HD Aspect Ratio?

[WalksInDarkness]

Hi All,
Here is my dumb question of the day: If I upgrade to HD, does it have a different aspect ratio? I have a 42" ED Plasma (Enhanced Definition 420, not HD), so I haven't bothered to upgrade my D* equipment to HD. The thing I would like to improve is the aspect ratio, I want to recieve TV in letterbox/widescreen (or whatever). So I guess the point of my question is does HD programming still come in the old fashioned "full screen" CRT aspect ratio? If it does, than HD is no advantage to me at this point because using the TV's "Zoom" feature cuts off the tops of peoples heads, and the "Stretch" feature makes every body head look like Stewie from Family Guy. OK, now feel free to make fun of my lack of knowledge.
TIA

 

[charper1]

There is no set aspect ratio; however the one most recognized widescreen ratio is 16x9. Most viewers prefer their material to be shown in the OAR (original aspect ratio) as shot.

Good reading:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/aspectratios/widescreenorama.html

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

 

[Questioner]

It's worth it if you have an edtv....we have one in one of our rooms, hd programming looks a ton better than standard. Actually, with directv's hd lite, most programming doesn't look better than the native edtv resolution anyway.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

Hmm...

Thanks that is some good information in both of those replies. But I am not sure if either I didn't understand the answers, or if I didn't ask the right questions. I will try to clarify. If I sign up for HD service, and get the right Dish and Reiciever Box, will the "special" HD programming channels give me a natural 16x9 picture? Or will it vary according to whatever the program was filmed in, and some shows will have HD qaulity picture but be in 4x3 format? (I just hate having the big grey bars on the sides of the picture, and if I change them to black it causes temporary burn-in). Any feedback is appreciated.
TIA

 

[charper1]

Let see if I can get you: It will depend on the programming; if you have a 4:3 (really 1.33:1) setup correctly, any widescreen program will create letterboxing at the top and bottom to maintain the aspect ratio. If you have a 16:9 set, 16:9 will fill the screen, smaller widescreen formats (such as 2.35:1) will still create letterboxing T&B, 4:3 (1.33:1) will have LB on the sides unless you select stretch.

 

[WalksInDarkness]

OK thanks

OK, thanks Charper1. That is what I thought you meant in the first reply. I guess I was just hoping that there was some sort of "bonus" visual information added into the HD programming, and I could get a true widescreen effect. But it would stand to reason that it wouldn't make economic sense for them to have two seperate aspect ratios. I guess I will just have to wait for the day when HDTV becomes so prevalent that all programming is produced in widescreen. Oh well...