Along with the widespread use of the plasma screen television comes changes in the way that these television displays are viewed. The screens that are included in televisions have a certain ratio which shows the display in width and height. The ever changing technology involved in television viewing demands that these newer screens accommodate for the changes necessary in their use.



The ratio that is used in standard televisions is 4:3. This ratio display represents the height and width displayed on the screen. Plasma televisions and the wide use of high definition has created a demand for a 16:9 ratio. This larger ratio demands changes in the screen display so that the display is crisp and clear, but not distorted by the larger dimensions.

One possibility for converting the 4:3 ratio to a 16:9 ratio is to not actually change the ratio at all. Instead of stretching the picture, black bars are used around the screen to take up the additional space on the screen. This way there is no stretching of the picture which means the picture will not be distorted. This is not always the preferred method though because it will cut off some of the picture and the picture may appear grainy or pixilated.

The best way to make the conversion clearly is through the use of the ?full? or ?just? mode on the widescreen monitor. In this way the picture becomes a bit larger than the viewing screen on the plasma display. This will keep the center of the picture more true and accurate and there will be only slight distortion on the edges of the picture. The overall picture will be clearer and the parts with visible distortion will be limited to the edges that do not get as much viewing as the center.

It may be preferable to switch your view between the 4:3 display and the 16:9 display depending upon what you are watching. Sometimes the black bars are not so disturbing depending upon what's being watched. Sometimes the larger display is preferable if watching a movie or a sporting event in which you may want to capitalize the viewing space included.

The display screen on a plasma television is usually viewed in the 16:9 ratio and the wide screen. This allows for more of the display to be shown and more of the picture to be viewed by the audience. With the popular use of high definition, this type of display set up is the best way to view this type of television. Plasma televisions are made to be viewed in the wide screen. The ratio conversion is something that should not limit the picture that you see, they should enhance the viewing of that picture and usually they do. The stretching of the picture that occurs as the picture is taken from the 4:3 ratio to the 16:9 ratio will add clarity and depth to the picture.