I finally broke down and bought my first HDTV. It's a 24" for the kitchen that replaced a 20" flat screen CRT. Besides the sound being really bad I'm confused on the "size" of the picture. If I leave it on "normal" I'm getting about the same size picture I would get on an old 19" CRT. I can change the setting to "wide, cinema,zoom etc" but picture quality is not as good. Distruction book says it is dependent on the broadcaster/sat company. The picture does change size based on the channel. So did I waste $$ thinking I would get full screen picture?
HDTV
- Thread starter cuffs054
- Start date
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What is your source for the TV? Are you watching HD from an off the air antenna? Alternately do you have a cable/satellite source that is HD?
Your standard old TV sources were a 4:3 (4 units wide, 3 units high) picture. If you watch an old 4:3 on the new 16:9 HD screen you will have black bars on the sides since the picture isn't wide enough to fill the screen. You get a similar problem if you watch 16:9 HD sources on a 4:3 screen as you will "Letterbox" with unused screen at the top and bottom since it fits the width of the screen but not the height.
Most HD tV's have the ability to zoom or stretch the image across the screen. In my opinion I would NEVER do this, it just distorts the hell out of the image and makes everyone look fat/wide!
I would look into the source you are feeding the TV with and do what you can to get an HD source. Once you see HD you will have difficulty living with the old standard definition image. Over the air broadcast is by default all HD today, try using an antenna just to see what I mean.
Your standard old TV sources were a 4:3 (4 units wide, 3 units high) picture. If you watch an old 4:3 on the new 16:9 HD screen you will have black bars on the sides since the picture isn't wide enough to fill the screen. You get a similar problem if you watch 16:9 HD sources on a 4:3 screen as you will "Letterbox" with unused screen at the top and bottom since it fits the width of the screen but not the height.
Most HD tV's have the ability to zoom or stretch the image across the screen. In my opinion I would NEVER do this, it just distorts the hell out of the image and makes everyone look fat/wide!
I would look into the source you are feeding the TV with and do what you can to get an HD source. Once you see HD you will have difficulty living with the old standard definition image. Over the air broadcast is by default all HD today, try using an antenna just to see what I mean.
Set the screen to 16:9 when watching programming made in the past few years. Set it to 4:3 when watching anything old. If you watch 4:3 aspect ratio programming on the 16:9 setting it will look unnaturally stretched---as you probably found out. Some people just adapt to the stretched look in an effort to see a larger picture, but it drives me nuts.
Go into your picture settings menu and look for Aspect Ratio. My LGs have options for that setting called 'Just Scan' and 'Set By Picture'. Either of those will automatically set the aspect ratio correctly for whatever you're watching.
Go into your picture settings menu and look for Aspect Ratio. My LGs have options for that setting called 'Just Scan' and 'Set By Picture'. Either of those will automatically set the aspect ratio correctly for whatever you're watching.
vacerator
Well-known member
No,
they take some getting used to. Some channels/shows are fixed for size. Some allow you to change the size of the picture. Use the auto setting, or wide screen. Depending on your cable provider, you may or may not receive high fidelity sound through the cable box unless you use extra sound output cables from the aux. audio out on the box to the ext. audio in's on the tv set.
The cable installer did not know what I meant when I asked him why the sound was muffled, so I connected the cable directly to the set, without the box, and the sound was much better. He didn't know what to say.
So, providing that smaller set has audio outputs, you can buy a small sound bar, and set the tv on top of it.
they take some getting used to. Some channels/shows are fixed for size. Some allow you to change the size of the picture. Use the auto setting, or wide screen. Depending on your cable provider, you may or may not receive high fidelity sound through the cable box unless you use extra sound output cables from the aux. audio out on the box to the ext. audio in's on the tv set.
The cable installer did not know what I meant when I asked him why the sound was muffled, so I connected the cable directly to the set, without the box, and the sound was much better. He didn't know what to say.
So, providing that smaller set has audio outputs, you can buy a small sound bar, and set the tv on top of it.
I think it's more complicated than what has been stated thus far.
