HD Widescreen TV ?

[Zandy595]

Are all channels supposed to take up the entire screen or just the HD channels?
We just got our first widescreen tv. Very few channels use the whole screen. Some have wide black borders on the sides, some have borders at the top and bottom and others have a border around the whole picture. Do we need to do something to adjust it or is this the way it's supposed to be?

 

[dalt01]

you have a button on your remote that will stretch, make full, zoom or just. this will take away some of the prob. the top and bottom is called letterbox that is so you see the movie the way it was filmed.

 

[HonnyDipp]

Only the channels in HD will have the entire screen. When we got our HD we had to add more channels. Call your cable company to see whats available in your area

 

[shrubber]

usually, only the hd channels broadcast in the letterbox format.
Check your tv manual for the 'stretch' or 'fit to screen/zoom' feature to utilize the entire sreen.
A downside is that nonHD programs when streched or zoomed lose a lot of picture quality

 

[NAB]

you have a button on your remote that will stretch, make full, zoom or just. this will take away some of the prob. the top and bottom is called letterbox that is so you see the movie the way it was filmed.

I was going to say that....The HD channels are sharp but the ones that are not won't be. You will see the difference. Sometimes our HD channels have the black on the sides because the shows weren't recorded in HD. Or the dish is just acting up....

 

[Zandy595]

OK, so I guess that's the way it's supposed to be. We've tried stretching and zooming, but I don't like it because it distorts the picture too much.

I'll have to ask, but I don't remember seeing these borders on my in-laws tv.

 

[dalt01]

OK, so I guess that's the way it's supposed to be. We've tried stretching and zooming, but I don't like it because it distorts the picture too much.

I'll have to ask, but I don't remember seeing these borders on my in-laws tv.

just to give you an idea. watch say ESPN's nfl pregame show sunday at 11 am. it should be full screen....but then they will do spots about this and that and they will have borders. if that show or the actual NFL game on FOX for example are not full you do not have your HD set up right or your cable co is not broadcasting in HD to you because of the type of acct you have.

 

[Albort]

VERY few channels are non HD lately. Even so, it is digital. doesnt lose that much quality if zoomed in.

Things i hate about technology, they dont hold value. :| bought my TV for around $1100, its like $800 in a year... :|

 

[Zandy595]

VERY few channels are non HD lately. Even so, it is digital. doesnt lose that much quality if zoomed in.

Things i hate about technology, they dont hold value. :| bought my TV for around $1100, its like $800 in a year... :|

You must have a better cable service than we have.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Do you have actual HD cable? We had to get a different subscription for HD cable? It's also on a completely different set of channels than you would normally watch.

 

[Albort]

You must have a better cable service than we have.

sorry, perhaps i have clarify that i dont have cable... OTA for meeee, which is all in 1080i/720p.

i had satellite but digital wasnt that bad... trust me, i know what bad is, my TV really SUCKS at non HD things... :|

 

[Zandy595]

Do you have actual HD cable? We had to get a different subscription for HD cable? It's also on a completely different set of channels than you would normally watch.

sorry, perhaps i have clarify that i dont have cable... OTA for meeee, which is all in 1080i/720p.

i had satellite but digital wasnt that bad... trust me, i know what bad is, my TV really SUCKS at non HD things... :|

When we first hooked the tv up it only had basic cable (no box). We got maybe 3 or 4 HD channels (ABC, NBC, CBS and maybe FOX).

Then DH decided he needed an HD cable box. Now we get a few more HD channels. I'd say a quarter of the channels we get are HD.

 

[ChrisFL]

When we first hooked the tv up it only had basic cable (no box). We got maybe 3 or 4 HD channels (ABC, NBC, CBS and maybe FOX).

Then DH decided he needed an HD cable box. Now we get a few more HD channels. I'd say a quarter of the channels we get are HD.

I have Bright House cable and just this week they added a TON of channels...I think nearly every channel available here is in HD

 

[bicker]

Are all channels supposed to take up the entire screen or just the HD channels?

Generally, the "HD channels" are the only ones capable of delivering wide-screen aspect ratio (16:9). However, HD channels can also deliver content that was produced, and therefore will be presented, in full-screen aspect ratio (4:3). So you'll often see black bars on the left and right -- "pillar-boxed" -- just like you sometimes saw black bars above and below -- "letter-boxed", when a wide-screen presentation (such as a film) was presented on older analog televisions (with a 4:3 aspect ratio).

We just got our first widescreen tv. Very few channels use the whole screen. Some have wide black borders on the sides, some have borders at the top and bottom and others have a border around the whole picture.

The latter -- "postage-stamped" -- happens when a wides-screen (16:9, perhaps) production is presented on a full-screen (4:3) channel, and then that's presented on a wide-screen (16:9) display.

Do we need to do something to adjust it or is this the way it's supposed to be?

There are things you can do to stretch the display, but you probably don't want to do that. You bought a high-definition television -- distorting the video just to fill the screen seems counter-productive.

Only the channels in HD will have the entire screen. When we got our HD we had to add more channels. Call your cable company to see whats available in your area

Note that practical all (but not absolutely all) service providers provide even folks with the lowest level of service the ability to tune in the local over-the-air HD broadcast channels.

OK, so I guess that's the way it's supposed to be. We've tried stretching and zooming, but I don't like it because it distorts the picture too much.

Indeed.

I'll have to ask, but I don't remember seeing these borders on my in-laws tv.

I typically hide all the channels that aren't providing a lot of HD programming -- its as if they don't exist. We've even stopped watching some favorite shows on BBC America (because it isn't available here in HD), in favor of waiting for them to come out on Blu-ray.