Ermmm.. still need help with widescreen TVs

[andykaz]

Great, spent about 10 minutes writing the "phantom" post and then disconnected <grrr>.
So to the point.......
I want to buy a widescreen tv to compliment my DVD player and doubly digital ;)
However i can only afford a bottom of the range, £300 one, and there is no way i can spend more than that, so my question, as i know barely anything about them, is:
Is there any pitfalls in particulatar i should avoid when buying a widescreen tv?
Whats all this zoom mode about, and is it standard through all the range?
How will standard 4:3 aspect ratio look on my widescreen?
How will video games look on it?
Is "widescreen broadcasting" only available on digital services, or will my NTL analogue box be transmitting it?
Lots of questions, lots of confusion, so i shall throw the floor open to you good people.
P.S. I'm gonna get a 28"er <arf>
Thanks in advance for your help.
Andy

[-BIG AL-]

Seen some good 28" wharfdale TV in Tescos.
Are see any good? There only £279.99.

[andykaz]

Not bad at all m8, i bought one :)

[MartyG]

Seeing as you've already bought your TV, there's probably not much point answering your questions, but I'll do so any way.

"Is there any pitfalls in particulatar i should avoid when buying a widescreen tv?"
None that I can think of - maybe if you've got a large 4:3 set and you buy a 28" Widescreen you'll get a smaller 4:3 picture than you're use to.

"Whats all this zoom mode about, and is it standard through all the range?"
Should be standard on any widescreen TV. The Zoom mode is for programmes/films that are shown in a wide aspect ration - but aren't broadcast in a widescreen anamorphic format. You use the zoom to remove the black borders at the top and bottom of the picture (and lose quality in doing so).

"How will standard 4:3 aspect ratio look on my widescreen?"
A lot of people seem to think that if you buy a wide screen TV, the 4:3 picture won't look right. In fact the 4:3 picture will be like any other 4:3 picture - so long as you're viewing it in 4:3 mode.

"How will video games look on it?"
Same as on any other TV

"Is "widescreen broadcasting" only available on digital services, or will my NTL analogue box be transmitting it?"

Not sure what NTL do - Sky Digital broadcast widescreen transmissions as do Channel 4 on terrestrial.

Regards
Marty