How do I get the most out of my my widescreen DVD's and TV?

Question

I have my Sony 42" widescreen TV and the DVD player connected to it via the S-Video cable. I've been buying almost all of my dvds in the widescreen format if the choice is given. My problem now is that when i play my dvds i still have to use the zoom feature to get these to fill the screen or else I'd have the 2 bars on the right and left sides of the picture. I dont think that is right so do i need to buy the component video cables to get the true widescreen? at this point its hard for me to tell if the image is stretched or not when i set it to fill the screen..

Answer 1

all these people are wrong. a wide screen DVD gives you true wide screen. Bars on the left and right mean that's its not wide screen. Check your DVD configuration to make sure its not in some 4:3 mode. an hdmi, component, etc will deliver a sharper pitcher but will NOT FILL the screen. Check your TV and DVD configurations, I guarantee something is wrong. Don't waste your money listening to these guys unless you want a better pictures. If this doesn't help call the DVD manufacturer or Sony.

Answer 2

If one divides 16 by 9 it equals 1.77777. If the movie theatres use 1.85:1 up to 2.35:1 and use 9 different settings in between, that just isn t productive for DVD movie playing at home on a widescreen TV. I wish the studios would use 1.777777:1 like 16:9 is. Ok, the screens are wider at the theaters. So, why not make widescreen TV s fit 1:85 to 2.35:1 size, which ever is used the most. Or, even, come on, the technology is so great today let s make the players or TV s fit the dang movie with some adjustment somewhere? Geese!

Answer 3

I don't think you need the component video cables to get true widescreen, but they should give you a sharper picture.

Check the DVD player setup menu and make sure it is set for a widescreen TV, not pan & scan or letterbox. Then check the TV settings: there must be some way to tell it you have a widescreen source; maybe a button on the remote to toggle between different display modes. The display mode may have to be set for each input, so that video from a VCR is displayed in 4:3 and the DVD defaults to widescreen.

Some movies are encoded in anamorphic widescreen (they often say "enhanced for widescreen TVs" on the box); you'll probably have to read the TV manual to understand how to get those to display properly. Those movies stretch a letterboxed picture to use the entire 4:3 TV frame, so they have to be squished down to display properly on a widescreen TV.

If your TV and DVD player support progressive scan, you should be using that for the best possible picture quality. I'd expect that once you've enabled progressive scan in the DVD player setup, the TV will recognize it automatically.

Answer 4

usually if you watch a widescreen dvd, the bars would be at the top and bottom, not the left and ride hand sides of the screen. So i don't know why it's doing that. To not have any bars on the screen is called fullscreen and you'd need a fullscreen dvd to do that. When you buy a dvd it usually tells you if it's widescreen or fullscreen.

Sorry i wasn't much help, i'm not a huge dvd buff person or anything, i just know that you're widescreen is messed up and it's not supposed to have bars on the left and right hand sides.

Answer 5

There are a quite a few things that you can do to improve your movie viewing experience. I don't want to speculate about the particulars of your set up, but the person who told you to look in the set up menu for both your TV and your DVD player s on the right track for fixing your "grey bar" problem. As far as really improving your viewing experience goes... the best $20 you will ever spend is on a home theater tune up/education DVD from Sound & Vision Magazine. The DVD helps you understand and optimize your system for the best ausio and video performanc they are capable of outside of hiring a professional to tune it up for you. I'm not trying to pitch a sale for Sound & Vision, but you will be shocked the first time you watch a DVD after tuning up your setup with the help of this DVD. "...you mean the peasants are wearing different colors... not just grey..." (the color difference, particularly in darker movie like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, or Master and Commander far side of the world is particularly shocking) Well take this piece of advice for what it is... a piece of advice from some random person that you don' know from Adam, but if you have a little curiosity or adventure in your blood, and an extra $20 laying around here's a link for the DVD http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=1&article_id=200&page_number=1 Thier web site is also loaded with good reliable info that can help you learn about just about anyhing to do with home theater systems. Good Luck

Answer 6

I reccomend getting a nice plasma TV. Panasonic is the best. Get like a 44 inch or 46 inch.
The way to get the best cinematic experience is to watch it on widescreen, (that's the way movies are meant to be watched.) and invest in some speakers to get a surround sound experience. They're available all over the place and are easy to install. If you need help finding good movies just email me, I'm an expert!

Answer 7

Check your DVD configuration. There is a "set up" or configuration button on the remote of your DVD. Press it,go to TV set-up and select 16:9. I've done it on mine and it worked.

Answer 8

yes, you need to get a proggresive or upconverting dvd player. You need HDMI,or componet to get widescreen.Get an upconverting dvd player it converts your dvd to 720p or 1080i.