Just had directv installed, why are some channels stretched?

[msf83]

Hey, I'm having a hard time figuring this out...I have the receiver set to 1080i + original aspect ratio but non-HD channels are still stretched.

If I goto a non-HD local channel its normal 4:3 but if I goto a non-hd channel like MTV or VH1 it's stretched

:confused:


PS - Is it normal for it to be painfully slow to scroll through channels? Even holding the button down it's like scrolling 1 by 1

[houskamp]

Looks like your tv has "smart stretch" on..

[Greg Alsobrook]

go into the settings of your receiver and click on the 'HDTV' tab... make sure it is set to 'pillar box'...

changing channels can slower especially if 'native' is turned on... meaning it's going to switch to whatever resolution the show is being broadcast in...

[msf83]

I haven't changed anything on my TV...I've had time warner digital cable up until now...4:3 came in 4:3 and HD filled the screen, nothing was stretched unless the channel was a stretch-o-vision channel.

why would this change with directv?

[msf83]

go into the settings of your receiver and click on the 'HDTV' tab... make sure it is set to 'pillar box'...

changing channels can slower especially if 'native' is turned on... meaning it's going to switch to whatever resolution the show is being broadcast in...

k trying this now

[veryoldschool]

Native "off" and tuning to an SD channel with 1080i and original format does in fact default to the 16:9 aspect, so the 4:3 is stretched.
Original format is [mostly] for when using native on, so SD needs to be in 480i or 480p and then there is no stretching being done [unless it's by the TV].

[houskamp]

I haven't changed anything on my TV...I've had time warner digital cable up until now...4:3 came in 4:3 and HD filled the screen, nothing was stretched unless the channel was a stretch-o-vision channel.

why would this change with directv?
depends on what the reciever is sending.. if it is sending a 16:9 with pillars it will look like a 4:3 no matter what.. however in "original format" on a SD channel it will send a 4:3 with a 4:3 flag set.. this will alow your tv to choose what to do as far as stretching it..

[msf83]

yeah that worked (thanks), the bars are grey but I see it's possible to change to black


changing channels can slower especially if 'native' is turned on... meaning it's going to switch to whatever resolution the show is being broadcast in...

I mean while browsing through the guide it's extremely slow. On TWC I could hold the button down and fly through the channel list in the guide to get to what I'm looking for

[JeffBowser]

Yeah, the guide is slow, for sure. I find it gets better after a few cocktails, though, if they are strong enough.

VOS - good info, I did not know that about the Native on\off combo with original aspect.

yeah that worked (thanks), the bars are grey but I see it's possible to change to black



I mean while browsing through the guide it's extremely slow. On TWC I could hold the button down and fly through the channel list in the guide to get to what I'm looking for

[veryoldschool]

depends on what the reciever is sending.. if it is sending a 16:9 with pillars it will look like a 4:3 no matter what.. however in "original format" on a SD channel it will send a 4:3 with a 4:3 flag set.. this will alow your tv to choose what to do as far as stretching it..
"Not on 1080i" as the 16:9 flag is still being sent to my TV on an SD channel in original format.

[Greg Alsobrook]

yeah that worked (thanks), the bars are grey but I see it's possible to change to black



I mean while browsing through the guide it's extremely slow. On TWC I could hold the button down and fly through the channel list in the guide to get to what I'm looking for

glad that worked for you...

well... the guide is a bit slow... especially compared to that of a SA8300HD... they are making improvements though... believe it or not.. it's a lot quicker than it used to be...

[veryoldschool]

yeah that worked (thanks), the bars are grey but I see it's possible to change to black
I mean while browsing through the guide it's extremely slow. On TWC I could hold the button down and fly through the channel list in the guide to get to what I'm looking for
If you turn scrolling effect off this will help, and you can use the channel up/down to change a full page.

[SDizzle]

yeah that worked (thanks), the bars are grey but I see it's possible to change to black



I mean while browsing through the guide it's extremely slow. On TWC I could hold the button down and fly through the channel list in the guide to get to what I'm looking for

Turn the animations off for the guide, that will speed stuff up.....

[houskamp]

"Not on 1080i" as the 16:9 flag is still being sent to my TV on an SD channel in original format.
Mine will.. it see's a 1080i 4:3 on sat channel 8 (local) and stretches it to full screen..

