HD question

That's how broadcasters send it. If the program is in HD(1080i or 720p), you won't have any bars. If it's not, you will. As for D**, keep playing CSR roulette, you should be able to land a deal!

Good Luck!

 

That means the broadcaster is sending a 720p signal(ABC, ESPN, FOX, etc...), but the program is not in HD. This is normal for local stations. Evidently, it costs them more to broadcast local programming in HD. That's why a lot of local stations haven't gone to HD local news. But the good news is more and more content is HD. I've had HD for a year and 2 months, and there's more now than then. We still have to deal with the 'bars' though.

 

If the original programming is 4:3, the station adds the pillar bars to fill out the 16:9 frame it is broadcasting. I don't think any locals broadcast 16:9 programming exclusively. On the satellite HD channels, some will stretch 4:3 programming, which fills the screen but distorts the picture.

 

no, just a digital signal.

 

The past few HR2x (HD-DVRs) that I've gotten had the HDMI cable included in the box it came with.

 

Cables are included if you get the receiver from a retailer, but the ones the installers bring don' t have the cables and the installer is supposed to supply what you need. This wasn't always the case.

 

There should be no charge unless it's some unusal length (over 6ft).

 

Like anyone new to an HD, widescreen TV, you're going to have to adjust to the fact that some content is still SD, and some is still 4:3 (non-widescreen). And, yes, there IS HD content that is 4:3, and there IS SD content that is 16:9. And, even worse, the networks are still AWFUL about how they handle the two size formats. It is common for a station to show two shot-in-widescreen commercials, one actually transmitted in widescreen, and the next with black frames on all 4 sides. The latter is because someone somewhere in the process manually added bars to the top and bottom, to turn the widescreen ad into 4:3, and then sent the resulting 4:3 ad on an HD, widescreen channel.

Your source components also play a part, as you've seen. A DVD player that only has composite (yellow RCA) or S-Video outputs is usually stuck in 4:3 mode, whereas if you have one that has component (red/green/blue RCAs for video) or HDMI, it can output in widescreen.

The same is true with your sat receiver: if you have an HD receiver, the receiver will handle MOST of the format changing stuff for you, but with an SD receiver, you'll have to ride the FORMAT/ASPECT/ZOOM button on your TV's remote to switch it into the right format for what you're watching.

Most of us will agree that the worst thing you can do is STREEEEETCH an image just to fill your screen. That makes people look short and fat, and is awful. Instead, you want to use the "pillar bar" setting which adds bars on the left and right for 4:3 content, and keeps everything in the proper aspect ratio. With HD components, this setting will automatically switch to widescreen whenever widescreen content is available.

 

Oh, BTW, if you are even *thinking* about replacing your DVD player, DON'T. Get a Blu-Ray player instead. It will have HD/widescreen outputs, will upscale all of your DVDs, and plays Blu-Ray discs (essentially hi-def DVDs) that are the very best quality video you can get. And players have recently come down to the $150 level on sale. As of this past Christmas season, DVD players are officially obsolete.

 

I'm not sure if this was stated - I didn't read through the whole post - but sometimes within your DVD Players Setup Menu you can change what output it is. It is possible it's fighting with the TV on how to display. Usually, you have to either stop the disk or take it out and then are able to access the Player Setup Menu and set it to 16:9 output. That has been the case for many of the DVD Players I've come across. Also, I agree, Blu-Ray should be your next purchase. The prices are coming down and they work best for future DVDs. Now that the war is over, it's safe to start buying. Hope it helps!