GigaOM

They seem to be cheating with an algorithm that extends a 4:3 picture to fit your HD screen…normal ratio in the middle, and increasingly stretched to the edges. It’s hugely annoying. I hope this is a trend that goes by the wayside, the way black & white movie colorizing eventually went away in the early 90s.

Hi Brian,

That’s actually a “Flexview.” The full article talks about it.

This is even more annoying than fullscreen DVDs. There are two drivers for this… first is an uneducated desire to fill a screen no matter what that does to the content, and second is a desire by some to avoid burning in their pricey flat screen HDTVs with pillarbox lines (certain display technologies are more prone). Stand up for your right to watch content in its original aspect ratio! And, don’t buy in to technologies that favor distorted images.