![]() Make sure your DVD, Blu-ray, or cable box is set to output 16x9, and make sure your TV is set for "native," or something similar, in it's aspect ratio settings (it's usually the same control that helps you solve this problem). But for the best picture quality, leave it in the original aspect ratio. There are a LOT more aspect ratios, most are less common today than the ones we've discussed. Many computer monitors have a slightly taller aspect than TVs, with a 16:10 ratio. ![]() However, they were close, and also offered the ability to have a full 16x9 image and something else (like a Web page) on screen at the same time. Like 16x9 TVs, this matched exactly no movie aspect ratios. These had screen in a 21x9, or 2.33:1 ratio (though many were 2560x1080 resolution, which is usually 2.37:1). Philips has marketed a few, and the Vizio CinemaWide XVT3D0CM was the last we reviewed at CNET. Sarah TewĮvery few years we see a manufacturer tout a wide-aspect ratio TV. The Vizio CinemaWide XVT3D0CM was a 21x9 TV. Scaling a Blu-ray image to look good on a 4K TV is one thing, but scaling a lower resolution image gets progressively harder, and will look progressively worse. Ultra HD "4K" displays are the same aspect ratio, and will have the same issues when you zoom in, only worse. So far we've covered what most of you have, namely a standard HDTV. For more on that, and more examples of the effects of zooming in on an image, check out What is upconverting? and Can 4K TVs make "regular" content look better. The second is the likeliness of "jaggies" or jagged diagonal lines. That's because no matter how good scaling has gotten, it still can't work magic and make lower resolution images look like HD. ![]() As mentioned, it's always going to be softer than if you didn't zoom in. Geoffrey Morrison/CNETīy zooming in on this lower resolution image, there can be multiple issues depending on your TV. This example image was created to show what Blu-ray looks like on 4K TVs, but the overall effect for cropping/zooming is similar (albeit less pronounced). I exaggerated it a bit so you could see the difference in lower resolution. Original (top) vs upconverted or "scaled" (bottom). That's 45 percent less resolution that your TV has to create, often poorly. You're essentially taking a 1,420x800 image (the 16x9 portion of the wider image), and blowing it up to fill a 1,920x1,080 screen. That's 26 percent less resolution than a standard 16x9 HD image to start with, and you're only selecting part of it when you zoom/expand to fill the screen. Zooming in on an image makes it look worse, namely softer and fuzzier, despite what TV shows and movies lead you to believe about the "magic" of zooming on an image (Suuuuure you can read that license plate from a security camera a mile away in the dark).įor an example, let's take a 2.40:1 movie on Blu-ray. ![]() We'll skip the "director's intent" argument because in all my years talking about the benefits of the correct aspect ratio, pleading "this is what the director wanted!" has convinced exactly zero people. Some people are so annoyed by the black bars that they use the aspect ratio controls on their TV to crop and zoom in on the image. Overscan: You're not seeing the whole picture on your TV.Can 4K TVs make 'regular' HD content look better?.Often they buttons are labeled "wide" or "format." These exist largely because people get upset that black bars cover the screen, thinking they weren't seeing "the whole image" (even though, as we've discussed, they were). Cropping and stretchingĪll TVs come with aspect ratio controls to zoom or stretch the image so it fills the screen. Here's a great collection with plenty of other examples. And for some films presented in IMAX, like "The Dark Knight" and "Tron: Legacy," only certain portions were shot in the 1.44:1 IMAX format. "Oz the Great and Powerful" switched from black-and-white 4x3 to color 2.35:1 after the protagonist moved to Oz, for example, and "Life of Pi" was a 16x9 film that included two changes, once during the flying fish scene and another in homage to the cover of the book. Many directors use this format to its full advantage, putting important aspects of the story all over the screen, or setting up beautiful shots, all of which gets lost if the aspect ratio isn't correct.Īnd sometimes the same film will actually employ different aspect ratios, often for effect. As in, everything the director intended you to see. So even though it seems like you're seeing less image, you're actually seeing the entire image. A 1.85:1 aspect ratio image as shown on a 1.78:1 (16x9) HD/UHDTV.
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