aspect ratio problem

[Gatorito]

Hello and let me start by saying that this is a great forum. I have found tons of very useflu info and I am grateful to those who share their knowldege here.

I am having a frustrating problem w/aspect ratio. I have a Hitachi 43" rear projection hd ready 4:3 tv. I set the aspect ratio to 4x3 and have the 622 set to normal view. The picture looks good this way. When I am watching HD programming, especially CBS on the OTA, the tv automatically switches itself to 16x9 and I get gray bars at the top and bottom. I prefer to watch it full screen as the gray bars are distracting. There is no way to switch the gray bars to black on my tv. Does anyone out there know why the tv switches my aspect ration with out my wanting to. It is really annoying. I switch it back to 4x3 w/my remote and after a few minutes my screen will go black and reappear in 16x9 mode w/gray bars on top and bottom. I have tried switching my tv type on the 622 and it happens no matter which mode I am in. Can some one help with thi?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Friend]

Hello and let me start by saying that this is a great forum. I have found tons of very useflu info and I am grateful to those who share their knowldege here.

I am having a frustrating problem w/aspect ratio. I have a Hitachi 43" rear projection hd ready 4:3 tv. I set the aspect ratio to 4x3 and have the 622 set to normal view. The picture looks good this way. When I am watching HD programming, especially CBS on the OTA, the tv automatically switches itself to 16x9 and I get gray bars at the top and bottom. I prefer to watch it full screen as the gray bars are distracting. There is no way to switch the gray bars to black on my tv. Does anyone out there know why the tv switches my aspect ration with out my wanting to. It is really annoying. I switch it back to 4x3 w/my remote and after a few minutes my screen will go black and reappear in 16x9 mode w/gray bars on top and bottom. I have tried switching my tv type on the 622 and it happens no matter which mode I am in. Can some one help with thi?

Thanks in advance.

When you are watching HD channel, have you tried pressing "*" button on the remote. Keep pressing it until you see "Normal" on the bottom of view banner. I am saying all this assuming you are using component/HDMI output.

 

[Gatorito]

Thanks for the reply Friend.

The problem is not that the "*" button isn't changing the screen. .It is. THe problem is that the TV is switching it's aspect ration with out my wanting to. Any info is appreciated.

 

[garys]

Sounds like something with the tv and not the receiver. Check through the setup screen on the tv, maybe there is something in that location.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Things like commercials could be confusing your TV, some of those may have a 4:3 flag and then when the HD program comes back on, your TV could be reading that as a notice to switch to 16:9.

When you watch a HD program in 4:3, you are cutting off 25% of the picture. I might do that if the program isn't particularly interesting, but on a good HD movie, I'd want to watch it in widescreen.

Your TV is a smart one to not let you turn the bars to black. Running the bars in gray will substantially reduce the screen burn-in on a rear projection CRT. I frequently watch 4:3 material with gray side bars on my 16:9 RP-CRT.

 

[Gatorito]

Tom, I think you are correct. I had never thought about it before but it does seem to happen when going to or coming from a commercial. The problem is that it also switches to 16:9 during programs. Is there anyway to stop this from happening? Also, I find the gray bars distracting. Is there any way to permanently keep it at 4:3

 

[rdinkel]

Set the TV to NOT DETECT LETTERBOX.

 

[Jordan420]

I have a Hitachi 43" rear projection hd ready 4:3 tv. I set the aspect ratio to 4x3 and have the 622 set to normal view. The picture looks good this way. When I am watching HD programming, especially CBS on the OTA, the tv automatically switches itself to 16x9 and I get gray bars at the top and bottom. I prefer to watch it full screen as the gray bars are distracting.

I am assuming that your tv does not have an intergrated HD tuner & you are using the OTA tuner in the 622 & you have your 622 set to output 720P or 1080I. When you feed your TV an HD signal(720p or 1080i) it switches to 16:9 as that is the aspect of HD

The problem is that you have a 4:3 tv & 99.999999% of all HD & 100% of OTA broadcast HD is 16:9. When your tv receives an HD siginal it switches itself into 16:9 mode because that is the aspect ratio of the signal it is receiving.

I am assuming that you have your 622 connected to the tv with component cables, because hdmi connections were not out yet when these 4:3 hd tv's were being sold. Try setting the output resolution of your 622 to 480P, your tv may not lock into 16:9 mode if it is receiving a 480P signal.

The only way you are going to see the increased resolution of HD is when your tv is in 16:9 mode.

What is the model # of your tv? There may be a way to change the color of the bars from gray to black in your tv's service menu.