21:9 TV's - Anyone Got One? Only I see....

[im]

...Phillips have a 50" LED-backlit LCD TV - 1080p (FullHD) for £1,363 on-line.

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/10697291/art/phili...

I'd have thought that long-term this size would eventually take over from 16:9 only I've yet to meet or hear of anyone who has one. Anyone on PH care to offer an opinion?

[VEX]

I had the plasma version on a exhibitor stand a couple of years ago to show off our av stuff to clients.

It was a stunning screen and ratio.

V.

[oola]

We installed one about 2 years ago and another 18 months ago or so ... linky ... very pleased with how they look when watching films and surprised no one else has produced one in the same format. I'm guessing Philips must sell a few as they have two models now and the largest 56" was replaced by a 58" model.

Will see what's new at ISE in Feb.

[marctwo]

I have the old 56" version. I really like it but you have to be prepared for large black borders when watching 16:9 content. However, the screen is big enough for this not to be a problem and the 2.39:1 stuff looks excellent.

[Driller]

oola said:

We installed one about 2 years ago and another 18 months ago or so ... linky ... very pleased with how they look when watching films and surprised no one else has produced one in the same format. I'm guessing Philips must sell a few as they have two models now and the largest 56" was replaced by a 58" model.

Will see what's new at ISE in Feb.

Ah, it was you guys who did that? I've seen photos of that before in a few places and always thought it looked really nice.

Are those MA in walls and is it a 5.1 or 6/7.1 system?

[oola]

Driller said:

Ah, it was you guys who did that? I've seen photos of that before in a few places and always thought it looked really nice.

Are those MA in walls and is it a 5.1 or 6/7.1 system?

Yes that was us ... its a 5.1 system ... we actually used SpeakerCraft as it was at the back end of 2009. From memory we used AIM in walls and a Audio Pro Subwoofer as the custom built cabinet (build by Smallbone of Devizes to match the kitchen) wouldn't take the SpeakerCraft unit we'd specified. The cabinet was astronomical so was easier to swap the sub out.;)

We wanted to go down the projector route but the customer was adamant he wanted a TV (there's no telling some people) instead.

The building isn't a house ... its a sports pavilion in a garden. There's tennis courts outside with changing rooms, a sauna and a table tennis room all inside.

[justin220]

oola said:

We installed one about 2 years ago and another 18 months ago or so ... linky ... very pleased with how they look when watching films and surprised no one else has produced one in the same format. I'm guessing Philips must sell a few as they have two models now and the largest 56" was replaced by a 58" model.

Will see what's new at ISE in Feb.

That looks superb!

[OldSkoolRS]

I think it depends very much on what you use the TV for:

If it's day to day TV programs, sport, news, etc, then the vast majority of these will be in 16:9 (or possibly 14:9) aspect ratio. If you watch mostly recent films on BluRay/DVD then you might find that many of these will be 2.40:1 which is close enough to 21:9. Even then it depends on your taste in films as there are still plenty of new discs in 16:9 aspect ratio.

I found that nearly all my film viewing is 2.40:1 (must be my taste in films I guess) so my projector screen is this aspect ratio, but my TV is 16:9. I rarely see black bars on either display as they best suit the content I tend to watch on them. Those watching typical TV broadcasts on 21:9 TVs are going to have black bars each side of the screen for much of the time, or they can use one of the 'stretch' modes to fill the screen as seems to be the popular choice.

Unless the TV stations start broadcasting in 2.40:1 mostly then I can't see these TVs taking off in quantity...more a TV for those that want a 'cinema room' but don't want a projector screen.

[oola]

justin220 said:

That looks superb!

Thanks, always appreciate feedback!

OldSkoolRS said:

I think it depends very much on what you use the TV for:

If it's day to day TV programs, sport, news, etc, then the vast majority of these will be in 16:9 (or possibly 14:9) aspect ratio. If you watch mostly recent films on BluRay/DVD then you might find that many of these will be 2.40:1 which is close enough to 21:9. Even then it depends on your taste in films as there are still plenty of new discs in 16:9 aspect ratio.

I found that nearly all my film viewing is 2.40:1 (must be my taste in films I guess) so my projector screen is this aspect ratio, but my TV is 16:9. I rarely see black bars on either display as they best suit the content I tend to watch on them. Those watching typical TV broadcasts on 21:9 TVs are going to have black bars each side of the screen for much of the time, or they can use one of the 'stretch' modes to fill the screen as seems to be the popular choice.

Unless the TV stations start broadcasting in 2.40:1 mostly then I can't see these TVs taking off in quantity...more a TV for those that want a 'cinema room' but don't want a projector screen.

Absolutely spot on. The example above was specifically for the purpose of providing a cinema (type) room without a projector as you suggest. Normal TV is fine but as you say, it's more developed for films and I can't see broadcasts being changed from their current format. Watching older 4:3 stuff would be almost painful on 21:9 panel.

[OldSkoolRS]

oola said:

Watching older 4:3 stuff would be almost painful on 21:9 panel.

I put a DVD of Casablanca (4:3) on my projector for my OH...it barely filled half my 2.40:1 screen and reminded me that I still haven't sorted out some proper side masking. Still she enjoyed it as she likes older films and didn't seem bothered by the poor use of my screen area.

[marctwo]

OldSkoolRS said:

oola said:

Watching older 4:3 stuff would be almost painful on 21:9 panel.

I put a DVD of Casablanca (4:3) on my projector for my OH...it barely filled half my 2.40:1 screen and reminded me that I still haven't sorted out some proper side masking. Still she enjoyed it as she likes older films and didn't seem bothered by the poor use of my screen area.

It's not that bad. My OH watched 'All of Me' in 4:3 and, while it pained me to be watching 4:3 SD on a 21:9 full HD screen, she wasn't bothered at all.

[im]

OldSkoolRS said:

Still she enjoyed it as she likes older films and didn't seem bothered by the poor use of my screen area.

marctwo said:

...while it pained me to be watching 4:3 SD on a 21:9 full HD screen, she wasn't bothered at all.

Women eh? Never have worked 'em out.

[OldSkoolRS]

im said:

Women eh? Never have worked 'em out.

Yeah, my OH enjoys a good film without getting hung up about the technicalities such as whether the screen is filled, HD or not and that the display is calibrated...I'm getting better though; regaining an interest in cars has taken the focus slightly away from my AV setup and funny thing is I seem to enjoy it more thesedays.

If I wasn't hoping to get a TVR later this year, then I'd be tempted to upgrade my projector, but it's not like my current one is rubbish and I can't watch 3D anyway, so better to enjoy a fun car instead and have a proper mid-life-crisis-convertable.

[marcosgt]

I saw one of these in the Guildford A&N store when they first came out running (I think) a bluray movie.

Looked absolutely amazing, but not much use for general TV viewing so you need to be a hard-core movie watcher to get the most out of one and I'm not (and I had just bought a Plasma Panasonic anyway )

M

[oola]

marcosgt said:

hard-core movie watcher