Is there any equivalent these days on Sony's to the "Smart" picture mode?

[Paul MC007]

As the title says really....

Just wondered if anyone knows what the closest is on Sony TV's these days to the "Smart" picture mode? You know, the one that stretches 4:3 material out so that the centre of the picture looks "ok" whilst the outside is stretched?

I know alot of people didn't like it, but sometimes it could make 4:3 material just about look ok!!

Just wondered if there is any equivalent these days?

 

[Tatkovladko]

Panasonic "Just" mode.
The other manufacturers also do that, don't know the names of the modes.
I used it a lot, lately been just zooming to retain proportion whilst cutting top and bottom, though.

 

[StevieBuck]

Are you sure they’ve stopped including the smart viewing mode on Sony TVs?

On the last Sony TV I had it was only available when viewing standard definition signals. I guess they make the assumption that all HD content viewed on the TV is widescreen, or 4:3 content with black borders added to the left/right to maintain the correct ratio.

 

[Paul MC007]

Are you sure they’ve stopped including the smart viewing mode on Sony TVs?

On the last Sony TV I had it was only available when viewing standard definition signals. I guess they make the assumption that all HD content viewed on the TV is widescreen, or 4:3 content with black borders added to the left/right to maintain the correct ratio.

Well, I've got a 2011 EX723 (to be changed on Friday to a NX723) and I cannot see "Smart" mode mentioned anywhere. When you press the aspect ratio button on SD Freeview for example, you get things like "Normal", "Wide", "Wide Zoom" and "caption" come up. Working through these modes, none of them seem to be the same as the old "Smart" mode? So, presumably they have ditched this altogether now?

 

[StevieBuck]

The last Sony TV I bought was a W5500 series model, which is from about 2 years ago. It has the Smart viewing mode, so guess it’s been dropped from their TVs in the last year or so.

 

[Paul MC007]

The last Sony TV I bought was a W5500 series model, which is from about 2 years ago. It has the Smart viewing mode, so guess it’s been dropped from their TVs in the last year or so.

Yeah, I had a set on loan earlier this year that was about three years old (a Sony, but can't remember the model)...that had the 'Smart' mode on it, so, as you say, I guess it's now been dropped.

It's a shame, as although an awful lot of people would (perhaps rightly so!) hate this picture mode, I actually found it quite tolerable for some 4:3 stuff - Sony's were, in my opinion, the best sets for this type of setting....

Guess I'll just have to watch 4:3 material the way it should be watched ...