Television Buying Guide 5

Almost all HDTVs sold nowadays are wide-screen televisions, which means the aspect ratio of the television is 16:9 compared to standard definition televisions which are 4:3.


Black Bars and Unused Screen
The problem with the aspect ratio is that most of the television shows are still broadcasted in 4:3 format. To view them on a wide-screen television without stretching or cropping the picture, you have to waste a portion of the screen by putting bars on either side of the image. Conversely, if you have an old 4:3 television, to watch a wide-screen show you will have to tolerate two bars above and below the picture.


Wide-screen Televisions and 4:3 programmes
If you do not want to waste your wide-screen space on empty bars, listen to a good piece of news. All wide-screen televisions can stretch, crop, or zoom 4:3 programmes to fit the screen. These methods distort the image to some extent, but it is a lot better than having two bars on either side of the screen.