16x9
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FOX starts framing the NFL in 16x9 and letterboxing the laggards
If you love football and HD as much as we do, then you know the pain we feel when we watch a game with lots of empty space or the times when you can't see the linebackers. This is because we are HD snobs in an SD world and while football has been presented in 16x9 for close to 10 years, with few exceptions it is still framed for 4x3. Well tonight FOX changed the way we'll watch football forever. The Patriots vs Falcons game on Thursday August 19th was the first to feature the Ultimate Experience which features a new less obtrusive score bug and is framed for 16x9. This of course means that SD viewers will have to watch it letterboxed. We suspect that despite some marketing efforts by Joe Buck and Kurt, that FOX will receive quite a bit of flack about this, but honestly with the HD household penetration breaking 50 percent, we have to say it is about time. Of course the majority doesn't always win against the vocal minority, but we have are hopes up that they do this time and this trend takes hold in all HD sports. A few more screen captures and embedded video after the break. [Thanks, @Loomis2]
Steven Soderbergh calls out the aspect ratio villains: HBO, AMC - We're talking about you
You've gritted your teeth every time TNT flips the switch on its dreaded stretch-o-vision, and we've done our part to explain why proper aspect ratios are so important, and yet few have taken heed. Perhaps director Steven Soderbergh can succeed where we have failed, railing against cable channels that, instead of using HDTV to deliver movies the way they were meant to be seen, are often cropping and squeezing to give what they think viewers want instead. The worst network? AMC. Not only is it guilty of pan scanning like HBO, but the advertisements tease the movies in their correct aspect ratio, the cruelest bait and switch of all. Check out the article for a full explanation from behind the lens of why correct treatment of aspect ratios matters, and please, tell a friend to tell a friend.[Thanks, Chevelleman & Fortified Live for the image]
HD 101: Why there are black bars on HDTVs
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/hardware/HD_101_Why_there_are_black_bars_on_HDTVs';It never fails, one of the first thing just about every new HDTV owners asks is; why are there black bars on my new widescreen TV? And this is the reason why just about every HD discussion forum has a sticked thread at the top of the forums explaining why this still happens. So in this edition of HD 101, we figured we'd have our go at trying to give a simple answer to an age old question. The most basic explanation is because the image you want to watch isn't the same shape as the your TV. Of course that seems too obvious and now you're thinking; but why not, they're both widescreen? But rather than getting into the why are there so many shapes -- called aspect ratios from here on out -- we'll show you the various formats and the different ways they might be displayed on your HDTV.
Widescreen LCDs going widescreen by 2010
The term "widescreen" is one of the most notoriously confusing monikers (this side of Full HD) used to describe a display's specifications. Widescreen generally translates to a 16:10 aspect ratio when discussing computer LCDs (monitors or laptop displays) or 16:9 if you're talking about the living room TV. Of course, it can also refer to the 2.35:1 ratio often used for films or something entirely different if you're Apple touting the wonders of your new widescreen iPhone. Fortunately, we're trending towards at least some convergence around the 16:9 aspect. DisplaySearch predicts that by 2010, 16:9 panels will make up 90% of new laptop displays and 67% of new monitors. Acer has been at the forefront of this transition with products like its Gemstone Blue laptops and the Acer P224W monitor pictured above. The move is being driven by panel manufacturers' desire to maximize production efficiency -- something they should have realized before the glass sizes diverged in the first place. Regardless, the end result should be more pennies saved by you, Joe Consumer, and that's a good thing.
