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What does widescreen mean?

A widescreen TV
  • Posted at 10:55am
  • 02 August 2008
  • by DoctorDigital-RT

Q What exactly does "widescreen" mean? Are widescreen TV broadcasts only available via digital transmission? When we look at TV sets in the shops the "aspect ratios" seem wrong, with news journalists sporting Arnold Schwarzenegger-width shoulders, and incredibly fat faces!
Mitch, via email

A The only way to see a true widescreen picture (sometimes referred to as a 16:9) is via a digital set-top box, so invariably when you view programmes in analogue on a widescreen TV the picture will look distorted. Very often, electrical goods shops' picture source may be digital, but it's then "piped" across their full range of TVs, thus becoming an analogue signal - hence the distortion. Some TV settings could also be incorrect, though many electrical shops have made improvements in the display of their HD and digital equipment, so just ask the assistant for a proper demonstration!

The BBC News channel is always a good way of checking if you're getting the most out of your widescreen TV set as it broadcasts in 16:9 and you can generally tell from the position of any graphics if the picture is distorted.

When we use the initial W (for widescreen) on our listings pages, it's for feature films that are being shown in widescreen format on both analogue and digital TV - that is, the way they would've been seen at the cinema - which on a conventional 4:3 set will show the film in "letterbox", with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. If you're watching it on a 16:9 set via a digital set-top box, then the picture will usually fill most of your screen.

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