Re: Toshiba 4:3 or 16:9 HDTV?

Hey. I was going to buy a new HDTV and I was considering either the 34" 16:9 34HF81 or the 36" 4:3 36HFX71. I will be connecting it to a HD tuner and a very good progressive scan DVD player.<p>First, how is the picture quality of HD programming and widescreen DVDs on 4:3 TVs compared the widescreen TVs? Does it display correctly in true HD quality? Second, since the 36" displays just slighty smaller (like 1") in widescreen than the 16:9 34" (and has a much larger 4:3 picture), is it better to get the 36" 4:3.<p>Price is not really a comparison issue here. If 36" is better, what are the best 36" HD 4:3s available other than toshiba?<p>Thanks.

[apcarandang]

The good this about a 16:9 Tv is that you get full resolution for HD and anamorphic DVD''s.<p>Deciding on a 4:3 and 16:9 Tv really depends more on your viewing habits. If you watch a lot of DVD''s and mostly HD programming then 16:9 is the way to go. If you watch more cable/satellite programs then 4:3 makes sense since as you said even the letterboxed picture on a 36" 4:3 TV is just a a tad smaller than the 34" 16:9 TV.<p>I myself got a 51" 4:3 DTV on the premise that by the time all programming becomes HD 16:9 it will be time to get a new TV anyway. Hopefully by then the technology has matured enough to drive the prices down.<p>Assess your viewing habits and you won''t regret your choice. wink.gif border=0

Oh ok thats exactly what i needed to hear<br />apcarandang. Im the the middle of finishing my home theater quest and one of the important things that came to mind was what hdtv ready tv to purchase. I was wondering if i should cough up the extra money for 16:9 or got the not so thrifty route of the 4:3. I have digital cable so what im getting from you, correct me if im wrong, i wont really see the difference in my programming or my dvd movies with the 4:3 tv set.<br />O.k now here comes the question, im looking at a samsung 63 pcj-534 which is considerably cheaper than the toshiba 50h81. Should i really see a differnce other than screen size or resolution when paired with my progressive scan dvd..?<p>sorry about the long post <br /> confused.gif border=0 newbie on board<p>thanks for any replies

[apcarandang]

Even with the letterboxing you''ll still get an image that''s over 50 inches more or less which I feel is still quite big.<p>You''ll get a pretty impressive picture from your progressive scan DVD player on a 63" 4:3 TV.<p>You may want to see however how the Samsung fares with regular cable. ALL digital TV''s perform well when feed good clean HD or 480p signals from a DVD player. It''s what they do with regular programming you should watch for. Make sure have the salesperson connect the TV to regular cable and see if you like what it does with the signal.<p>Again as I said in the earlier post, the picture will vary with each station.<p>As you planning to pair your TV with a Samsung HD receiver???<p>Hope this helps. wink.gif border=0

Thanks for the help. Actually as we speak I will be relocating soon to California but as of right now im in a condo that does not allow direct tv , ect.<br />So im forced to cope with digital cable. When i relocate though I will difinatly look into it.<br />I''ve read somewhere that digitl cable companies are looking into hd programing, but not in the near future.<br />Aw yeah congrates on the new position.<p>Thaks for the help

Thanks for the help so far.<p>But when you say that there is not the full resolution on the 4:3 TVs what does this mean exactly. Does it mean that it does not have all 1080 lines in HD? The salesman at the store said it chops off some of the edge, it this true?<p>If this is true, is there a setting or feature on the TV that will show a letterboxed picture just like on the 16:9 HDTVs?<p>Thanks

sorry... one more thing...<p>I noticed that ABC and others broadcast HD in 760i mode. However these two TVs support 1080i and 480p. Will channels in 760i work okay on these TVs?

[apcarandang]

If a 4:3 DTV does not have a namorphic mode it still will do 1080i but not all of the lines will be used for the image only. You''ll lose some lines on those black bars. However if you TV has an anamorphic mode(sony calls it vertical compression), you''ll get all 480p lines of resolution from your DVD player.<p>For broadcasts in 720p , your external HD receiver will have to convert it to 1080i or 480p to match the native display of your TV.<p>Hope this hels. smile.gif border=0