I recently watched a YouTube video touting the merits of using a retro TV for retro gaming.
Before the early 2000s, all television screens were 4:3 (also called 1.33), and most movie screens were in the widescreen ratio of 16:9 (or 1.85). Here's the difference in screen size:
This is why most movies on broadcast TV or on VHS began with this message:
In basic terms, "Formatted To Fit Your TV" meant that the original widescreen image had been cropped from a rectangle to a square. It also meant that you never got to see the whole movie as intended. Something was always going to be missing.
This is not true with retro video games from the 70s to 2000's. They were programed to be in that squarish 4:3 ratio. What you see is what you were supposed to get.
This put me on the hunt for a 4:3 aspect ratio TV. I have on old tube TV that I can play games on, but the screen is only 13 inches, and it still takes up most of the space a desk or a coffee table. A LCD (liquid-crystal display) TV is much lighter, thinner, and will use less surface space.
I bought this Sharp LC-20AV6U at GoodWill for $4.99. It has a 20 inch screen and the original remote was included. The marketing information for this TV brags that it is "Featuring a distinctive side-speaker design...". Actually those speakers are there to impersonate a widescreen TV.
Nice try, Sharp. But you're not fooling anybody.
I like that it still has the warning sticker about the 2009 broadcast change.
I also like the ability to connect through the component, s-video, RCA, and antenna options.
I tested the TV with a DVD player. All was good. I'll call this a "Hit!"
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