Samsung 50" DLP TV + DVD Movies

[Billb916]

I recived my new TV last week and am very happy with it. I was going to wait for the 61" model but couldn't get a Delivery date from Best Buy - they just didn't know "when".

One thing that has me puzzed is what format is avialable on the Samsung for showing DVDs? I had a DVD from England last night that was "Wide Screen" and it filled the screen with great resolution and color - no distortion. A couple of nights ago I tried to watch the "Titanic" DVD and only had a picture of about 1/3 of the screen - a alternate setting filled about 75% of the screen but with image distortion.

Am I missing something in the setup for various formats or is there a lot of variance in how the DVD formats are recorded. Ideally I would like an image that fills the screen with good resolution and color. Should I be looking for a specific type of DVD or what?

One last question! The sales person encouraged me to use the new Samsung DVD player that is supposed to upgrade the image from standard to "almost" HD on older DVD. With it he also recommended the Monster Cable DVI cable to use from the DVD player to the TV - for $99.00 which I bought. After the Set was delivered and I went to make the hook ups I found a DVI cable also came packed with a DVI cable. The quality was near as good as the Monster Cable, but does it make that much difference?

Thanks for any information you might be able to give me!

[Vitriol]

Regarding Titanic (and other DVDs) not filling the screen as they should, that's a problem with the disc, not your TV or DVD player. Some discs are not anamorphic widescreen, that is they are not enhanced for 16:9 televisions. The only way to get them to fill the screen is to use your TVs (or DVD) zoom feature, which will result in some distortion. I find that I don't even bother watching older, non-anamorphic discs on my 16:9 TVs anymore.

[57U]

Please read the FAQs on "widescreen stretch modes" and "black bars" so that you understand more about the various formats (aspect ratios).

Interestingly, a DVI input may disable all these stretch modes on your TV because DVI assumes you've got an "HD" signal and your TV doesn't "manipulate" HD. One of the disadvantages of a DVD player with DVI out.

This can be a problem for non-anamorphic DVDs and you may need to change the setup of your DVD player to 4:3, or use a different connection, or a combination.

I'd suggest you take that Monster cable back and get your $100 back.