Hello, I just purchased a new Samsung 42" DLP (HL-S4266W), but I'm having a problem when watching DVD's. When I play a DVD, the 16:9 aspect setting stretches the DVD out to the edges. It seems to me that for most DVD's the "Zoom 1" setting fits to the screen the best. However, the quality of the picture isn't nearly what I expected with the DLP when watching the "Zoom" setting. Has anyone had a similar problem, or know of a setting that I need to change? (I currently have my DVD connected using just a component video cable)
If you are using a normal DVD player that doesn't upscale to 1080i you will notice a difference because that particular television takes every signal and turns it into 720p. Watching something in SD with an HDTV that upscales everything can be painful. I would suggest getting a DVD player that does 1080i upscaling or using an Xbox 360 (if you have one) to play your DVDs because it makes a huge difference.
Also, it sounds like you may be watching a Fullscreen DVD, because a widescreen movie should fit just fine. If you are, Zoom probably isn't your best choice if you want to see the whole picture. If you are watching full screen movies (or even cable for that matter), I would change the setting to Stretch. It makes things wonky looking sometimes, but it gives you the entire image and utilizes the entire viewing surface as opposed to having the two bars on the side. It's either that or you can change it based on what you happen to be watching at that time. And I would also suggest buying all your DVDs in Widescreen from now on ;).
Matt, thanks for your post. I have been using Widescreen DVD's, but for some reason when I put them in, it defaults to a 4:3 ratio in widescreen (meaning that its letterboxed top & bottom, but also is only fitting to the center portion of the screen). If I switch to 16:9 setting, it basically just stretches out that letterboxed image, making it distorted. My Samsung only offers 4 settings/ with the DVD: 4:3, 16:9, Zoom 1, and Zoom 2. Its shows a "Wide Fit" setting, but it isn't available for me to select with the DVD input.
I haven't checked into whether my DVD player upscales or not. I have a Sony 5-disc changer that's probably 5 yrs. old or so, so maybe its a bit outdated. I will look into it. Thanks again.