HDTV World > Understanding HDTV > CNET's quick guide to aspect ratio

16:9 (wide-screen) TVs

The main problem with 4:3 sets is getting the rectangular "peg" of wide-screen programming to fit the squarish "hole" of a standard TV. 16:9 TVs have the opposite problem: decades' worth of TV programming has been produced to fit the squared-off 4:3 aspect ratio, not the luxuriously wide space of a 16:9 display. There are several solutions, but you'll need to decide which sacrifices you're willing to make: deforming the picture, losing a portion of the horizontal image, sacrificing the resolution, or a combination of the three.

Reminder: Before we take a look at the most common aspect-ratio problems that afflict wide-screen TVs, it's important to ensure that your video sources (DVD player/recorders, game consoles, satellite and cable boxes, DVRs, video iPods, and so forth) are set to the aspect ratio that matches your TV. Devices connected to wide-screen TVs--which include the overwhelming majority of HDTVs--should be set to 16:9.

Vertical letterboxing (a.k.a. pillarboxing)

"How do I get rid of those vertical black bars?" 
Problem: There are black (or gray) bars on the left and right sides of the screen when watching standard TV content--any non-HDTV program, for instance.

This problem has three possible solutions. There's no right answer--just choose the one that's most visually pleasing to you.
Solution 1: Use the zoom control on the TV, DVD player, or cable/satellite receiver to blow up the image, eliminating (or at least minimizing) the black bars.
Upside: The image will fill the screen.
Downside: You'll miss any action at the extreme top and bottom of the screen, which will be cut off--bad news if you're looking at the stock ticker, news crawl, or subtitles. Furthermore, the picture will appear softer because it's being electronically blown up, just like the muddy images one gets when using the digital zoom function on a digital camera.

BEFORE: Black bars are visible on the left and right of the screen.		AFTER: The image fills the screen, but it's not as sharp, and it cuts off the top and bottom. Notice that that shot clock is no longer visible in the upper left corner.

Solution 2: Set the TV's aspect-ratio control to Stretch or Full.
Upside: The image will stretch to fill the screen.
Downside: The black bars are gone, but to fit the square 4:3 image to the wider screen, the picture has been stretched horizontally, making everyone appear squat and bloated.

BEFORE: Black bars are visible on the left and right of the screen.		AFTER: The image fills the screen, but it's distorted, making everything appear wider and fatter.

Solution 3: Set the aspect-ratio control to a nonlinear stretch mode such as Panorama or TheaterWide.
Upside: The image will stretch to fill the screen, but only the extreme left and right will be distorted; anything toward the center of the screen will be displayed close to its proper proportions.
Downside: It's the happy medium between native 4:3 and stretch, but this mode is implemented in some TVs better than in others. In some cases, panorama mode can be more distracting than pleasing.

BEFORE: Black bars are visible on the left and right of the screen.		AFTER: The image fills the screen, maintaining proper proportions toward the center and stretching only the extreme left and right edges.

Windowboxing

"The film I'm watching on Turner Classic Movies is has black bars on all four sides. How do I fix it?" 
Problem: There are black bars on the left and right sides of the screen and at the top and bottom.
Solution: Use the zoom control on the TV, DVD player, or cable/satellite receiver to blow up the image, eliminating the vertical bars and removing (or at least minimizing) the horizontal ones.
Upside: The image will fill more of the screen.
Downside: There's nothing to miss at the top and bottom of the screen, with the possible exception of subtitles, which may be cut off by zooming. Furthermore, the picture will appear softer.

BEFORE: Black bars are visible on all four sides of the screen of this letterboxed documentary on the Discovery Channel.		AFTER: The image fills the screen. It's not as sharp, but nothing is cut off.

Undesired letterboxing ("ultra" wide-screen movies on a wide-screen display)

"My favorite DVDs still have letterbox bars at the top and bottom of the screen--wasn't my new wide-screen TV supposed to eliminate that?" 
Problem: There are black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when viewing movies filmed in "ultra" wide-screen formats (wider than 16:9) such as CinemaScope.
Solution: Use the zoom control on the TV, DVD player, or cable/satellite receiver to blow up the image, eliminating (or at least minimizing) the black bars.
Upside: The image will fill the screen.
Downside: You'll miss any action on the extreme left and right of the image, which will be cut off. The picture will also appear softer.

BEFORE: Black bars are visible on the top and bottom of the screen of this scene from The Return of the King's climactic battle scene.		AFTER: The image fills the screen, but it's not as sharp and it cuts off the left and right. That makes this epic scene somewhat more claustrophobic.

Take control

Once you get used to viewing movies in their full wide-screen glory, we bet you won't be able to go back to the cramped confines of a cropped pan-and-scan version. On the flipside, there are still legions of movie lovers--especially those with smaller 4:3 TVs--who can't stand letterbox bars and prefer to stretch, squeeze, or crop them out of existence. And that's the beauty of aspect-ratio control: it puts that choice in the hands of the viewer, not of a Hollywood director or network executive. For maximum flexibility, make sure it's at the top of the list the next time you're shopping for a TV or home-video peripheral.