I’m wondering if there is a relatively inexpensive device that will allow me to pan and stretch a TV signal exactly how I want it, so the picture will fit exactly right on my widescreen HDTV. (I don’t want to settle on the closest of a handful of preset stretch modes built into the TV). Does such a beast exist?
Sorry if this sounds incoherent, it’s getting late…
AFAIK there is no such device. Of course it can be done (with a computer for example), but not cheaply. Your TV’s service menu will have settings available for vertical and horizontal size and centering. You can use the service menu, in conjunction with a preset stretch mode, to get the results that you want. If you do not feel comfortable with service menu adjustments, I strongly suggest you hire a professional to calibrate your TV. They’ll center the image and correctly set up the colors and brightness level.
Be aware that TV programming is made for overscan, so nothing important will occur in the outer 5-10% of the image.
Dude, I get e-mails for this kind of thing all the time…
He wants to stretch his TV signal, not his… “antenna”…
There is no “exactly right” – during editing, picture is intentionally pushed past the boundaries of a tv screen. Better insignificant picture gets pushed past the edge of the screen than have black, unused pixels visible.
Same is done in movie theaters, only they physically prevent light from bleeding off the edge of the screen by putting a plate around the lens.
So don’t worry, the stuff around the edges is intentionally loseable.