Author Topic: When you play VC games on your HD TV, do you... (Read 9565 times)

Pale · « **on:** January 17, 2008, 02:31:59 AM »

...switch your TV to 4:3 pillar box mode?

So I'm relatively new to the HD TV scene. Up to this point I had always let my Wii stretch out my VC games like crazy. I'm usually TOTALLY against stretching images, but when you are working with sprites and old school games that don't feature proportional characters anyway, it doesn't really bother me as much.

I recently started playing Prime 2, which features a progressive scan mode but not a wide screen mode. After about 2 hours worth of seeing a short, squatty Samus in cut scenes, I started switching my TV over to 4:3.

Now I know there was a bit of an uproar at Wii launch about VC games not playing in their native aspect ratio. Do any of you have a good reason for not simply changing the setting on your TV? It works great for me in Prime 2.

nitsu niflheim · « **Reply #1 on:** January 17, 2008, 03:32:58 AM »

I will if the game looks too stretchy and annoys me.

ShyGuy · « **Reply #2 on:** January 17, 2008, 03:59:20 AM »

Generally stretch, but sometimes I will switch back

NeoThunder · « **Reply #3 on:** January 17, 2008, 05:08:07 AM »

well, I don't have the option on my tv downstairs since you can't chance the resolution if it running in progressive scan.

Really all and all the stretch doesn't bother me, I would rather have that than VC games running in 480i on a composite cable. For me after awhile you kinda forget about the stretch and it doesn't bother me.

UltimatePartyBear · « **Reply #4 on:** January 17, 2008, 07:24:05 AM »

I hate stretching. There's a button right there on the remote explicitly for changing the picture size, and I'm well on my way to wearing it down to nothing.

MLS_man_64 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 17, 2008, 09:28:34 AM »

What button?

IceCold · « **Reply #6 on:** January 17, 2008, 10:48:18 AM »

My TV has grey bars on the sides rather than black ones, so 4:3 mode is quite jarring. I stick with stretched.

Caliban · « **Reply #7 on:** January 17, 2008, 11:18:37 AM »

Always 4:3.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #8 on:** January 17, 2008, 11:50:37 AM »

"My TV has grey bars on the sides rather than black ones, so 4:3 mode is quite jarring. I stick with stretched."

My parents' TV has that. Why the hell do they make them grey? The TV is a silvery colour so do they think it will blend in? Black is the only colour that makes sense at ALL. Fortunately I've gotten used to them. I can't stand to watch ANYTHING but in it's native resolution. I'm picky like that and constantly suspicious of my Dad fiddling with the screen size. It tooks YEARS to convince him that the widescreen bars were not "chopping off the top and bottom of the movie". Though my Wii is connected to my standard resolution TV at my house and not my parents HD so this issue hasn't come up with games yet. I couldn't imagine myself stretching the games though. I don't do that with GBC games on my GBA either.

UncleBob · « **Reply #9 on:** January 17, 2008, 12:49:37 PM »

I agree with Ian on the stretching of GB/GBC games on the GBA. It looks icky.

However, VC Games stretched don't look that bad. I tend to not worry that much about fiddling with the settings when playing them.

Darkheart · « **Reply #10 on:** January 17, 2008, 01:33:20 PM »

Funny this is an issue with my new plasma and I like most of my games stretched. I also have the option to zoom in on the screen which actually makes it widescreen and the proper ratio but it also zooms in. I like this mode the best BUT if theres an on-screen hud around the edges of the display it can make it quite unplayable. Unfortunately I dont think theres a definite answer, just a matter of preference from game to game.

Pale · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2008, 01:37:35 PM »

Bars are gray on plasmas and lcds that risk burn-in because it is said that gray lowers the chances of burning an image in.

That's the primary reason I bought a dlp, so I didn't even have to think about that stuff.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #12 on:** January 17, 2008, 01:40:05 PM »

I play my VC games with the black bars, mainly because I don't play VC games hours on end so I'm not worried about burn-in.

UltimatePartyBear · « **Reply #13 on:** January 18, 2008, 03:20:33 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: MLS_man_64
What button?

The little blue one second from the right on the second row after the menu button on my TV remote.

MLS_man_64 · « **Reply #14 on:** January 18, 2008, 07:56:49 AM »

O_0 I'm guessing you mean our TV remote?

