont you just get a radio LMAO for those.

Really rainyday, do some bloody proper research on movies, sports, DVDs and also SURROUND SOUND before advising people not to go for the technology of the day as this is THE REASON to go widescreen and surround.

Re: Was in arnotts yesterday

BBC are making making more than 50% of their own programs in widescreen. hell even eastenders is in widescreen.

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Once again, please quote your source for this nugget. I note that Eastenders and other BBC flagship shows like Casualty, Holby City, Auf Wiedershien Pet are not marked as 'widescreen' in [broken link removed]

Rainyday get a life.

Good jaysus rainyday. Get a life.
Watch some TV that hasd been made in the last year and then work out for yourself if there is 50%.
And if there is only 30% then theres only 30% and people with 4:3 tvs are only seeing 70% quality programming and people with ws tvs are seeing 100%.
You dont have to be a pain in the ass just because your opinion is rubbished here. You like my old man saying 'Ah jaysus a JCB will never do as good a job as a man with a shovel'

If you're happy to use a shovel use it. It digs perfectly well untill you wit hard ground.

Accept it. You dont watch movies so stick with your 4:3 and nicam. Let others enjoy the quality they are happy with too.
Widescreen and surround sound are not about the quantity availabe and i think there is at least 50% - 60% of the stuff i watch in wide screen) they are about the experience. Something you dont need when watching today tonight.

Re: Rainyday get a life.

Hi laughing policeman/kingkong/holygod

I'm sorry that a simple statement of some clear facts seems to be getting up your nose so much. It would be nice if any pro-widescreen posters would post some real facts, as opposed to conjecture which doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

I'm sure it's quite clear to any reasonable reader that I'm absolutely delighted to hear about any widescreen purchaser who is happy with their purchase. I'm just trying to ensure that those who haven't yet purchased are quite clear on what they are getting themselves into, and understand the alternatives available to them. If they still decide that they want to proceed, then fair play to them.

Let them look up the facts

Why not advise them to look up the facts for themselves because clearly rainy day you are trying to prove that you are right.
Let common sense prevail and not aul lad stone-age sense

Re: Let them look up the facts

Well Holy God, as Miley would say. There is no 'right' answer - it is a case of horses for courses. Widescreen may well be the right choice for some people. I note that the price differential between widescreen and standard ratio TV's has reduced signficantly since this thread has started.

But don't believe all the unsubstantiated guff about 'everything will be widescreen in 6 months time' - it won't.

What guff about all programs being WS in 6 months?

I haven't read any guff about all programs being in WS in 6 months.
Possibly the part where a salesman said this. If this is all thats annoying people here they deserve to be locked up for believing a salesman.
That said i believe that currrent affairs, documentaries etc will be a long time, if they are made in WS at all.
People dont buy WS for these programs.
The strong point being made here is that there is a definite benefit in going WS. It is true that all movies will be shown in WS shortly. Sky show everything made in WS in that format at the moment. CH4 and E4 are following. BBC are also following rapidly here.
And yes you are missing the prgram as it is meant to be seen if you dont have widescreen. So it could be said that you are indeed missing out on 30%-50% of broadcast programs unless of scourse you only watch the non WS programs to justify spending €500 on a large 4:3 TV (bad decision in my opinion).

When colour tvs came out and ony 30%-50% of progs were broadcast in colour did you think that you should just get a bigger B&W tv until all progs were broadcast in colour.

And that Comparison of Nicam to SS is hillarious. You really need to get out more in the world and compare these in real life before making a comment like that.
Again its like the difference between B&W and colour.

Re: What guff about all programs being WS in 6 months?

And yes you are missing the prgram as it is meant to be seen if you dont have widescreen. So it could be said that you are indeed missing out on 30%-50% of broadcast programs

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And the logical consequence of this is that when watching the 50%-70% of NON-widescreen programs using a widescreen TV, you are missing the program as it was meant to be seen.

Yes, of course, surround sound gives an improved experience to NICAM for those programs which are recorded and broadcasted in surround sound, which is typically just movies. So watching Eastenders in surround sound makes no difference.

You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Actually rainyday you are wrong.

Those programs not in WS you still see as they were meant to be seen. Hence the black bars.
WS is all about the amount of vertical lines in a broadcast.
your 4:3 tv simply cannot show the same amount of lines as a WS tv, so it cuts a This post will be deleted if not edited to remove bad language load of them out and you see less quality than you would with a widescreen.
Whereas your widescreen tv will show all of the lines for a WS broadcast program and all of the lines for a 4:3 broadcast.
The bigger your 4:3 tv the more you can notice the lines missing. If you havent noticed the difference then you havent watched it on a WS to compare. It is really obvious even on a 21"


Yes only movies are broadcast in surround sound at the moment. That probably will change too but to be honest i dont really see the need sor surrount sound on soaps and documentaries.
Movies really come in to their own with 5.1 in widescreen.
Also, i dont thing its wise to buy 28" widescreen. You should go for the 32" at least. Its like the difference between a portable and large screen tv


It is so true that you'll never miss what you havent got.
You are talking complete rainyday drivel when you pretend to know about these things as your last post shows.

Re: Actually rainyday you are wrong.

I'm going to just ignore the personal jibes and stick to the facts.

When watching non-WS material on a WS tv, you have two options.

1) Watch it with black bars on either side of the screen. The problem with this is that it dramatically reduces the size of the image. So the screen height of your 32" widescreen is less than the screen height of your 29" normal ratio, and by choosing the 'black bar' option, you are now limited by the vertical height of your smaller screen, and you lose a lot of size. And having the black bars on either side kind-of defeats the purpose of having WS in the first place.

2) Use some of the 'stretch' options to squeeze the non-WS picture on the WS screen, in which case you either lose some of the picture or you distort the picture.

So you want to watch the majority of currently broadcast materials in either a smaller size or a distorted picture, then WS is definitely for you.

Some WS material when broadcast to non-WS TV's (e.g. ER on RTE1) comes out in letterbox mode, so you get ALL of the picture with a slightly reduced screen size. But the reduced size that I'm getting on my 29" non-WS TV is still comparable with what you'll get your (much more expensive) 32" WS TV.

The real question regarding sound is not 'what is it broadcast in', it is 'what was it recorded in'. If the original material was not recorded with surround sound, then it doesn't matter at all how it is broadcast - It still won't give you surround sound.

Glad we agree on one thing - If you are going to get widescreen, get a 32" at least.

pathetic

Rainyday you are getting pathetic now.
A widescreen picture on a 4:3 telly does not show the same quality as a WS telly end of story.

Scan lines are thrown out by your tv. Thiough this is really only applicable to DVDs at the moment. Though in the US (i'm just back) they are getting really big into HDTV, and will follow in the UK. Dont expect RTE to be there for 100 years.
And yes people do watch dvds and therefore will not get full quality with 4:3.
See the post previous to yours. Ignoring doesnt change the fact that it is true.
You may get the same size picture but will be missing some of it (not so as you would notice, only on straight edges (e.g a fence) unless you know what you are looking for.

You should never ever use a stretch option on any TV.

Likewise letterbox obly shows you the amount of vertical lines that your 4:3tv can show. (i think it might be over 700). Your tv just loses out on these lines in the picture letterbox or not.

All mainstream movies now are recorded in 5.1, DTS, THX etc. So it really is what it is broadcast in. A lot more movies are sounded with surround than are broadcast due to the tv stations not broadcasting this. Nobody said eastenders would be in 5.1



I think your using the old mom trick. Argue until no-one cares anymore, then you'll be right.
I think its probably at that stage now