Centre Cut-Out

One of the ways of viewing widescreen programmes with an existing 4x3 television set and a set-top box. A 4x3 patch is taken from the middle of the 16x9 image, with considerable cropping of the image at the side. The digital set-top box or tv set has a capability for pan-vectors, such that the displayed patch can follow the action, but it seems unlikely that broadcasters will programme pan-vectors except, perhaps, for a few prestige programmes. However, broadcasters will compose widescreen pictures knowing that many people will be watching in 4x3, so not too much action will be lost. The alternative is to switch to a letterboxdisplay, where the whole image is seen but with black bars at the top and bottom. That is likely to be the best way to watch movies on tv. Second generation set-top boxes will probably offer a 14x9 compromise where there are small black bands top and bottom. But the best solution is to buy a widescreen tv!