We are Dish Network subscribers and have a 16:9 HDTV in our breakfast room. The picture ratio can change from channel to channel, program to program, and commercial to commercial within the same program. Sometimes it's the exact "letterbox" aspect ratio as the screen, but shrunk way tiny in the middle of the screen with giant black space around ALL of the edges. Like, if I wanted a 10" screen that's what I would have bought. I don't get that at all.
Local news broadcasts may fill the screen or leave sidebars. This isn't because of how the picture is being formatted at the source, because the sidebars are actually cutting off part of the picture. A good example is the weather forecast. When they provide the 7-day forecast with graphics from left to right, the first and last days of the forecast are cut off by the sidebars. No changing of settings on the TV itself helps. The most reliable sidebars come from the local PBS station. Just about everything they present is cut off.
OTA is a little better, but it depends on whether the image is "Set By Program" per the digital converter box on-screen display. On my 1950 Admiral with 10" screen, the best option is to set the converter to zoom when it allows for it. You have to give up the periphery though, otherwise you'd not be able to see much detail.
We have a 40" HDTV in our bedroom, and that one is hooked up to an HD descrambler box from Dish. Even with that we see variations, and it's not about old vs. new programming.
I've given up on any remedial settings for the sets that are hooked up to Dish.
It seems to me that there's no standardization of broadcast methods since 16:9 became the standard ratio for new TV sets, or since OTA went digital, or among satellite channels. It's all quite whimsical. I would be really pissed if I were a heterosexual cave man who paid big bucks for a 100" screen to watch football, only to receive a picture framed by fat sidebars.
I'd say it's time to revive the test pattern, but they would probably be delivered in as many different ratios as there are stations.
We are Dish Network subscribers and have a 16:9 HDTV in our breakfast room. The picture ratio can change from channel to channel, program to program, and commercial to commercial within the same program. Sometimes it's the exact "letterbox" aspect ratio as the screen, but shrunk way tiny in the middle of the screen with giant black space around ALL of the edges. Like, if I wanted a 10" screen that's what I would have bought. I don't get that at all.
Local news broadcasts may fill the screen or leave sidebars. This isn't because of how the picture is being formatted at the source, because the sidebars are actually cutting off part of the picture. A good example is the weather forecast. When they provide the 7-day forecast with graphics from left to right, the first and last days of the forecast are cut off by the sidebars. No changing of settings on the TV itself helps. The most reliable sidebars come from the local PBS station. Just about everything they present is cut off.
OTA is a little better, but it depends on whether the image is "Set By Program" per the digital converter box on-screen display. On my 1950 Admiral with 10" screen, the best option is to set the converter to zoom when it allows for it. You have to give up the periphery though, otherwise you'd not be able to see much detail.
We have a 40" HDTV in our bedroom, and that one is hooked up to an HD descrambler box from Dish. Even with that we see variations, and it's not about old vs. new programming.
I've given up on any remedial settings for the sets that are hooked up to Dish.
It seems to me that there's no standardization of broadcast methods since 16:9 became the standard ratio for new TV sets, or since OTA went digital, or among satellite channels. It's all quite whimsical. I would be really pissed if I were a heterosexual cave man who paid big bucks for a 100" screen to watch football, only to receive a picture framed by fat sidebars.
I'd say it's time to revive the test pattern, but they would probably be delivered in as many different ratios as there are stations.
Ralph,
Yes it is slightly more complicated then I stated, but ONLY if you are using a non over the air content provider. All the direct broadcast terrestrial programming is 16:9 as far as I know.
I cut the cord a while ago so I don't personally have cable or satellite at this point. Friends of mine that do have one or the other seem to have pretty much 100% of their programming in the 16:9 HD format now, but they are likely paying more for "HD" service.
My girlfriends parents have Comcast cable but they refuse to pay for more then the base 4:3 SD content. The one beautiful 55" Samsung LED LCD TV looks like crap with a 480i 4"3 signal stretched to fill that screen. The little 20" HDTV in the laundry room looks so much better simply hooked up to an antenna in the garage.
My advice is to do whatever you can to dump the old standard definition sources. In my case I didn't want to pay the cable/satellite people anymore so I do off the air and a Roku/AppleTV since I'm cheap.
