16:9 Ennhanced mode is a capibility of newer
Sony WEGA models. Basically it shrinks the tube's vertical scanning area by one third when displaying an
animorphic DVD or other
widescreen source. This allows all the screen's lines to be used on picture information instead of letterbox bars (
2.35:1 movies still have some letterboxing bars, but those are part of the actual
MPEG stream on the disc). While
Sony's TVs are the only ones I've seen that allow this to be done in their consumer menus, it can be done fairly easially on other models by following some simple steps. You'll need a pencil,
16:9 DVD and the
service mode information for your
TV.
Dejanews should be a big help for the last one.
- Turn on your DVD player with a movie that is 16:9 and leave the player set to the default 4:3 letterbox mode.
- Play the movie, while the film is playing, mark with a pencil the top and bottom of the area where the image is being shown on the side bezel of the TV.
- Stop the movie, and set the DVD player to 16:9 full frame mode. You should now have an image that appears to be stretched vertically on your screen.
- Enter service mode, find the vertical height setting and write down the number on a piece of paper (you'll need it to set your TV back to 4:3 mode).
- Decrease the vertical height until the image onscreen matches up with the marks you put on the bezel
- Depending on your preferences you may want to turn the brightness down a notch. Enjoy the film in its higher res form.
- After the film set your v.height and brightness back to their original values using the service mode and user controls.
While doing this does actually work (at least on my Zenith 32", YMMV), it's a major pain in the ass and only worth doing for kicks.
DISCLAIMER: You can majorly fuckup your TV using service mode, don't fiddle with things you don't know about, though you should be safe changing obvious things like vertical height.