Ch 254 AMC - is it HD or SD?

[hobie346]

I ask because I installed a new Sharp 32" LCD last weekend and noticed that when I watch anything on the AMC channel it's in 16x9 format. And no, native mode is off, I don't have stretch-O-RAM enabled. The set is connected to a H20-100 with the latest CE. The images of people, text and such where not stretched - they looked normal.

When I watch the same show on a big screen Mits WS73907 connected to a HR20-700 with the latest CE it's in letter box mode.

I know AMC is not HD but the Sharp 32" set sure has me fooled. :)

BTW - Bullit look better than the DVD version.

[juan ellitinez]

is it stretched?

[tonyd79]

You must have the one TV in crop/zoom mode or it does it automatically when it senses letterbox? AMC is most definitely SD and looks it.

[hobie346]

is it stretched?

It doesn't appear to be stretched and I've seen enough stretched shows to know the difference between stretched and non-stretched programs. I turned off zoom and stretch modes on the TV and the native mode in the box is turned off.

[tonyd79]

What is your screen setting on the receiver set to? 4:3 or 16:9?

[litzdog911]

AMC is not HD, at least not yet.

[hobie346]

What is your screen setting on the receiver set to? 4:3 or 16:9?

It's set for 16x9 with black pillars for 4x3 material. I don't see any black bars on the side for AMC. That's what got me wondering - is AMC 16x9 or 4x3. On one display it's 4x3 but on the other it's 16x9. If I had stretching enabled for 4x3 I would expect to see on any program material that was 4x3 but I don't. Case in point: the local NBC channel doesn't do HD for the news and the black pillar bars are noticeable but on the local FOX and ABC channels, the local news is in HD and no black pillar bars.

[tonyd79]

Well, if the locals are on HD channels (either OTA or via DirecTV) they are sending a 16x9 signal with their own bars on the sides, not a 4x3 signal even when they are showing SD programming.

Try another real SD 4:3 channel (like Boomerang 297) to see if it is filling the screen.

Something in your setup on one TV is stretching AMC. It is NOT a 16:9 signal.

[hobie346]

OK I found out why AMC looked so good on my 32" Sharp LCD display. It wasn't just AMC but any 4x3 channel looked the same.

I had my H20 set for CROP mode and not PILLAR like I thought. Which kind of funny because I did set it for PILLAR when I first installed it.

I did a simple display comparison on my 73" Mits and set the HR20 to CROP and the display looked like crap - fuzzy image.

[JeffBowser]

I've pretty much switched to pillar mode for 4:3 content myself, burn-in be damned. Looks much better when you are displaying on big screen.

[hobie346]

Jeff,

Funny you should mention burn in.

I had my big screen re-calibrated last week due to a circuit board failure some time ago (never got around to it and just lived with it) that messed up the convergence.

When the tech set the screen for full white in 16x9 mode you could just barely make out the burn in from 4x3 mode. Then again the set is 7 years old and I'm not ready to replace it with a new big LCD, plasma or DLP just yet.

After the calibration the view was spectacular again - almost as if it was new. Almost...

[JeffBowser]

I'm trying to find someone knowledgeable to recalibrate mine as well, and correct some bad overscan. So far, the local businesses I've contacted, besides struggling with English, didn't know what overscan is, so I am still looking. I can see burn-in in mine, especially after I boosted the brightness just a tad recently, but only when the background is substantially all one lighter color. Good to know a calibration can make a big difference, mine is also an older CRT RPTV

[hobie346]

You could visit the Home Theater Spot (www.hometheaterspot.com) and ask about home site calibration.

I had mine done years ago by a gentleman named Craig Miller. He spent 14 hours getting my WS73907 just right. A tad over kill but the price was the same.

I used Chuck Williams this time and alto he didn't spend 14 hours he did manage to correct some mistakes that last person that worked on it and manage to get it looking perfect again. I'm happy with the results.

Unfortunately it's going to get harder to find people with the skills to work on these sets as time goes on. What with the new sets having fewer parts to test and replace and at the same time getting more expensive to fix. Plus these older sets are going to be harder to fix due the shortest of some parts like the convergence chip set for the MIT's tube RP TV's.

[jim t]

Many of the AMC programs are letterbox, this may be why it's 16x9 and filling the screen. Depends on the program when it was produced and how maybe.

If you are happy with the quality then that is a good thing.