[opendtv] Re: Popular screen aspect ratios

  • From: Albert Manfredi <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2011 16:27:53 -0500

Craig wrote:

> The ability of the computer - connected to the display - to decode any
> random raster of video is completely unrelated to this standard. Once
> the computer is properly connected to the display it can do anything to
> fill that screen the way it wants to.

To which I responded:

> Yes, but this has never been an issue. ... Heck, even in the 1950s, a
> TV transmission could incorporate tiles of any aspect ratio on 4:3 TV
> screens, or letterboxing or pillarboxing, to create an infinite
> variety of image aspect ratios on those 4:3 screens. Big whoop.
 
I think maybe I just had an epiphany. Possibly, Craig has been conflating two 
different topics, creating all the confusion I think there is in this 
discussion.
 
Ron's recent examples, as far as I'm concerned, once again confirm that display 
information *is* required by the MPEG-2 decoder, before it can render the image 
correctly, (and even then, it may fail to do so!).
 
MAYBE, what Craig's beef has been all along is that TV broadcasters (when using 
A/53) cannot send to DTVs the same sort of screen displays that PCs can send to 
their monitors. Maybe he's upset because he can do all manner of image 
adjustment in the PC, such as manage various different windows, but can't do 
this on anything the broadcasters transmit.
 
Assuming I'm on the right track, the answer is, true! When using A/53, 
broadcasters transmit to DTVs the same type of signal that PCs transmit to 
monitors when viewing streaming media in full screen mode. Only that.
 
However, same old refrain, I don't think this is a shortcoming of ATSC. It may 
be a limitation imposed by A/53, which is clearly intended for TV programming 
to DTVs (analogous to streaming media viewed full screen), but obviously ATSC 
isn't limited to A/53.
 
Bert
                                           
 
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