Here are six most frequently asked questions about home theater which can help you solve many problems with your system: 1. "How to display a 4:3 picture on a widescreen TV? What results can be achieved?" If you have a new widescreen TV and you don't like to have horizontal black bars or letterboxing on your screen while watching the movie you probaby won't be satisfied with vertical black bars when you're watching a Seinfeld re-run on your gorgeous new widescreen set.  Often the effects of stretch mode are not noticed especially when watching sports. However some visual purists may be put off.
Every widescreen has a stretch mode which widens the image and removes the vertical black bars which may appear. However the movie heroes in this case can look kind of short and dumpy. Some sets include such options like "zoom" mode. It fills the screen by increasing the image size and cutting off the top an bottom after that. There is also an intelligent stretch mode which can stretch the left and right portions of the image, while leaving the center untouched. Due to that the actors mostly stay in the center of the shot, this will help you avoid the problems of a garden-variety stretch mode. Due to the gaining popularity of HDTV there is less material shot in squarish 4:3 aspect ratio. But the materials that aready exist are not changed. So if you enjoy watching DVD movies and don't mind black bars there would be no problem. But if you are fond of TV shows it is necessary to look for TV with multiple viewing options. 2. "What size TV screen is most suitable and where it is better to sit in the living room?" This may sound like a joke. But, in fact, the TV definition — i.e., the precision with which the image is displayed — has become more advanced and now you can sit much closer than you once could.
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