One of the changes digital TV brings is the width of the picture, called widescreen.
Mathematically speaking, TV in the past has always had a screen ratio of 4x3. Digital TV has a screen ratio of 16x9, so it basically matches the width of movies.

You've no doubt noticed widescreen shows already on your old TV set, with the black bands at the top and bottom. When you move that wide picture into a new, wider digital set, those black bands will disappear and the picture will fill the screen.

Conversely, when you see an old favorite TV program from long ago on a wide-screen TV, black bands will appear on the sides to fill the gaps.

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For more information about ETV's Digital Television Services, contact:
Hap Griffin, Vice President, ETV Engineering
E-mail: Hap Griffin (hgriffin@scetv.org)
Office: (803) 737-3500