Wide-screen TVs that

[Jane]

Wide screen (16x9) TVs in restaurants or bars that take regular video broadcast for a normal (4x3) display and stretch it to fit the wide screen, rendering all the people fat and squatty looking.

[Bubber]

Wide screen (16x9) TVs in restaurants or bars that take regular video broadcast for a normal (4x3) display and stretch it to fit the wide screen, rendering all the people fat and squatty looking.

Yep, and I hate the fact that I look like I am being viewed on the same screen...If I was a foot taller I'd be a square..later rdd

[ninemmbill]

With all the modern tv's, I don't know why film and tv folks can't adopt a universal standard so shows fit my tv without having to strech the image or leave part of the screen blak.

[Ed K]

Don't hate the TV, hate the bar. Tell them to turn to the HD channel.

[raz-0]

I hate bloat-o-vision. I'd rather have top or side bars. 

With the advent of HD while still supporting NTSC, I know why you run into so many format issues, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. 

What I hate more than TVs set to bloat-o-vision are stations that claim to be HD, that show non-hd content upscaled, and broadcast in bloat-o-vision. 

[rvb]

I'll add I hate wide-screens that don't have a "zoom" feature... when I leave the side bars for a non-HD broadcast, but the show is in wide format (so on an old-fashioned TV there'd be bars top/bottom), all of a sudden you have blank space on all sides. And you're using only 1/2 of the available area. Suddenly a 26" TV is equivalent to ~18". This is how I get Fox News now...

-rvb

[iainmcphersn]

I hate being on an HD channel watching an old program recorded in 4:3 that has been stretched by the provider. I normally bump the viewing aspect to "normal" and live with the sidebars but when the provider has stretched the program, it don't work.

[Dave Gundry]

I'll add I hate wide-screens that don't have a "zoom" feature... when I leave the side bars for a non-HD broadcast, but the show is in wide format (so on an old-fashioned TV there'd be bars top/bottom), all of a sudden you have blank space on all sides. And you're using only 1/2 of the available area. Suddenly a 26" TV is equivalent to ~18". This is how I get Fox News now...

-rvb

+1 - and then the channel has to put their logo half in and out of the bar, so my TV's auto zoom feature won't auto zoom (thinking it's a 4:3 broadcast).

Adding to that, my TV won't do anything other than 16:9 when hooked up through an HDMI cable - which is it's only source (home theater PC)!