I always stretch SD content even though my Samsung doesn't have any non-linear stretch modes because I can't stand the vertical bars. Oddly enough horizontal bars don't bother me.

"Bad" is a subjective term in this case. You call it "bad" simply because you don't like it.

I have a Samsung TV and I like its stretch modes because they preserve the aspect ratio. IOW, they stretch vertical and horizontal by an equal percentage. I much prefer this over the non-linear modes which stretch horizontal a different percentage than vertical, causing distortion of the picture. People end up looking stretched tall and thin or squished short and fat.

So, don't use the term "bad" which could suggest that the feature doesn't work properly or that it has undesireable results. Those of us who don't like our picture distorted are quite happy with Samsung's stretch modes.
That call zoom mode not stretch mode. The zoom mode has crappy PQ. Samsung & Sony can only stretch the horrizontal linearly and keep the vertrial un change which cause a big distortion. If you want to know what is a good stretch mode than go see how Pioneer & Toshiba stretch mode.

The zoom mode has crappy PQ. Wow, aren't you opinionated. Any stretch or zoom on any TV will somewhat degrade the PQ, since the picture is being enlarged. However, I often zoom the picture on my Samsung and it looks quite good. Most importantly to me, the aspect ratio is preserved so there's no distortion.

nope
OAR for me

Plasmas have superior black levels.
LCDs produce pretty bad blacks that look grey in dark rooms. This is due to that dreaded backlight that is always on.

Plasmas are excellent for gaming.
I pay 3-6 hours straight on my 50" Samsung plasma after a 200 hour break-in period and I have SLIGHT image retention that usually goes away within 20 minutes.

Plasmas have a fast response rate and almost no image blur.
My LCD is horrible for watching sports and for fast paced motion. That is why I bought a plasma.

Plasmas display SD (Standard Def) a lot better than LCD's.
LCD's suck at upscaling content. SD looks a lot better on my 50" plasma than it does on my 32" LCD.

Plasmas don't produce as much heat as LCDs.
My plasma runs at 32C, my LCD runs at 77C... a HUGE difference!
I can touch my plasma with my hand and its fine. I cannot touch my LCD after being on for more than 45 mins.
I bet if I cracked an egg over my LCD, we wouldn't need a frying pan!

So.. GET A PLASMA!


I agree 100%

My Panasonic 1080p plasma is just amazing compared to my sharp LCD and JVC D-ILA.

My next TV will be another plasma.

No, never. Tried it once or twice when I first got my HDTV and....barf. How people can stand to watch tv with stretched and distorted images is beyond me

Wow, aren't you opinionated. Any stretch or zoom on any TV will somewhat degrade the PQ, since the picture is being enlarged. However, I often zoom the picture on my Samsung and it looks quite good. Most importantly to me, the aspect ratio is preserved so there's no distortion.
Please see post#17. Not just I think the full zoom give bad PQ.

No, never. Tried it once or twice when I first got my HDTV and....barf. How people can stand to watch tv with stretched and distorted images is beyond me
On smaller TV's people get used to it until I show them the difference. All TV's should have what I call a "smart stretch", where the edges get stretched and the center (where most of the action happens) remains the same, so that if the customer just can't stand the black bars he can get rid of them without sacrificing too much picture quality.

My own personal preference is OAR all the way. You couldn't pay me enough money to watch stretched images.

I think theres one question left to ask yourself about this Plasma and LCD debate. Go to any store, any.. seriously, any that sell TV's. Look around, take a good look at how many LCD's there are for Plasmas. I think that should point you to where the market is going.

"Bad" is a subjective term in this case. You call it "bad" simply because you don't like it.

I have a Samsung TV and I like its stretch modes because they preserve the aspect ratio. IOW, they stretch vertical and horizontal by an equal percentage. I much prefer this over the non-linear modes which stretch horizontal a different percentage than vertical, causing distortion of the picture. People end up looking stretched tall and thin or squished short and fat.

