# What is better? 1080i Stretch or Crop?



## Msguy (May 23, 2003)

What is the better way to watch a baseball game? I'm trying my receiver on 1080i Stretch But If I go to 1080i Crop it fills the screen more to the way I have always been use to watching games. Is the broadcast meant to be in 1080i Stretch?


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

I keep mine on pillar box for everything.


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## RobertE (Jun 10, 2006)

Neither.

Stretch is pure evil.

With crop you lose a portion of the picture.

If it's 4:3 content, then pillar box is not only the right choice, it's the only choice.


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## Msguy (May 23, 2003)

RobertE said:


> Neither.
> 
> Stretch is pure evil.
> 
> ...


I must be missing something. I don't have "Pillar Box" as a choice on my Receiver. Are you talking about Letter Box?


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## jceman (Aug 20, 2007)

Msguy said:


> I must be missing something. I don't have "Pillar Box" as a choice on my Receiver. Are you talking about Letter Box?


Go into System Setup and under HDTV make sure you have selected "Widescreen" under "TV Type". Pillar box will then show as a selectable screen format under Video.


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## armophob (Nov 13, 2006)

stretch, fill that big beautiful screen, don't waste it.


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## dave29 (Feb 18, 2007)

armophob said:


> stretch, fill that big beautiful screen, don't waste it.


agreed


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## jfosut (Dec 10, 2006)

armophob said:


> stretch, fill that big beautiful screen, don't waste it.


Meh... Sometimes I feel this way, sometimes I don't. I don't think there's a 'right' answer here. If you want to fil your screen and have the image slightly distorted, feel free. If you'd rather have the picture size be the same as it's broadcast then pillar box is the way to go. Luckily, you're not stuck with your decision, so you can change it on a whim!


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## Michael D'Angelo (Oct 21, 2006)

armophob said:


> stretch, fill that big beautiful screen, don't waste it.


I completely agree. I hate having the bars.


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## SledDog (May 6, 2007)

Fill the screen...


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## Brian Hanasky (Feb 22, 2008)

I use "original format" and set my TV to Full. Seems to work for me.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

Msguy said:


> I must be missing something. I don't have "Pillar Box" as a choice on my Receiver. Are you talking about Letter Box?


You seem to have a 4:3 TV setting in the setup menu. If you have a 16:9 TV, then you want to go into the setup menu and select 16:9 [letterbox for HD will change to pillarbox for SD].
I don't like any distortion in my picture, but everyone has there own choice on this one, so there is no "one answer fits all".


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Personally I prefer Pillar Box but that's why there are different choices.


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

Stuart Sweet said:


> Personally I prefer Pillar Box but that's why there are different choices.


+1


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## gcisko (Sep 27, 2006)

Msguy said:


> What is the better way to watch a baseball game? I'm trying my receiver on 1080i Stretch But If I go to 1080i Crop it fills the screen more to the way I have always been use to watching games. Is the broadcast meant to be in 1080i Stretch?


Some TV's have a panoramic option. This keeps the center in proper aspect while stretching the edges. The larger the TV is, the more you can see the sides distort. ANd that is the problem with big TV's for this. Crop cuts the top & bottom off. This may be OK maybe not. I would never stretch a 4:3 picture to 16:9 unless it was with panoramic as described above. If you cannot try panoramic, then I think pillar would be best actually.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

For me the panoramic option, is even worse that just looking at "fat people". It drives me nuts as everything keeps changing sizes as it moves through the screen.
Everybody seems "to see" differently. Some of this may just be how your brain processes the information.
Each viewer must "play around" until they find what "they like".


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

I don't even understand why people buy an HDTV, and then intentionally distort the image. Stretch shouldn't even be an option, it's an abortion.


RobertE said:


> If it's 4:3 content, then pillar box is not only the right choice, it's the only choice.


Absolutely.


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Jeremy W said:


> I don't even understand why people buy an HDTV, and then intentionally distort the image. Stretch shouldn't even be an option, it's an abortion.


Apparently their brains are distorted.



veryoldschool said:


> Everybody seems "to see" differently. Some of this may just be how your brain processes the information.


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## Thaedron (Jun 29, 2007)

BMoreRavens said:


> I completely agree. I hate having the bars.


I find that I notice the bars at the beginning of the show, but usually within 5 minutes or less I don't even notice they are there. Same goes for letter box during movies once I get absorbed into all the HD goodness, I don't even notice the borders.


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## Artwood (May 30, 2006)

I use JUST on my Panasonic Plasma which is a panoramic mode--especially on The Weather Channel at all times other than the 8s because the HD stretchced out by my set looks better than The Weather Channel SD stretched out by my DirectV box.


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## rustynails (Apr 24, 2008)

spartanstew said:


> Apparently their brains are distorted.


I agree with that statement. I just came to D from E and E had an option for partial zoom and it was great. It filled the TV screen without stretch-o-vison. I can honestly say E had the better DVR but the picture quality with D is great!


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