Maverick · « **Reply #15 on:** January 18, 2008, 08:23:38 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Pale
Bars are gray on plasmas and lcds that risk burn-in because it is said that gray lowers the chances of burning an image in.

That's the primary reason I bought a dlp, so I didn't even have to think about that stuff.

I was under the impression that it is impossible for an LCD to be a victim of "burn in". Did the interwebs lie to me?!?!

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #16 on:** January 18, 2008, 08:26:27 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Maverick
Quote
Originally posted by: Pale
Bars are gray on plasmas and lcds that risk burn-in because it is said that gray lowers the chances of burning an image in.

That's the primary reason I bought a dlp, so I didn't even have to think about that stuff.

I was under the impression that it is impossible for an LCD to be a victim of "burn in". Did the interwebs lie to me?!?!

Yes they did, while they aren't as susceptible to it as a Plasma or even CRT, from what I understand they can still have burn-in. I've even seen some demo kiosks with burn-in on their LCDs, it just takes longer to do it.

darknight06 · « **Reply #17 on:** January 18, 2008, 08:42:34 AM »

I always switch to 4:3 on VC games and any game that doesn't support 16:9. They look too screwed up, especially NES and SNES games, otherwise.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #18 on:** January 18, 2008, 08:57:46 AM »

"Bars are gray on plasmas and lcds that risk burn-in because it is said that gray lowers the chances of burning an image in."

My parents' TV isn't a plasma or LCD. Is there a way for a TV manufacturer to design a TV that instead of putting bars on the screen the pixels just don't "light up" in that area? If burn-in is an issue than why not show nothing at all? A screen can't get burn-in if it isn't on. I don't know very much at all about how TVs work. Is turning off part of a screen too difficult or just not possible to do? If I fiddle with the settings on my computer monitor and squish everything horizontally is the blackness on the sides just literally the colour black being sent to those pixels or is nothing being sent to that pixels?

NinGurl69 *huggles · « **Reply #19 on:** January 18, 2008, 09:31:52 AM »

This is what's idiotic about the HDTV phenomenon:

Despite the claims to "super tech", HDTVs largely don't handle "previous generation" content as well as they should. Well, EFF-them.

darknight06 · « **Reply #20 on:** January 18, 2008, 10:53:39 AM »

Not to mention that if you're still running on component cables, the image quality is still a bit less than VGA, even at the native resolution. And don't even get me started on HDTV lag if you have a LCD. Most games don't have an issue with it, but stuff like DDR and to a lesser extent Guitar Hero is absolute HELL to sync up to what feels right. Then there's the whole 6 bit panel crap if you have an LCD.

Now Ian, on CRTs if I'm not mistaken, those pixels are actually off. At least it seems to be that way since otherwise they would've burned in long time ago. With CRTs, if the resolution is supported, they actually beam the resolutions onto the screen straight on since pixels on a CRT aren't like those of LCD where every pixel on the panel IS a pixel it uses. On an LCD, anything lower than it's native either does one of two things, shrink the image to match the resolution pixel for pixel, or attempt to fill the screen through interpolation and guessing just how it should display the pixels on screen.

Maverick · « **Reply #21 on:** January 18, 2008, 02:16:34 PM »

Ah, so LCD burn in isn't the same as Plasma/CRT burn in, it seems. Yay for Google.

http://compreviews.about.com/od/monitors/a/LCDBurnIn.htm

BranDonk Kong · « **Reply #22 on:** January 18, 2008, 03:08:01 PM »

My next TV will be a DLP rear project - why? I think flat panels are kind of stupid, since all of your other component are going to stick out around/under it. Also, DLPs are the only TVs that are completely free from the possibility of burn-in.

IceCold · « **Reply #23 on:** January 18, 2008, 03:35:22 PM »

Good man, Brandogg.. My next TV will probably be one of Samsung's LED DLPs (no need to replace the lamp with this one), but that's still a ways off.

Pale · « **Reply #24 on:** January 19, 2008, 02:00:58 PM »

That's what I own IceCold...

61 inch Samsung LED engine tv.

I love it. I carried my Wii into best buy to do a delay check before buying it and everything worked perfectly. I play Guitar Hero and DDR on it without any issues with lag. It's a beautiful set.

I suggest buying from Amazon. They offer free shipping and no sales tax. I saved about 500 bucks over going into Best Buy or Circuit City.

Here's a link...

Amazon.com

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Author Topic: When you play VC games on your HD TV, do you... (Read 9565 times)