Regular MPEG-2 decoder chips, cores, and software handle 720x480 11/10 = Sample Aspect Ratio "pixels" for 4:3 as well as the 16:9 anamorphic (75% = squeezed) version, and other non "NTSC" sample sizes ("half D1", etc.) = commonly used for cable, satellite, DVD-V, etc.; all of which are = included in the MPEG spec. It probably isn't cost effective to build special "retarded" MPEG-2 = decoder chips with broken functionality in memory of Table 3. =20 But you never know. Some manufacturers may have gone to great trouble = to rig their sets to blow up on legal MPEG image formats they considered = subversive. Kilroy Hughes -----Original Message----- From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] = On Behalf Of Richard Hollandsworth Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 6:28 PM To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [opendtv] Why can't POSTAGE STAMPS be Eliminated??? Why must Letterboxed programs (e.g. Widescreen 720x480 DVDs) be = transmitted as a 360x480 "Postage Stamp" within the SD 640x480 4:3 box? Why can't they be transmitted in either 720x480 (currently in SCTE = specs) or as "SD-Lite" 704x480 (currently in both SCTE and ATSC specs)? Surely the Encoding equipment is capable of handling this resolution = setting..... An HD-STB/DVR (whether built to ATSC or SCTE specs) should be capable of = accepting this format without modification, filling up the screen on a = 16:9 HDTV.....and "shrink-to-fit" for Video/S-Video output, just as they = already do for HD. Shouldn't a cable SD-STB also be capable of accepting widescreen = formats---after all it's one of the 480 formats in the SCTE specs??? If not, wouldn't it be a viable software-only upgrade??? =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D ATSC Candidate Standard CS-TSG-674 proposes revising Table A3 in ATSC = A/53 Annex A to (finally) include the 720x480 widescreen SD resolution, indicating that it has been in use for several = years with any reported complaints. So there may not even be a need to down-rez ATSC to "SD-Lite" 704x480. =09 --------------------------------- Ring'em or ping'em. Make PC-to-phone calls as low as 1=A2/min with = Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. =20 =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at = FreeLists.org=20 - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word = unsubscribe in the subject line. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways: - Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at FreeLists.org - By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.