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I'm considering buying a HDTV (probably a 32-36 inch) and debating on whether or not to get a full or wide screen. What % of XBOX games play on widescreen and also I'm going to be using it to be watching regular tv and I know very few broadcast in widescreen. Please feel free to give me any pros/cons or reccomendations. Also on brand and other things I might want to consider. I am not looking to spend an arm and a leg, I went to Best Buy and their cheaper lines are the samsungs. Thanks
Well I can give the quick and dirty answer: Widescreen. Reasoning is that it is the future, and every year more and more tv shows are being produced and broadcast in widescreen. All of Fox's shows for example. Most of the other big networks as well. Come the year 2006(if all holds true), everything will be produced in widescreen as well as being broadcast in HD.
Second, you have movies, dvds, HD-DVD coming next year. Widescreen is better my friend as you get to see the whole picture and not a chop and crop version that we all were forced to see on standard tv. Don't like those black bars? Make them almost disappear with a widescreen. (you will never be rid of black bars)
Third, Xbox has the largest list of widescreen capable games for any console. That list also continues to grow. But that aside, one nice thing about games is that they stretch so nicely. Just ask an uninformed gamer with a widescreen tv how they like Halo. They will swear that it is widescreen...many still do even though it isn't. Games just stretch nicely.
Fourth, if you do watch alot of standard tv (4x3) you still aren't out in the cold. You can stretch that to 16x9 as well and most people don't mind it. Check it out at a tv store for yourself and see if that bothers you.
One factor for you though might be the size. With a tv size of 32-36" and depending on how much you are upgrading from, you might consider a widescreen 32-36" tv to be small or smaller than what you had before. This may or may not be true but it does mess with your eyes. When you get up into the 47"-60" you really see the difference and will almost always pick the widescreen over an equivelent standard.
Anyway, hope this helps you out a bit. Gaming in widescreen does make a difference. :D