THX Discs, DLP Longevity and More
Here are some random items arising
from readers’ video problems. For instance, several correspondents have expressed
concern that they have bought "THX Digitally Mastered" DVDs that their players
can't read, and want to know which currently available DVD players are capable of playing
a THX-formatted DVD?
None of them, or all of them, depending on how you look at
it. None of them because there is no such thing as a THX "formatted" disc -- THX
has laid out a series of standards and procedures to ensure the optimum digital transfer
from film to disc, but the end product is a conventional DVD. So, in theory, any DVD
player should handle a THX disc with no problem. Unfortunately, it is a matter of reality
that incompatibilities between certain discs and players do occur -- the system is hardly
perfect -- and, although this can be extremely frustrating, it has nothing to do with
whether it's a THX transfer or not.
Another writer wonders if he can use the DLP projector
he’s planning on buying for watching all his regular TV, or would that put too many
hours on it.
Personally, I'm not sure I really want to see Dan Rather's
face the size of my family room wall, so I would be inclined to use smaller screens for
some sorts of programming. But from the point of view of equipment longevity, there's no
reason not to use a DLP projector for all viewing. The technology hasn't been around long
enough for anybody to get a real sense of how long it would take to fail, if it ever does,
but it seems that it should be pretty robust. For one thing, since it works by reflecting
light from an external source, there isn't the same risk of burn-in that exists with
CRT-based projection systems and plasma displays. Also, if it does go dark one day, it
will probably be a much cheaper and simpler matter to replace the bulb than to replace a
set of cathode-ray tubes and realign them.
Obsolescence of some of the newer TV systems seems also to
be a major concern. For all its faults, however, the TV industry has been pretty
sensitive to the issue over the years. You can still hook a 50-year-old set up to your
antenna or cable and it will work, at least with analog signals. In fact, there are lots
who would say that major compromises were made in adopting both the TV color and stereo
audio systems in the interests of compatibility.
True, the switch to digital is a clean break with the past,
but it's unlikely that something you buy today will become a doorstop anytime soon. If you
go for an HDTV monitor (no tuner), you'll have to add an external device to pick up the
digital signals, but you won't have to replace the monitor itself.
Finally, given the fact that most TV -- even HD -- is still
in the 4:3 aspect ratio, it’s natural enough to wonder whether or not to buy a set of
that shape, rather than a 16:9 unit that would have to show gray bars on the sides most of
the time. One reader complained that, "a salesman told me that if I buy the 16:9 set
I should use the set's ‘stretch’ feature to fill the entire 16:9 screen. I don't
like the look of short pudgy people, however, so I think that I might settle for the gray
bars."
Some of those stretch techniques work pretty well on a lot
of material, especially those that leave the center image pretty much alone,
geometrically, and only distort the images near the edges of the screen. Things can look
pretty strange as the camera pans, however, or if the horizon isn't perfectly horizontal.
Using a zoom feature, either on your set or your DVD player, can minimize or eliminate the
bars, although that's at the expense of some picture material, which may or may not be
important to you.
Those bars can cause burn-in and become permanently visible
over time, so my first reaction would be to recommend a 4:3 set, given the scarcity of
widescreen material. On the other hand, high-definition is definitely becoming more
common, and you'll be glad for the widescreen in the end. In the meantime, even if you
hold off on going digital, there is an increasing amount of regular television broadcast
in 16:9, and widescreen DVDs always look better in that aspect ratio. So in the end, it
might be wisest to invest in the future, buy a 16:9 set, endure the bars, and try to
minimize them whenever doing so doesn't wreck the picture.
...Ian G. Masters
ian@mastersonaudio.com
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