Is it normal for a TV not to be able to display a movie in 4:3?

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Whenver I want to watch an old movie shot in 4:3, my TV keeps stretching it to 16:9 and everything looks fatter and wider than it should.

I've tried playing with the settings, and one of the settings is actually 4:3, right on the TV, but selecting that makes no difference. Is there a way to fix this, or would I need a new TV that can actually display 4:3?



You mean me? Kei's cousin?
If you're watching it on disc and your DVD or Blu-ray player doesn't have a "16:9 Normal" option, that could have something to do with it. Otherwise, I'm not quite sure what to tell you.
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Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
True, is there anything I am doing wrong or missing on how to get a 4:3 aspect ratio for movies that were shot in that native?



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I have a Sony 75" Android and I found a lot of help on their website. They go into great detail all the settings with step by step instructions. There was quite a bit I was able to configure for my TV I never knew existed. Check your manufacturer website. Mine I just input the model number in a search box and it pulled up a large inventory of instructions for numerous functions.
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Well maybe I am missing something then. Is there anything I can do? There is a 4:3 option, but all that does is stretch the movie even wider. Is there anything else I can do?



Whenver I want to watch an old movie shot in 4:3, my TV keeps stretching it to 16:9 and everything looks fatter and wider than it should.

I've tried playing with the settings, and one of the settings is actually 4:3, right on the TV, but selecting that makes no difference. Is there a way to fix this, or would I need a new TV that can actually display 4:3?
It depends on what is your input source for the movie. Are you watching by cable? by internet streaming? or by dvd/blu ray. Let us know and someone might be able to figure this out for you.



You should be able to alter the picture size on the TV just by going through the formats. Occasionally if I'm playing a video file, rather than a DVD, I can also alter the size using the Tools button (on a Samsung TV), which gives you three alternatives including the original size.



What Citizen Rules said. There must be an option to do this. It sounds like you have the "fill" or "stretch" option turned on.



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Oh okay, well I am watching blue ray and dvds, both through the same blu ray player. For example I want to watch the movie City Lights on DVD in it's 4:3 aspect ratio, but it zooms into it until it's 16:9. The blu ray player is plugged into the tv witch an HDMI cable. So what could the problem be therefore?

If there is a stretch or fill option turned on, where would I find this option?

The options are '4:3 widescreen', but all that does is just make the screen stretched horizontally and more wide. There is '16:9', and that makes it 16:9. And then there is '16:9 full', and all that does is zoom in more, but still 16:9, just zoomed in more.

So I have those three options, and none of them will present a 4:3 movie in 4:3.



Oh okay, well I am watching blue ray and dvds, both through the same blu ray player. For example I want to watch the movie City Lights on DVD in it's 4:3 aspect ratio, but it zooms into it until it's 16:9. The blu ray player is plugged into the tv witch an HDMI cable. So what could the problem be therefore?

If there is a stretch or fill option turned on, where would I find this option?

The options are '4:3 widescreen', but all that does is just make the screen stretched horizontally and more wide. There is '16:9', and that makes it 16:9. And then there is '16:9 full', and all that does is zoom in more, but still 16:9, just zoomed in more.

So I have those three options, and none of them will present a 4:3 movie in 4:3.
I did some reading on this and I think you're out of luck. What I read is that DVDs of older movies are often coded to be 16:9, and can't be changed to 4:3 by your TV or DVD/BluRay menu buttons. Even if the movie is really old say from the 1940s and originally was released in 4:3, it ends up being put onto the DVD as 16:9 by the company that made the DVD.



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Oh okay but even with dvd movies that say that it's a 1.33:1 aspect ratio on the dvd, it still stretches it out to 16:9. So wouldn't it be the tv or dvd player that is doing it, if it says on the dvd that its in 1.33:1?

I also tried it on my friend's blu ray player to compare and her's displays my older movies in the proper 1.33:1 if you change the settings. So that means that it must be my dvd player or tv, and not the dvd format then, right?



Can you find the download for the full manual for you TV and post the link here? I would be very surprised if there is no way to disable all three of those options you listed.



I found this online:
How to Fix DVD Player Showing Wrong Aspect Ratio Error?

...try the following to remove the problem:
1. Check the settings on the remote and change your TV settings to play Wide or Normal.
2. Check the DVD Player settings and change the resolution, e.g., change it to 480 output for 4:3 playback.
3. For Sony DVD players, turn off Closed Caption (CC) and Extended Data Services (XDS), this feature may cause DVD distorted or stretched on DVD player.
4. Change the DVD aspect ratio to fit the TV



You mean me? Kei's cousin?
Oh okay, well I am watching blue ray and dvds, both through the same blu ray player. For example I want to watch the movie City Lights on DVD in it's 4:3 aspect ratio, but it zooms into it until it's 16:9. The blu ray player is plugged into the tv witch an HDMI cable. So what could the problem be therefore?

If there is a stretch or fill option turned on, where would I find this option?

The options are '4:3 widescreen', but all that does is just make the screen stretched horizontally and more wide. There is '16:9', and that makes it 16:9. And then there is '16:9 full', and all that does is zoom in more, but still 16:9, just zoomed in more.

So I have those three options, and none of them will present a 4:3 movie in 4:3.
Okay, that helps me understand the issue more and it seems that the problem isn't the TV at all but the player. It's time to get a new player.