Widescreen switching with a JVC WFT1?

[Alan Philp]

I’m not sure if this is a fault or if I haven’t set it up properly, but my 28WFT1 doesn’t seem to auto switch to 14:9 when it’s broadcast on an analogue channel… or from any source for that matter. I have the “4:3 auto aspect options” of panoramic, regular or 14:9 and I set it to regular because I don’t want anything cropped or stretched. I also use the auto zoom mode and when it detects 16:9 it auto switches to 16:9 zoom mode but does nothing when a programme is broadcast 14:9 aspect and therefore leaves small borders top and bottom.

I wouldn’t mind so much if it was the other way around because there is far more things broadcast in 14:9 than 16:9 and it’s annoying having to manually switch all the time. Basically, I need to know if there is a method of auto switching from regular to 14:9.

I have also noticed that the picture flickers and jumps slightly when in NTSC mode. I’m getting this problem when playing US Playstation titles, would this be the same as the infamous R1 DVD playback issue? I take it that it’s because the set doesn’t like to run at 60Hz?

Many thanks

[Kevo]

As far as I am aware, there is no 14:9 switching on analogue broadcasts.

14:9 is not something I have ever had the need to use.
I just leave it in 4:3 mode as the borders are very small and hardly noticable.

I think 14:9 is more for 4:3 analogue users' benefit rather than WS users.

Of all the WS TVs I have had experience with (JVC, Sony, Panasonic & Tosh), none of them auto-switched to 14:9.

I wouldn't say there are 'far more 14:9 broadcasts than 16:9'.
Surely a 14:9 analogue broadcast denotes a 16:9 digital broadcast.

BTW, do you receive digital TV?

[Alan Philp]

Thanks Kevo

I don’t have a digital TV and I’m not really sure what you mean by a “14:9 analogue broadcast denotes a 16:9 digital broadcast” but I take it a digital STB handles and outputs the signal at 16:9?

14:9 zoom mode removes the borders perfectly [nothing else] and keeps the right aspect for all the programmes that use it. The borders are about half the size of a 16:9 broadcast. I just thought that if it auto switches to 16:9 the set would be able to switch to 14:9 too as it’s just a signal from and analogue NTL STB and there is no notification from the STB itself.

Digital tv sources send a signal to the television at the same time to put the tv into wide mode. This tends to be mainly used with anamorphic widescreen transmissions/recordings.

With analogue television (your case), there are no switching signals sent apart from Ch4 who use Line 23 WSS on some films to put the tv into the non-anamorphic widescreen mode.

I doubt there will ever be a 14:9 switching signal sent on analogue before they close it down. No point spending money on upgrading a transmission method that is going to go in the near future.

I wouldn’t mind so much if it was the other way around because there is far more things broadcast in 14:9 than 16:9

If you see a 14:9 transmission on analogue, this means it has been cropped from the 16:9 version which is being shown via digital services. Nothing is broadcast in anamorphic 16:9 on analogue.

Having a widescreen tv without a digital source is a bit on the pointless side. You should have stuck with a 4:3 set if you were not planning to go digital.

[Alan Philp]

Thanks Doubledoom

The vast majority of the movies I watch are widescreen DVD's or DivX [through the PC] and it's the reason I went for the widescreen set.

I was planning on upgrading to NTL digital, but I was so annoyed that they wanted to charge me an installation fee. I was promised it would be a "completely free upgrade" on the phone and subsequently face to face by a salesman when I signed up for the analogue service... digital wasn't available at the time. I know they have money problems, but irritating customers and going back on promises can’t be good for business either. After I come back from holiday I will probably just go for it. Are there any problems with the NTL STB? The programmes that I get in 14:9 at the moment will be in 16:9 format?

If you are seeing 14:9 on BBC, ITV, Ch4 etc, then you will get them in anamorphic 16:9 with a digital source.

Only the UKTV channels and a couple of the other minor channels on digital tv use the 14:9 ratio.