In the frame

Digital TV broadcasters in Europe have developed a system that makes sure
viewers see normal pictures instead of stretched or squashed images. Digital TV
signals already tell a receiver whether a broadcast is in the new 16:9 ratio
widescreen format or the old 4:3 format. But many widescreen TV sets persist in
stretching standard pictures to fill the wider screen, making people look short
and fat. From this month, the broadcasters will add an extra signal to force
digital TV sets to switch to the most appropriate format for the pictures.