Just got voom installed!! Brand new software??

[lostcause]

I can stretch 4:3 SD with the e86 but you cannot stretch 4:3 OTA from an HD station. they are adding the vertical side bars to the 1080i or 720p broadcast and you cannot get rid of them.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. The E86 can get rid of them...yes, it stretches the image and you end up with the short fat people...but it reduces the burn-in problem with the black bars...

and it's really no different than watching any other regular def. 4:3 channel. They are stretched anyways.

 

[lostcause]

a 16:9 broadcast with black bars on the sides?

Yes.

You have a program/movie/whatever, that would normally be broadcast as 4:3, now, the station also has a digital feed which is sent out at 16:9, so, they can either broadcast the 4:3 program stretched (ala espnHD), or they can add side bars to it and basically pillarbox it so it doesn't look stretched (ala most local channels).

You now have a 16:9 broadcast with bars on the side.

If you set up the E86 in a certain way, you can actually stretch this and get rid of the bars.

 

[vurbano]

This is exactly what I'm talking about. The E86 can get rid of them...yes, it stretches the image and you end up with the short fat people...but it reduces the burn-in problem with the black bars...

and it's really no different than watching any other regular def. 4:3 channel. They are stretched anyways.

regular SD 4:3 channels are not stretched unless you stretch them. They are not stretched anyways. And I have been able to eliminate the black bars on 4:3 SD OTA by stretching them but not an OTA HD channel that is adding black sidebars to a 4:3 broadcast. At least not under component output. Havnt tried svideo or analog.

 

[lostcause]

I don't want to get off-topic on this thread (more than we already have...), but I guarantee you the E86 can stretch an OTA HD channel that is adding black sidebars to a 4:3 broadcast.

Here's how to do it...go into the E86 setup menu, then go into A/V setup, then simply set the screen ratio to 4:3. You will now be able to do what I'm saying. Just go to a OTA HD with black bars, and with the Action+8 on the remote, it will cycle through the stretch modes.

Also, it will still allow you to watch a true 16:9 program in 16:9. Give it a try. Has worked great for me for over a year.

 

[vurbano]

nope but it will zoom into it and eliminate all the back bars under the cropped setting in the AV menu, your losing some of the picture, thats not stretching it. well some form of stretching I suppose. But nothing changes under action+8 using 1080i output, maybe if I switched over to SD outputs that might work.

Neat trick even if I have to do it through the AV menu

 

[lostcause]

It doesn't zoom. When you zoom an image, it enlarges it and crops the image all around while maintaining the same ratio (people don't get short and fat, just bigger). This is not what happens here. It shows the mode as being cropped, but the true effect is to stretch the image (you don't lose anything on the top or bottom, and people get short and fat). It basically crops only the sides of the image. In the case of an image with black side bars, you aren't losing anything other than the side bars.

And I am using 1080i output. I wish I had a digital camera to take a screen shot of my settings...it's real easy though..just set the screen ratio on the E86 to 4:3. This will let you crop/stretch a 16:9 image (black bars or not...)

 

[vurbano]

how do you get the action +8 button to cycle through under HD 1080i? Mine wont. I think that must be why I gave up on trying to eliminate the sidebars. Was too much of a hassle if I had to go to the AV menu everytime i wanted to switch channels from HD OTA to SAT HD.

I hope that Vooms hardware is capable of doing this with a software upgrade. If the hardware just isnt there then I think it is fair to say we do have a POS on our hands in the motorola box.

 

[lostcause]

how do you get the action +8 button to cycle through under HD 1080i?........

Once you set the screen ratio to 4:3 in the a/v setup on the E86 itself, it will let you do this.

Make sure you are trying to stretch/crop a true 16:9 feed though. What happens once you set the ratio at 4:3 is that you can no longer change a true 4:3 image.

The settings work like this... If you have the ratio at 4:3, and you receive a true 4:3 feed (normal channel...cnn, mtv, etc..), it detects it as the way it's supposed to be and doesn't let you change it.

Same for 16:9. You set the ratio at 16:9, you get a true 16:9 feed(local OTA digital, e.g. 4-1, 6-1, 7-1, etc...) black bars or not, and it doesn't let you change it.