[veryoldschool]

Mine will.. it see's a 1080i 4:3 on sat channel 8 (local) and stretches it to full screen..
Well mine doesn't :mad:
Local SD 6 [PBS] native off 1080i original format still shows 16:9 aspect from my HR21-200.
If there was the 4:3 flag sent, it would change to my default of zoom, but besides showing the 16:9, it only stretched it. :mad:

[houskamp]

Well mine doesn't :mad:
Local SD 6 [PBS] native off 1080i original format still shows 16:9 aspect from my HR21-200.
If there was the 4:3 flag sent, it would change to my default of zoom, but besides showing the 16:9, it only stretched it. :mad:
another oddity...

[veryoldschool]

VOS - good info, I did not know that about the Native on\off combo with original aspect.
Original format is basically an extension of native on. Many were complaining that their TVs or external scalers wouldn't scale SD when set to native on. This was because the pillarbox was still sending 16:9. Some could work around this with stretch [dropping the bars], but others still "saw" the 16:9 flag and wouldn't. You could "fool it" by setting the DVR to a 4:3 TV and stretch, as this would change the 16:9 flag to 4:3 for SD and the stretch would remove the letterbox, but this was going backwards twice to go forward.
Native on, original format and SD coming out as 480i/p will have the 4:3 flag sent out.

[veryoldschool]

another oddity...
Sony here.
And yours?

[JeffBowser]

ugh. I look forward to the day 4:3 dies.

Original format is basically an extension of native on. Many were complaining that their TVs or external scalers wouldn't scale SD when set to native on. This was because the pillarbox was still sending 16:9. Some could work around this with stretch [dropping the bars], but others still "saw" the 16:9 flag and wouldn't. You could "fool it" by setting the DVR to a 4:3 TV and stretch, as this would change the 16:9 flag to 4:3 for SD and the stretch would remove the letterbox, but this was going backwards twice to go forward.
Native on, original format and SD coming out as 480i/p will have the 4:3 flag sent out.

[houskamp]

Sony here.
And yours?
Sharp aquos 37".. it does have a few other oddities with "original format" also.. Under certain settings it can show double pillars (real narrow ) pic.. I don't use that setting do to it's unpredictable results on my screen..

[Greg Alsobrook]

ugh. I look forward to the day 4:3 dies.

+1000

[veryoldschool]

ugh. I look forward to the day 4:3 dies.
I use pillarbox mostly, but when SD letterbox comes on, a single press to original format and my TV shifts to zoom, which fills my screen and doesn't look as bad as the DVR in crop.

[msf83]

Still a little confused here....in HDTV settings do I want native on or off?

[Greg Alsobrook]

Still a little confused here....in HDTV settings do I want native on or off?

6 to one... half dozen to another....

i keep native on... it allows the receiver to output in the resolution the show is being broadcast in... only down side... when a resolution change is required... it takes a bit longer to change channels... i've gotten used to it though...

[Stuart Sweet]

That's your decision. Use whatever looks better to you, and whatever lets you change channels at a speed that's good for you.

As far as 4:3 dying off... when will that be? I mean, Black and White is still with us in some cases. Are you talking about the day that 4:3/480i is no longer produced? Maybe in 5 years.

[veryoldschool]

Still a little confused here....in HDTV settings do I want native on or off?
Here is where you need to decide if your TV does a better job scaling the picture to fit the screen or the DVR looks "as good".
Native on will make the channel changing a bit slower, but could give you a better picture [it does for me]. If you can't tell, you might want to turn it off and speed up your channel changing.
There are three resolutions being send: 1080i & 720p [HD] and 480i [SD] which some TVs don't like so there is 480p.
All of this can be confusing at first, so it may just take some "play around" until you find what you like.

[LarryFlowers]

That's your decision. Use whatever looks better to you, and whatever lets you change channels at a speed that's good for you.

As far as 4:3 dying off... when will that be? I mean, Black and White is still with us in some cases. Are you talking about the day that 4:3/480i is no longer produced? Maybe in 5 years.

Stuart you are correct, 4x3 will never be gone, not as long as we have classic movies and old black and white TV,,, they where shot in that format or something very close to it... Casablanca was shot in 1.37:1 ( effectively 4:3), The Wizard of OZ 1.33:1.

[JeffBowser]

Yes, I mean the day to day stuff, the sitcoms, the dramas, the ordinary TV stuff.


That's your decision. Use whatever looks better to you, and whatever lets you change channels at a speed that's good for you.

As far as 4:3 dying off... when will that be? I mean, Black and White is still with us in some cases. Are you talking about the day that 4:3/480i is no longer produced? Maybe in 5 years.