Yes it is slightly more complicated then I stated, but ONLY if you are using a non over the air content provider. All the direct broadcast terrestrial programming is 16:9 as far as I know.
I cut the cord a while ago so I don't personally have cable or satellite at this point. Friends of mine that do have one or the other seem to have pretty much 100% of their programming in the 16:9 HD format now, but they are likely paying more for "HD" service.
My girlfriends parents have Comcast cable but they refuse to pay for more then the base 4:3 SD content. The one beautiful 55" Samsung LED LCD TV looks like crap with a 480i 4"3 signal stretched to fill that screen. The little 20" HDTV in the laundry room looks so much better simply hooked up to an antenna in the garage.
My advice is to do whatever you can to dump the old standard definition sources. In my case I didn't want to pay the cable/satellite people anymore so I do off the air and a Roku/AppleTV since I'm cheap.
RP,thanks. You restated my issue more clearly. I'm on Dish also.
My tv has a picture format button you can click for the biggest best picture. I usually leave it on the widest screen format but Antenna tv still shrinks it. It cuts off some headlines, but I dont care if they tell me about it in the news. As long as the full screen is there, even with heads chopped, thats what we got for digital now. I have a useless battery tv that used to pick locals up fine, but if the power goes out, I cant use a digital converter. Thanks, FCC. I have had DirectTV since 1999 and zero problems
Make sure you are using an HDMI cable to go from the source to the TV. A friend went from a tube TV to a LCD HDTV. I used the existing cables to go from the satellite receiver to the TV and could not figure out why the picture would not fill the screen. Tried changing all the settings and still could get the picture to fill the screen. Finally I connected an HDMi cable instead of the 3 separate RCA type cables and problem solved.
dartman
Well-known member
I set my 50" Sony HDTV to full pixel so it shows EVERYTHING the HD widescreen has coming in. The SD channels lately I set same and let it sit in the middle as it's smaller so the reduced resolution looks better then big and all fuzzy.
Some sets actually have pretty good stretch modes so play with all the settings on SD channels and see what you like best.
My old Toshiba 34" HDTV had a great stretch mode so I used it with all the SD channels and full screen on HD.
The upconversion of the set makes a big difference too and same thing, some sets do it better then others on SD content.
Some sets actually have pretty good stretch modes so play with all the settings on SD channels and see what you like best.
My old Toshiba 34" HDTV had a great stretch mode so I used it with all the SD channels and full screen on HD.
The upconversion of the set makes a big difference too and same thing, some sets do it better then others on SD content.
If you are getting constant image resizing on a channel they or you are doing something wrong. I can't imagine ANY station changing aspect ratios within a show. I've had an HD TV since 2002, and that might have happened 15 years ago when stuff was new and a learning curve existed, but not now. I have 4 Hd displays around the house all connected to Directv HD DVRs and all images are rock solid, never changing aspect ratio.
You if you are having issues you need to A.) make sure you have a cable/sat box that is capable of outputting HD and B.) you have it connected with an HDMI cable. you can do it with component cables (RED BLUE GREEN..) but that is pretty rare now days.
Simple fact is you cannot simply connect the coax out from a cable box and tune the tv to channel 3 and expect to get HD, never going to happen.
You if you are having issues you need to A.) make sure you have a cable/sat box that is capable of outputting HD and B.) you have it connected with an HDMI cable. you can do it with component cables (RED BLUE GREEN..) but that is pretty rare now days.
Simple fact is you cannot simply connect the coax out from a cable box and tune the tv to channel 3 and expect to get HD, never going to happen.
MeTV, which shows programs from the Fifties to the Seventies, will change aspect ratios. Their commercials and promos are 16:9 but when Carol Burnett (or whoever) starts it snaps back to 4:3.
I don't think it did this last year, which makes me think that there's still a lot of inconsistency between channels, and perhaps cable and OTA providers.
All you can do is be prepared to wield the remote and change the settings as needed.
I don't think it did this last year, which makes me think that there's still a lot of inconsistency between channels, and perhaps cable and OTA providers.
All you can do is be prepared to wield the remote and change the settings as needed.
