Everybody on Plasma is FAT!

11-20-2005, 01:10 PM

OK. I finally got the checkbook out and bought a 42' Plasma HDTV. Too my dismay, everything and everybody is way FAT on the 16:9 display. Is that normal? I paid a lot for it and if it's not normal, I still can take it back. HELP!

11-20-2005, 03:21 PM

I was under the impression that this forum was open to any question "within reason". Can any Plasma owner respond to the last post? Thanks, JACK

**Bill** · 11-20-2005, 04:27 PM

Cheese, Jack! The post has only been up for 2 hours! Give us a chance!

The problem, of course, is that the scene you are looking at was filmed in standard 4:3 aspect ratio. When it is stretched horizontally to 16:9, sure enough, things look wider - i.e., FAT. That's why I never look at myself in standard OR high def format. I don't need the discouragement.

Is there a switch on your display to switch between formats?

By the way, how do you get a 42-foot screen into your TM?? A post in this forum is "within reason" if it has at least something to do with Trail Manors. You might get a better answer to your question if you went to one of the newsgroups that deal in it, such as sci.electronics.repair.

Bill

11-20-2005, 04:58 PM

Thanks Bill. Sorry I jumped right back in but I thought my question had been removed for some reason. I know "whats happening in the world" is more relevant to TM ususage but somehow I got confused. I guess I just got used to looking to all the knowledge available on this GREAT resourse and I am MOSTsurely "electromically chalanged" and not much better with the ciber world. So unless further discourse is inappropriate, yes the TV has a 4:3 choice but it is very much smaller on the 42" and these old eyes I guess would rather see too FAT than too amall. If as you say, the 16:9 stretch is normal, I'll live with it and abandon my fear that I might have to box this sucker up again and go back 90 miles to Costco to return it. Thanks again, JACK

11-20-2005, 08:22 PM

Before you give up on your new purchase, buy a dvd movie in the "WIDESCREEN" version and watch that on your set. You will then be viewing your screen in the manner in which it was designed to be used and it should be a very pleasant experience.
Bill

11-21-2005, 11:08 AM

I'm sure you all have heard that Americans are now the fattest folks in the world. Now if that is true would it not follow that American Actors are also fat?

Therefore allow me to suggest that your tv is working correctly and at all of us with the older units are stuck in the past and thus our units show us what we use to look like whereas your's rendersd the true picture.

This is a good thing! For the truth shall set you free. The rest of us are just looking at shadows on a cave wall.

**Cateye** · 11-21-2005, 12:31 PM

Your receiver and/or DVD player will have a menu that will allow you to set the picture up for Normal (with grey or black bars), Stretch, Partial Stretch, Zoom or Partial Zoom (depending on the featrues of your receiver or DVD player). If your receiver is outputting a 1080i HD signal your TV will set itself automatically. The Grey Bar feature will minimize burn-in when viewing a normal video signal on a 16:9 screen.