Finally got myself a HDTV, an entry level, 32 inches Sony Bravia.  Not FullHD,
just up to 720p or 1080i, as the terminology goes.

It's got a neat feature: a USB slot.  Which is handy considering I still got no
HD content provider except whatever goes on digital TV -- my PC is not nearby
the TV and I've got no wifi router nor bluray (yet).  BTW, isn't it funny to see
HD content mixed with SD content on digital TV?  I mean, you look at the news
and there is the anchor spilling out in full HD glory and then they begin to
actually broadcast the local news and it's in SD.  Guess it was like that in the
transition from B&W to color TV's too... or perhaps it's just here in Brazil...
:P

Anyway, I browsed lot of places to fill my 8GB thumbdrive with quality HD
content, including povray HOF and youtube for some of those gorgeous 6 minutes
HD demos Sony had for their Bravia line. :)

So, after much fun seeing videos (MP4 only), listening to music and seeing
pictures, here's my question:  is the 720p limit bogus?  Actually, it's


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wide_XGA

I mean, perhaps it's only for videos, not pictures?  Perhaps it's a limit in the
mp4 decoder, not in the screen itself?  I'm even unsure about this as the
decoder seems to cope with 1080p videos just as well (probably downscaled).

Fact is, the screen was pretty able to display pictures higher than the 768
limit without even filling up the whole screen -- and yes, I tried different
"wide" size modes.  It has not seemingly "downscaled", they simply display just
nicely in normal size mode, leaving plenty of empty space.  Like this one:

http://imagico.de/pov/pict/lotw_038_09.jpg

1273x900px and it is centered on screen, with plenty of empty dark space both up
and down and to the sides.

Some of the largest from povray HOF, like Pebbles:
http://hof.povray.org/images/pebbles.jpg

1600x1200px, it fits just perfect vertically, but there's obvious empty space to
the sides.  I'm not sure if it's downscaled in any way to fit vertically because
 the vertical empty space from the previous picture could very well account for
about 300 pixels, 150 in the bottom and 150 to the top.

To clear any doubt, here's one at 1280x1024 that still leaves a few dozens of
empty pixels up and down and plenty to the sides:

http://www.wallpaper77.com/upload/DesktopWallpapers/cache/Island-Beach-landscape-beach-1280x1024.jpg

So, have you guys had a similar experience with your TV's?  The spec sets some
physical limit and yet you realize pictures seem to go well above?  What do you
think is the catch?  Perhaps despite the spec setting a 768 limit of vertical
resolution, it should have more to display 1080i content?

I find it all quite bizarre...

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