Is that 16:9 TV truly 16:9 or only 15:9?
Is that 16:9 TV truly 16:9 or only 15:9? And other flat screen observations Time for a “Buyer Beware”. Don’t you love the looks of a big flat screen TVs? Ultra thin yet with a big bold image. After quite some time on a 14″ home TV and with many advertised specials, it just may be time to upgrade. While comparing models, I just accidentally discovered that many advertised Widescreen / 16:9 TV sets are only 15:9. Yesterday I saw an 30″ Audiovox 15:9 LCD TV, which made me think (first time seeing 15:9) “Now why would they make a 15:9 TV while everybody else makes 16:9 sets? It doesn’t make sense” (apart from a cheaper panel for a cheaper price) The answer is: “Many larger panels are 15:9, but the companies are not truthful about that ratio.” And, unless you know about some of the details to pay attention to, retailers of course will not tell you, because they want to sell that screen sooner rather than later. Simple math proves the findings: TV set X with actual number of pixels shown = 1280 wide x 768 high; which is the most common flat panel TV resolution. 1280 / 768 = 1.66666667 1.66666667 * 9 = 15 15 <> 16 To get a 16:9 ratio the result should be 16 / 9 = 1.77777778 Which means that with(a) 1280 horizontal pixels you need 720 vertical pixels ( 720 * 1.77777778 = 1280 )(b) 768 vertical pixels you need 1365 or thereabout (1366) pixels ( 768 * 1.77777778 = 1365.33 and 1366 / 768 = 1.778 )for true 16:9 wide-screen. It seems that TV manufacturers use the 1280 x 768 panels produced for computer screens because of their “cheaper” price, rather than using more expensive (as they are less common) 16:9 ratio panels; but always advertise them as 16:9 Widescreen. So, if you are shopping for a TV now or in the future, you may want to keep the following in mind: Make sure you’re aware of the Plasma vs LCD advantages & disadvantages ( plasma screens have serious burn in issues and the screen loses half it’s original capacity in about 4000-6000 hours ), skip EDTV and other low pixel panels (640×480, 800×600 and what not) etc. If the pixel resolution is not advertised, ask for it. If the clerk doesn’t know, doesn’t want to say it or skips the issue with “oh this is plasma, it doesn’t use pixels”, like we heard today, step away. Fact is that every pixel matters, most certainly when you spend anywhere from $1250 to $8000. 20″, 23″, 30″ or whichever size flat panel TVs with 1280×768 pixels will NOT show a true 16:9 image. The image will be cropped (= you lose some), stretched (= distorted heads and other oddities) or shown with black borders (= isn’t widescreen nice without the black bord.e..r…s like on a 4:3?! What the? From personal experience: I don’t like black borders viewing a DVD on a…