So, don't use the term "bad" which could suggest that the feature doesn't work properly or that it has undesireable results. Those of us who don't like our picture distorted are quite happy with Samsung's stretch modes.
My Samsung's stretch modes for SD is limited - only the 16:9 which stretches horizontally and everything looks distorted; Zoom1 which is perfect for 1.78:1 letterbox content but you lose top and bottom on regular 4:3. The easiest one on the eyes for myself is non-linear stretch mode like LG's Horizon's mode (edges look distorted but the middle area that approximate the 4:3 screen is not distorted). I am very surprised my new A550 doesn't have it. Samsung is lacking in SD stretch mode if you know what others can do. OTOH, they have wide stretch for DTV that is not in many panels.

My tv seems to handle (as I am sure most do) switching between modes based on content except for only one channel that likes stretch its content no matter what the original aspect is.

for those that stretch everyting to wide It puts the truth to the "camera makes me look fat!" personally I spent big buck for a TV to give me great picture quality. stretching so that people look odd kind of ruins the great quality for me.

My tv seems to handle (as I am sure most do) switching between modes based on content except for only one channel that likes stretch its content no matter what the original aspect is.

for those that stretch everyting to wide It puts the truth to the "camera makes me look fat!" personally I spent big buck for a TV to give me great picture quality. stretching so that people look odd kind of ruins the great quality for me.
You know we're talking about 4:3 SD content...right??
'Great' is not descriptive term for it.

While I can live with stretching, other members of my family hate it so I don't. You could always select gray bars if you are worried about burn in.

I love stretching out 4:3 when the women on TV or DVD are a little slim. It puts a few much needed pounds on them and makes them look better. :cool: Gwen Steffani is one that comes to mind. I use the stretch mode that does most of the stretching on the outsides of the screen. A straight across full stretch is too much.

I have a Samsung a650.

It has the folowing modes

16:9
Wide Fit
4:3
Just Scan

Im not sure if this is normal but this is my experience.....

Just Scan-Causes a green line down one side of the screen from top to bottom

I keep it on 16:9 mode wich is perfect for hd but on SD channels it dosent fill the entire screen. Theres still black bars on the sides. So you have to change to wide fit wich causes flickering in the middle screen making the tv unwatchable.

On HD shows like Jimmy Kimmel live 16:9 mode still dosent fill the screen it has black bars down the side. When stretching a HD channel to wide fit it still causes flickering in the middle of the screen.

When watching a HD show like Jay Leno wich on 16:9 fills the entire screen (unlike jimmy kimmel) you scan go to wide fit and it wont cause fliickering.

I dont think this flickering is right. Must be a issue with the tv because you should be able to fill the screen without this happening.

westcoastinc, I have a Samsung A750 which has pretty much the same menus and options as yours. You have not properly configured your HD digital box. You need to do that so that it will send the right resolutions to your TV, depending whether the show is HD or SD.

Hey Alan how do I do that?

I got the Shaw HD PVR plugged it into the wall, hooked it up to the HDTV using HDMI and called shaw and had it activated. Been watching ever since. Did I miss a step?

********UPDATE********

I figured it out.

So

TV TYPE: 16:9 wich is default im assuming I wanna leave it there.

HDMI/YPBPR OUTPUT: 1080I wich is default same as above leave it there

4:3 Override: OFF,480i,480p,Stretch------not sure wich is best, what do you yours on ill do that?

On the Shaw box, activate 480i Standard, 720P and 1080i.

Alan, westcoastinc, On the Motorola STBs you cannot activate 720P and 1080i, only one. Since all Shaw HD is 1080i, activate 1080i for HD.

See also the following threads since this discussion is taking this thread off topic:

Regarding the green bars and other Shaw problems that came with the latest firmware and HDMI connections, see the following thread:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=94473

For Motorola STB setup see:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=21274


Since the Samsung a650 is an LCD, there is no reason to stretch SD, as discussed previously in this thread it decreases the picture quality and causes distortion.

57, thanks for the correction. I wasn't familiar with the specifics of Shaw's STB.