(I hope I explained it right...)

oh..and you don't have to go into the a/v setup every time you go from one to the other....if you don't mind a stretched image on normal channels, cnn, mtv..blah blah... just leave it at 4:3. This way you can get rid of the black side bars on ALL channels. No more burn-in!!!!

 

[lostcause]

BTW, back to the original topic (VOOM), I haven't found a way to do this on the Voom box yet. I don't know that there is a way since it doesn't seem to have a screen ratio adjustment.

 

[NeonShark]

Guide version

How do I find out what my guide verion is??

 

[vurbano]

Once you set the screen ratio to 4:3 in the a/v setup on the E86 itself, it will let you do this.

Make sure you are trying to stretch/crop a true 16:9 feed though. What happens once you set the ratio at 4:3 is that you can no longer change a true 4:3 image.

The settings work like this... If you have the ratio at 4:3, and you receive a true 4:3 feed (normal channel...cnn, mtv, etc..), it detects it as the way it's supposed to be and doesn't let you change it.

Same for 16:9. You set the ratio at 16:9, you get a true 16:9 feed(local OTA digital, e.g. 4-1, 6-1, 7-1, etc...) black bars or not, and it doesn't let you change it.


(I hope I explained it right...)

oh..and you don't have to go into the a/v setup every time you go from one to the other....if you don't mind a stretched image on normal channels, cnn, mtv..blah blah... just leave it at 4:3. This way you can get rid of the black side bars on ALL channels. No more burn-in!!!!

Your right, at first it wouldnt let me cycle through with the action+8 key, but after turning it on and trying again it works? LMAO....

an interesting aside, I now have OTA split and diplexed in the attic then diplexed at each reciever and split AGAIN for my D* reciever with no problems. A split of a split diplexed and undiplexed OTA signal ).

 

[squicken]

But then again I dont know why anyone would want to watch short fat people on their screen.

I don't think this is the place to insult the women of "The View" Since no one seems to be targeted with this version of the software, and no one else has a box like this, it could be a beta box got accidentally delivred. It's not like Voom's a model of quality control.

 

[vurbano]

I don't think this is the place to insult the women of "The View" Since no one seems to be targeted with this version of the software, and no one else has a box like this, it could be a beta box got accidentally delivred. It's not like Voom's a model of quality control.

Thats really funny. And I agree I think Voom let one get out accidently. AND the more I play with this OTA picture on my e86 the more pissed im getting at the moto box!

 

[lostcause]

............. AND the more I play with this OTA picture on my e86 the more pissed im getting at the moto box!

It's really a cool feature on the e86. Too bad the Voom box doesn't allow you to do this. Maybe someone could start a thread dealing specifically with this issue and see if Voom might look into adding it to their next firmware update?

 

[barth2k]

I have the E86 also. The only GOOD thing about the moto box is it outputs SD and HD simultaneously. In every other respects, the E86 wins. Which is really sad considering the E86 is, what, 3-4 yrs old?

 

[Mr. Biggles]

Who wants to watch stretched out crap anyhow? I'd rather have side bars than stretch-o-rama any day.

No targeted update noted here.

 

[TechCop]

To each his own...

Who wants to watch stretched out crap anyhow? I'd rather have side bars than stretch-o-rama any day.

I'm with you, Bill!

 

[lostcause]

Well...the problem is that if you watch too much stuff with black bars, you risk burn-in (uneven wear of the guns). Eventually you will have a darker area on the sides of everything you watch. Same as what can happen if you watch cnn, msnbc, or other channels with a constant news ticker or something like that. Just about every HD TV will tell you this in the user's manual.

You can get used to a stretched picture in about a week or two...I don't even notice it anymore.

 

[jawilljr]

Well...the problem is that if you watch too much stuff with black bars, you risk burn-in (uneven wear of the guns). Eventually you will have a darker area on the sides of everything you watch. Same as what can happen if you watch cnn, msnbc, or other channels with a constant news ticker or something like that. Just about every HD TV will tell you this in the user's manual.

You can get used to a stretched picture in about a week or two...I don't even notice it anymore.

I have a LCD PJ (Sanyo Z2)... no burn in problems... that is for CRT's and Plasma users to worry about.

No Stretch-o-Rama for me... OAR all the way!!!

Jerry

 

[rkr0923]

If Voom would let other manufacturers make some stb we wouldn't have this problem.