Why doesn’t the picture on my digital television fill up the entire screen? Why do bars on the top and bottom or sides of the picture appear with different programming?
Traditional analog TV has an aspect ratio of 4:3 (almost square). This means that a TV screen is 4 inches wide for every 3 inches it is tall. Most digital televisions have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (rectangular) and are called “widescreen.” The 16:9 aspect ratio more closely approximates the look of movies and the amount of programming that is being offered in 16:9 is increasing. When the aspect ratio of the television program and your television set do not match, bars on the top and/or sides of the image may appear to ensure that the image is not distorted. Example of Letterboxing In order to properly display 16:9 content on a 4:3 set, your digital television or digital-to-analog converter box may place bars at the top and bottom of the image – a process called “letterboxing.” Example of Pillarboxing Similarly, to properly display 4:3 content on a 16:9 television set, bars may be placed on the sides of the screen – a process called “pillar boxing.” Example of Postage Stamp formatAlso, s
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