TV2 - SD or HD

[zcasper]

Do you guys watch HD or SD channels on the TV2? I can't really decide on what I like better.

HD looks better on the SD television, but then I have to deal with the letterboxing.

Thanks in advance,

Zach

[HobbyTalk]

You have to decide what you like best. Letterboxing is great as the programming is being shown the way it is suppose to be.

[theoak]

I prefer watching HD on my SD television in letterbox as watching HD otherwise on my SD TV just cuts off the edges.

[mrzeld]

you can press the format button (lower left * button) to get rid of the letterboxing and it just cuts off the sides (which is what you get with regular SD programming anyways). on a decent SD TV, the HD stations do look much better than the SD stations IMO. sometimes though the audio is not quite in sync with the image for whatever reason.

[HobbyTalk]

just cuts off the sides (which is what you get with regular SD programming anyways).

Not exactly. Most programming done in 16x9 uses a Pan/Scan technique to drop down to 4x3. The area you see "moves" around the 16x9 available viewing area to follow the main action. You could be viewing anywhere from the far left side to the far right side of the 16x9 viewing area. With cropping you would only ever see the center of the viewing area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_and_scan

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/PanScan7BridesPan.gif

[JudH]

Not exactly. Most programming done in 16x9 uses a Pan/Scan technique to drop down to 4x3. The area you see "moves" around the 16x9 available viewing area to follow the main action. You could be viewing anywhere from the far left side to the far right side of the 16x9 viewing area. With cropping you would only ever see the center of the viewing area.


But I wonder. Yes the "real" 4x3 version of a movie is pan&scanned BUT I wonder what's happening with stations that have both SD and HD versions. Are they physically showing both 4x3 and 16x9 versions or are some stations "cheating" and only showing the 16x9 version with hardware generating the 4x3 version by cropping the center. Anybody got their SD set and HD set visable at the same time? Are you seeing pan&scan on the SD channel?

Jud in Dallas

[HobbyTalk]

Currently stations are broadcasting both DT and analog so DT is in 16x9 (letterboxed on a 4x3 set) and analog is 4x3. JJust a guess but come Feb. 2009 there will only be 16x9 so those with SD sets can zoom if they want or if they can't they get to enjoy TV in original format instead of chopped up 4x3.

OK, there are exceptions such as sub-channels that will still be broadcast 4x3 DT. Our local PBS station broadcasts the analong 4x3 channel as a DT sub-channel in 4x3 format (480i), the main channel is different programming in 16x9 HD. The local network channels main DT channels (same programming as the analog programming but in 16x9 HD) show up letterboxed on a SD TV.