Can I get a 16x9 picture on my plasma using WMP?

[javeryh]

I downloaded some TV episodes (OK, Gossip Girl) and they are in AVI format. I have a laptop with a 4:3 screen and use WMP to play the file. It plays with the bars on the top and bottom, which is right. I connect the laptop to my 16x9 plasma and extend the desktop. When I play the AVI file on the plasma screen, the black bars still appear on the top and bottom but the image is now stretched when what I want to happen is there to be no bars anywhere and the AVI image to fill the plasma screen. Any ideas how to set this up?

[BASS!]

It depends on the way you are connecting the plasma to your laptop. If you are running it via dvi you are going to configure the laptop to show a secondary display and set your machine to output the resolution at a standard tv resolution, ie 1080i ( 1920x1080) or 720p (1280x720). Most older video cards do not naively support these resolutions, but often times you can get 3rd party drivers or find tweaks out there to unlock "secret" settings in your video card. One distro I have used a lot is omega, they have a lot of driver sets out there for all types. The only drawback is some versions have weird crashy bugs, so bear that in mind.

[javeryh]

I'm just using the standard monitor wire with the blue ports (15 pin?) and extending the desktop.

[HaRuMaN]

I'm just using the standard monitor wire with the blue ports (15 pin?) and extending the desktop.

After you extend the desktop, have you tried setting the TV as the primary display?  This is what I do with my laptop / LCD TV and that works every time.

[u_rebelscum]

Really depends. 
Is the video recorded in 4:3 (IOW, are the black bars included in the file, or added by WMP)?
What res is the plasma?  (Does it have square pixels?)
What version WMP?

WMP used to suck at correcting aspect ratios; not sure about the current version, though.  (Switching the plasma to the primary display helped in older WMP versions.)  Have you tried a different viewer?

[waveryder]

Just use XBMC and set it to correct for your TV's aspect. You can also set it to output to your TV at an independant rez to your laptop. It also helps clean up all those beautiful "jaggies" that you get watching SD content at 720p and 1080i.
http://xbmc.org/download/