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SONY
Home
Theater
Sight
A New
World
of Choices
If you haven't shopped
lbr a television recently, you're in lbr a surprise.
You now
have a new range of choices that extends beyond conventimkal Cathode Ray Tubes
(CRTs) to include Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) direct view television,
LCD rear
projection, LCD _ont projection and plasma fiat screen television!
You also have a
choice of the squarish screen with its 4:3 aspect ratio or sleek, widescreen
television with
the new 16:9 aspect ratio. This section will step you through your choices.
At the end,
we'll point out some features worth looking for.
Choosing
an Aspect
Ratio
"Aspect ratio" is the proportion of screen width to screen height.
Until recently,
all television
had an aspect ratio o1"4:3, mea_mg that the screens were all nearly square,
1.33 times as wide as they are high. Many movies and an increasing number of television
programs are presented in a more horizontal,
widescreen
lbrmat.
DVD rifles and High
Definition TV broadcasting
also support widescre_l
programming.
That's why many
modern televisions
offer a widescreen
design with a 16:9 aspect ratio some 1.78 times as
wide as it is high.
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Conventional television uses the somewhat square 4:3 aspect
ratio {left). Many of the latest televisions offer the widescreen
16:9 aspect ratio {tight).
Choosing
the right aspect ratio depends on your budget and your viewing habits.
If yon watch mostly television,
especially
news and sports, you're better off with the
conventional
4:3 aspect ratio (all other things being equal).
If yon watch mostly movies, especially
_om DVD, you're better off with the
widescreen
16:9 aspect ratio (all other things being equal).
The Sony Guide to Home Theater
17
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