WIDESCREEN help please

I have just purchased a 55" hdtv widescreen 16:9

it is my understanding that even while having a widesreen television letterbox dvds will sill contain "black bars" at the to and bottom of the screen.  i have did some research and found that this is normal and is the way the movie was meant to be seen.

but there was a sticker on the front saying to avoid stationary images such as these "black bars" to avoid uneven aging, and "burning" areas of the screen.   there is an "extend" feature which elimanates these bars but obviously i lose quality and the picture is distorted.

 i buy a 3000 widescreen - the manual says avoid "black bars" why is this if thats the way the picture was intended even on widescreen.  why should i sacrafice quality excluding these bar if the movie was made for may widescreen television.

is it ok to watch letterbox with thes bars included so that i view the picture as it was meant to be seen.  or should i use such options as "extend, Strech"etc.

i just bought this tv and want to take the best of care will the letter box ruin my tv....?

richard haynes

Whether or not your widescreen DVD displays horizontal black bars on a 16:9 television depends on the aspect ratio the movie was filmed in.  Many films were shot in 1.85:1, which is approximately the same aspect ratio as 16:9, so there should be no black bars of any kind.  Films that were shot in other standards, like 2.35:1, will display narrow horizontal black bars on a 16:9 television.  There\'s no avoiding it.  

You just have to figure that your total viewing time will be split between video from many different sources.  So no one viewing session is going to last an extremely long time.  I figure I spend about 70% of my time watching standard definition satellite broadcast, which is 4:3, but I stretch it to take up the whole screen, so no black or grey bars.  (Yes you get used to it very quickly).  8% watching HD satellite broadcast, 15% playing PS2, and 2% watching DVDs (because my home theater receiver sucks).  So, very little of that time endangers the CRTs, and it usually doesn\'t last for very long.

Every product you use is going to receive wear, just do what you can to minimize it, and then try not to worry about it.  

Actually 16:9 is 1.78:1.  You\'ll still get black bars which are very normal in most movies which are 1.85:1.  Big movies such as Gladiator are filmed in an even wider scope with 2.35:1 and you\'ll get even bigger bars there.  There are only a handful of films like Toy Story which will fill your entire screen because they are in 1.78:1.

To be honest if you don\'t use your set 100% for watching movies with black bars you\'ll be fine.  Take Cored\'s advice above.  Many people I know stretch TV shows to fit their 16:9 and you do get used to it very quick.

[videoholic]

THey put that in there so you don\'t come after them for not warning you.  You should be fine with normal viewing habits.  It takes quite a while to do any real burn in and as long as you don\'t leave your DVD on with the TV on for days you\'ll be fine.  Just make sure you watch some stretched stuff as well to burn the whole tube more evenly.

Thanks Guys.  I had always thought before that the reason the horizontal bars were there was beause i did not have a widescreen.  and now that i have one and still seen the bars i thought i was doing something wrong.

i was even worried about playing my ps2 on it - didn\'t know if i should.

here is a great site i ran across guys about Aspect Ratios

Again, thanks...