622 with sony 4:3 ratio not working well

[srsullivan]

I just upgraded my dish to dish HD. My TV is a Sony tube, KV-32HS510 (4:3 aspect ratio). HD content seems to show properly with the expected black bars top and bottom. Non-HD content from the 622 to the TV shows black bars all the way around the image, with the image appearing to be in a 4:3 ratio, just shrunken. I have changed all the settings on the 622 to no avail. The star button changes the image, including horizontal filling of the screen, but in no way will the image fill the screen vertically. The Sony doesn't have many settings for the picture, only one for "enhanced 16:9".

 

[Weezknight]

I have a Panasonic CRT-HDTV that is also 4:3. If you want the SD programs to fill the whole screen, then you need to go into the 622's HD settings and change them to display 480p. Then when you want to go back to HD programming, you need to reset that to 1080i or 720p and it will go back to "letterbox."

Hopefully this helps you, as I have the 811, and I'm hoping the 622 has similar settings in it.

Other than that your options include, splitting your TV2 output to a 2nd input on your TV and then switching to that to watch SD. Or getting a second receiver to sit next to your 622 and provide your SD programming to that TV. My current setup is an 811 side-by-side with a 625.

 

[srsullivan]

Thank you. You were exactly correct. By setting the resolution to 480P I am able to adjust the settings to fill the screen.

 

[Cokeswigga]

SR Sullivan:

I have have the same problem, with the same TV, here's another solution:

for SD programing, I use the S-video output on the 622 to the TV, and for Hi-def, I use the hmdi->dvi.

This way I don't have to mess with changing the settings all the time, I simply press the input select button until it changes from the DVI input to the S-Video input.

 

[kstile]

This is a symptom of a BUG (ok, perhaps a lack of feature) in the 622 (and all Dish HD receivers.) What they *don't* do is what is called Native Passthrough. If they did that, they would send the signal to the TV that is coming from Dish: a 480i signal for SD and a 1080i (or 720p) signal for HD content. This has been a promised feature upgrade for months from Dish, and if/when it comes, it should solve this problem. Instead, as you noticed, you have to tell the receiver what resolution to output (for HDMI and component - your HD outputs).

My solution is exactly the same as Cokeswigga's. I have the Sony KV36XBR (4:3 tube) Use both the S-Video and HDMI (or component) output to my TV and switch the TV's inputs. It's a pain, but mitigated by my Harmony 720 remote - I have a button called "Watch TV" which switches to Video 3 (S-Video) and a button called "Watch HD" which switches to Video 7 (HDMI->DVI).

In the short term, be careful about switching the resolution to 480p just to fill the screen with SD content - it makes your HD content 480p also and even on a 32" TV you'll definitely see the difference. An HDTV with an SD (even 480p) signal is a terrible, sad, sight .

Keep your eyes on this forum for talk about Native Passthrough It may be more months coming, but, maybe, someday, it will...

 

[DannyR]

Native passthrough alone won't solve the problem, because not every TV supports 720p for instance (mine doesn't).

What I proposed a long time ago is a simple control to replace the current one... simply have a setting for each of the four major resolutions and map it to a prefered output you desire.

For instance with my TV, I'd select te following.

1080i -> 1080i
720p -> 1080i
480p -> 480p
480i -> 480p

Seems like such a simple fix I'm suprised they haven't implemented it by now. I could code this myself easily enough.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I think that if the sd was upconverted to 480p it would look much better than upconverted to either 720p or 1080i. Then your tv could do the upconverting much better than the 622. My Toshiba hdtv does a better job on all upconverting but the true hd picture looks better with the 622. THe above solution would work well for the best of both.

 

[rockymtnhigh]

I just upgraded my dish to dish HD. My TV is a Sony tube, KV-32HS510 (4:3 aspect ratio). HD content seems to show properly with the expected black bars top and bottom. Non-HD content from the 622 to the TV shows black bars all the way around the image, with the image appearing to be in a 4:3 ratio, just shrunken. I have changed all the settings on the 622 to no avail. The star button changes the image, including horizontal filling of the screen, but in no way will the image fill the screen vertically. The Sony doesn't have many settings for the picture, only one for "enhanced 16:9".

Before I got my XBR970 16x9 34" HDTV, I had the SONY 32" 4:3 HDTV (for only a few days actually), for the same reason. Black bars on top and bottom for all HD, and way too much lost screen real-estate for SD.

The solutions in other posts work, but it sure is frustrating. My solution was to return the TV, and get what was then the just released XBR970; what I suspect will be the last 34" CRT that SONY makes.