[joelbaby]

Hi,

I'm converting a 26" 1970 TV cabinet to use kodi as a fun project for a local museum.
It will play historical TV footage, and show vintage photographs.
I'll post pics on here if people want.
Here is the TV: http://i.imgur.com/TfaCwwE.jpg

For this I will use a 32" LED display because it will fill up the opening fully.
There will be unused display to the right hand side, which will always be hidden.
The widescreen display will be permanently affixed to inside of the TV cabinet.

Questions on 4:3 format -

- Can an Intel Compute Stick easily output 4:3 ?
- Is a Raspberry Pi, or PC with dedicated graphics card a better option .. if so which card?
- Is there a software method to shift the picture to only use the left part of the screen? For example, when in the Operating System (linux or Windows) - the edge of the display does not go past the hidden area.

[noggin]

I think it sounds as if you are using a 16:9 panel but only want a 4:3 active picture area, so the signal output will be in 16:9 format but only the 4:3 area will be seen? That's different to outputting a 4:3 signal for display on a 4:3 panel.

Can you clarify?

4:3 output to a 4:3 panel is straightforward - you chose a 4:3 square pixel output mode like 1024x768 or similar.

4:3 output within a 16:9 frame is more involved - and there may be more than one way of doing it. However if you want 16:9 content letterboxed within the central 4;3 portion of a 4:3 frame - that could be more difficult.

[Topken]

Yeah it sounds like he wants a 4:3 picture that is shifted to the left on a 16:9 panel

[joelbaby]

Yeah it sounds like he wants a 4:3 picture that is shifted to the left on a 16:9 panel

Yes, precisely.

4:3 output to a 4:3 panel is straightforward - you chose a 4:3 square pixel output mode like 1024x768 or similar.

It would seem so, but ... there is no such thing as a 4:3 flat panel which is 66cm or 26inch diagonal. It is pretty big, and I don't think they used to make them that big when 4:3 format was being used. (About 19" or 21" was the largest I remember).

However if you want 16:9 content letterboxed within the central 4;3 portion of a 4:3 frame - that could be more difficult.

No... just 4:3 shifted all the way to the left on a 16:9 panel.

[noggin]

However if you want 16:9 content letterboxed within the central 4;3 portion of a 4:3 frame - that could be more difficult.

No... just 4:3 shifted all the way to the left on a 16:9 panel.

Are you only playing 4:3 content then?

When you play 16:9 content do you want the centre 4:3 section to be cut out (and the left and right cropped)? Or do you want it to be letterboxed so you see the full image with black bars above and below?

[joelbaby]

When you play 16:9 content

There is no 16:9 content to play.

It would be useful if the underlying operating system display output (linux or windows) is also in 4:3 and shifted to the left. This will allow for easier operation if outside Kodi.

[LazerBlue]

If you were close to me, my parents just retired a 32" flat tube 4:3 tv that was also 1080i with HDMI input that works great, but now it's waiting in the garage for the free electronics recycle day.

Sent from my LG-H901

[noggin]

When you play 16:9 content

There is no 16:9 content to play.

It would be useful if the underlying operating system display output (linux or windows) is also in 4:3 and shifted to the left. This will allow for easier operation if outside Kodi.

Sounds like the way forward may be a custom modeline. With VGA output you may be able to define a very long horizontal blanking period to blank the initial area of the 16:9 screen? Not sure if you can do this in HDMI without going out of spec.

There may also be a way with a modeline of defining an 'overscan' area? I'm not sure.

[joelbaby]

Are there any graphics cards that let you horizontally shift the picture output to the left?

[DJ_Izumi]

Can't you just force add 1440x1080 to the driver, then render at that resolution, and then use a TV that upon receiving a 4:3 signal, it letter boxes instead of stretches it? Sure Kodi's GUI would be sqished since they're all made for 16:9 (Maybe some aren't? I dunno) but the video playback would be fine. This would really just be an issue of getting a TV who's firmware allows you to run it's input at native res instead of stretching it.