Small simple TV for SD basic cable to get correct AR

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Does anyone know of a small (28" or under) flat screen TV that is mostly likely to just plug into a cable TV box and display standard definition with the correct aspect ratio? I have been using a CRT on this cable box up to this point.

I don't care about TV and hate fighting with technology. I just want something simple that works. I have been watching CRTs up until now, using given away sets and I have even done some soldering to fix one to keep it going. This weekend I tried buying a Vizio D24h-G9, and after spending a lot of time fighting with it, with an HDMI connection, all aspect ratio settings show a screen stretched wide for most channels. I tried the old coaxial cable connection I used for my CRT TV, and the aspect ratio is correct, but the sound is pathetic -- my last CRT with only one working speaker sounded better. I tried checking the signal for the cable box but there does not seem to be a way to change anything. This Vizio TV I just got also locks up when it gets to the User Manual option... I have to do a factory reset to get it working again. I only bought this TV because it was in Consumer Reports recommended list. So does anyone know of a different brand or specific TV likely to work with standard definition cable?

[bohoki]

all tvs are wide screen now in order to watch sd its going to have side bars

they often come with various options which are a zoom which cuts off a little top and bottom

i know you are not going to want stretch so thats out

it would be nice to have a "standard" but this is tv now you probably noticed there is no escaping the letterbox

[Creeping Incrementalism]

I actually don't mind letterboxing either vertically or horizontally, if it fixes the aspect ratio of whatever is displayed. The problem is when the displayed portion of the screen is stretched wide or narrow, as in squares becoming rectangles. I took a ruler to my Vizio and confirmed that NON-letterboxed channels were distorted (a square became a rectangle). So I would prefer a letterbox if it fixes the stretching.

[Robotron2k84]

Industrial and CCTV still has a market for 4:3 LCD. No guarantees on the quality.

You’re going to have to buy an external tuner or media converter for some, however. Also, almost no sound onboard, and need an external amp and speakers, if the media converter has analog L/R out.

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?N=100160979%20600012947

Although, one Samsung 19” has built-in audio (not cheap), and may not sound any better than your Visio:

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=Samsung+SMT-1935+19%22

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Thanks for the suggestion, but looking at the links, that is still more money/effort than I am looking for. It seems to me so weird it is this hard to buy a modern TV that just replicates what old CRTs can do, and not really any more. I may just check Goodwill or Craigslist for an old CRT TV. The last CRT TV I got, was sitting outside on the curb given away as free, and I liked that TV better than the new Vizio I mentioned in my original post.

[Robotron2k84]

I’d check out eBay to see what they have in mid-2000s 4:3 flat screen TVs. Probably a fair amount.

The bottom line is that no LCD ever really replicates a CRT, and even with the best scalers and display panels, SD content never looks as good on a flat panel (regardless of its aspect ratio), than it does on a decent CRT, resolution not withstanding.

I watch ST-DS9 episodes on my Samsung 4K QLED, and the digital interpolation of a 480i NTSC signal lacks the smoothness and realism that you just get with a scanning beam, even with all the fancy rescaling (you still get artifacting).

And ST-DS9 is one of the best shows to test the panel and the scaler: it has one of the poorest quality SD streams on any show out there, and there probably won’t ever be a 4K rescan due to budget.