Picture offset

[BrakTalk]

Check out this screenshot. All three of our set-tops appear to be doing this:

URL deleted

ACK! New members can't post URLs...lemme see if I can attach a pic.

Notice the text on the lower left...it runs off the screen. Several theories have been considered and mostly disproven.

1) Aspect ratio setting - We have verified that 4:3 is the aspect ratio set on the receivers. I'm not surprised since these receivers are rather ancient. The Panosonic TVs don't have a wide aspect setting in the menus. I suspect they are hard 4:3 TVs. (They're both at least 10 years old).

2) Software update - I thought maybe DirecTV changed the way they broadcast and a software update would have been required to accommodate the new signal. While two of the receivers are not connected, the one in the living room is and it last dialed out on the 10th of this month. (software version listed below).

3) Zoom setting - a friend thought maybe we had enabled a "zoom" feature (kinda like you'll find on DVD players). Again, no setting in the menu system or on the remotes themselves seem to suggest it has this feature.

Additionally, we only began to notice this in the last month or so. Another theory, I think we have only noticed this on the local signals (Fox, WSBTV, WATE, etc.). Maybe it has to do with how they are broadcasting however I now remember that the ESPN ticker is offset as well.


Equipment we have is:

Receivers:
1) Hughes - DirecTV branded Tivo - software 6.4a-01-2-151
2) Tivo (R10)
3) RCA (DT100)

TVs (matched by number with receivers above):

1) 10 year old Panasonic 36-inch
2) Panasonic 28 inch with built in VCR
3) BeyondTV computer based DVR

I just got off the phone with tech at DirecTV and their 1st level troubleshooting wasn't able to pin anything down. She has opened up a ticket with the engineers so we'll see what happens there I suppose.

What do you folks think?

[BattleZone]

What you are seeing is very likely a result of DirecTV having to generate a standard-def signal by taking the digital HD OTA signal and "center-cutting" it to 4:3. Since the local stations no longer broadcast a SD signal, this is the best alternative.

Unfortunately, there are some differences between SD and HD broadcasts. The aspect ratio, of course, is the biggest. Nearly all HD content is 16:9, and though a lot of network TV purposely keeps titles and such inside the 4:3 "safe area", plenty of content does not, so it's normal to see it cut off.

To further pile on the problem, the HD signal is set up for TVs with much less overscan, because HDTVs are almost all flat-panels that have square corners and can be seen all the way to the edge. So, the safe areas have been increased, reducing the distance from the edge that text and titles are placed at. On a CRT, this is going to mean more of the picture is cut off, because CRTs have to have a lot more overscan because they all distort at the edges.

This is all a result of the digital broadcast transition, and the SD-to-HD transition that's defacto a part of that. You'll have to live with it for now, and as your TVs die and you replace them with modern flat-panels, the problem will solve itself.

[w6fxj]

Brak - Tell us more about what channels have this problem? All SD and HD? Local SD or HD? If it happens on ALL channels, it looks like overscan. Both your CRT sets should have width, height and vertical and horizontal centering controls in the setup or service menus. Pass on the model numbers and we can look for the info in the Panasonic user guides or service manuals.

[BrakTalk]

Thanks for the reply.

In the back of my mind, I was wondering if it was on the broadcast end. So, do you think the same applies to "non-local" channels such as ESPN? On ESPN, it's easy to see this defect because they almost always have their ticker going and on our TVs, the "ES" of ESPN is always out of the picture.

[w6fxj]

If this happens on all your DirecTV receivers and all your TV sets, it is overscan. The DT-100 RCA has a few adjustments to change the display from 4:3 to 16:9 and LB on or off. I do not know anything about the BeyondTV thingy.

[BrakTalk]

Brak - Tell us more about what channels have this problem? All SD and HD? Local SD or HD? If it happens on ALL channels, it looks like overscan. Both your CRT sets should have width, height and vertical and horizontal centering controls in the setup or service menus. Pass on the model numbers and we can look for the info in the Panasonic user guides or service manuals.

It's difficult to say if it is on all channels. Again, the defect is observable whenever there is text on the screen. A scrolling ticker, station ID logo, or credits/cast members iterating at the start of a show (i.e. like "Lost" in my screenshot).

I'll have to dig up the model numbers of these TVs. I know they are "old" in a relative sense. One is a 36" Panasonic and the other TV is a 30 " Panasonic / VCR combo box. Both are approximately 10 years old. I may have to dig up the product manuals for them to get you the exact model numbers.

In going through the picture setup menus, there is no aspect ratio setting. There is a 3D Y/C filter setting that is currently enabled. But it's been that way since the TVs been in the entertainment unit and we only began to notice the problem over the last month or so.

Based on what I'm seeing and picking up from these comments, it's must be at the broadcast end and my "equipment" isn't able to compensate for the "center cut" orientation of these signals. That's a bit unfortunate as we don't see ourselves purchasing any new entertainment equipment for the forseeable future.