16 x 9 or 4 x 3?

While viewing widescreen TV (16 x 9), how come the symmetry is squashed up (oval)
and at at other times perfectly symmetrical?

MCC...

I think some programmes and channels are still broadcasting in 14x9 rather
than 16x9 so you get a black border top and bottom of your screen.

BBC Breakfast TV is fine. I guess it's because it's a live production in a studio
and uses widescreen transmission equipment?

Symmetry with 4 x 3 TV appears OK all of the time.

Can a digital TV receive analogue TV?

mothy...

Most TV pictures are transmitted in 16:9 (widescreen) format. When you
receive pictures in this format the picture proportion reamins good.
There are still some pictures transmitted in 4:3 format (narrowscreen).
Some widescreen TVs will auto attempt to fill the screen with a 4:3
picture in a variety of ways. They get called different things like
Zoom, or Cinerama or something like that it seems to manufacturer dependent.

These pictures are stretched to fill the screen and consequently the
picture becomes distorted. You can maintain the picture proportion by
sacrificing some of the picture, usually top and bottom, and most TVs
will have setting that gives you that option. This is fine until you get
on-screen captions which you will either not see or will be only
partially visible.
To get round this some TVs will allow picture modes that sacrifice more
of the top of the picture than the bottom so that captions at the bottom
of the screen can still be read. You can get modes that work by
sacrificing the bottom of the picture too.

If you view a 16:9 picture in 4:3 mode the picture will seem stretched
top to bottom.

If a digital TV has an anlaogue tuner then it will be able to receive
the analogue TV.

Flyiñg Ñuñ 2°°6 +...

Aren't some programs transmitted as 16:9 and others as widescreen and yet
others still as 4:3. My Panasonic W/S TV can be set to auto adjust them for
what Panasonic technicians consider is optimum viewing conditions - yet they
aren't as far as I'm concerned. Also I notice that the picture when
viewing BBC1 from the Sky satellite gives different picture geometry that
when viewing from the terrestrial signal. You can set your Skye reception
for 16:9 or other formats in a similar way as you can set up your TV - so
presumably your individual set up will affect what geometry you see as well.

datasmog...

Your digital TV is an analogue TV with a Freeview tuner built in.
It will have a regular aeriel socket on the back.

As for the first part of your post doesn't your TV have an Auto mode
that compensates for the broadcast format?

Saxman...

It does, but 4 x 3 still gets stretched.

mothy...

TV is 16 wide x 9 high

Anita...

Yes, we have a panasonic digital TV and we can receive analogue
programmes too