I just bought an Olevia 27" Widescreen HDTV Model 427V. I am very pleased with the picture quality. I was just wondering if anyone could help me out with a question. I have tried to watch widescreen movies on it, but I still have the balck bars across the top and bottom. I have tried all the different aspects,and the only one that gets rid of them is the zoom function, but then I lose some of the sides of the picture. Thanks for any help.
Unfortunately, you will always have those bars on top and bottom when watching DVD's in their normal aspect ratio. The aspect ratio of the t.v. is 16:9 or 1.77:1. Movies are filmed at a ratio of 2.35:1 making it wider horizontally and narrower vertically than the t.v. screen. I have seen DVD's with a 1.85:1 aspect ratio but they usually have been cropped somewhat. If you watch HDTV programs they usually will fill the entire 16:9 aspect screen.
OK, that makes sense. I did find a setting on my dvd player to output in 16:9. It helps some. I was also wondering how much of a better picture I will get with a component output vs. the current s-video.
It shouuld be improved, at least displaying at 480p which is twice the resolution of the s-video cable. Is it an upconverting dvd player? If so, I would suggest an HDMI or DVI cable, respective to the player output. If not check the player settings menu to see if you can change the output resolution via the component outputs. Perhaps you could list the brand/model number so we could get a sense of what the player can handle.
I have the Samsung HT-DM150 Home Theater System. I know it's not the greatest, but it was free, so no complaints. Here are the specs from Samsung's website...
Audio:
Frequency response 20Hz - 22 kHz
Disc Compatibility CD
Disc Compatibility CD-R
CD-RW
VCD DVD
DVD-R MP3 CD
Input/Output Terminals:
Composite video in 2
Composite video out 1
Component video out 1
S-video out 1
Digital audio in (Optical) 1
Composite Audio in (optical) 2
Front headphone audio jack 1
I was also wondering if you could recommend a decent set of cables component cables. I am a college student, and due to the purchase of the new TV and X-Mas coming up, I have a very tight budget. Thanks.
Hey, whatever works, right? I would recommend the components. Then you could get the full 480 Progressive resolution. I have heard that monoprice has good quality, inexpensive cables.
Are they really of decent quality? From what I have read in most cables you get what you pay for, and I have also seen that cable quality can greatly influence picture quality.
I've never used them, although I will probably give them a try in the future. I've heard they are pretty good. I would say you don't neccessarily need to go with the monster cables. I have used the Nexxtech brand cables from circuit city and the acoustic research brand from best buy. I would say that the nexxtech are generally heavier duty with more insulation and just feel like better quality than the acoustics.They are priced slightly less than monster cables in the store. Search around on the threads for monoprice. There are people who have used them and are very happy. I didn't know about their cables when I was putting my system together.
