So, I am buying a new TV....

[Marcial]

depends on which HD channel I am watching.... some have it on the top & bottom, some have it on the sides, some have it on all 4 sides.  I called the cable co., and the answer I got was that it depends on which format whatever show I\'m watching at the time was recorded in.  On some channels, I can get full screen picture by choosing the "zoom" aspect ratio, but on others, there is no way to get rid of the bars no matter which aspect ratio I choose.

[davepeck]

ok, couple things to keep in mind:

- just because something is on a hi-def channel (say, CBS HD), doesn\'t mean it\'s in hi-def. not everything is recorded/broadcast in HD on those channels. so if you turn on The Price Is Right this morning on CBS HD, it won\'t be HD - it\'ll be 4x3, and you\'ll have vertical bars on the sides.

- not all HD content is 1.78:1 (16x9). most television HD content IS 1.78:1, but there are different widescreen aspect ratios used in movies, etc. in cases where you have widescreen aspect ratios other than 1.78:1, you\'ll see horizontal bars on the top and bottom.

- VERY few commercials are in HD. some are shot widescreen, but are broadcast in 4x3, so in this case, you\'ll see both vertical and horizontal bars.

hope that makes sense.. here is a good visual resource..

[Marcial]

Ok, so it is normal to have the black bars depending on the format of whatever you are watching.  Do you change the aspect ration on your tv to fit what you are watching, or do you just leave it in 16:9 mode all the time?  

Also, if you constantly watch shows with the black bars, is there any danger of burning the black bars into the screen?

Thanks for helping me out with this.

[davepeck]

yeah i don\'t mess around with any of the zoom modes ever. i keep everything its OAR (original aspect ratio).. if something is 4x3, i watch it in 4x3.

there\'s no danger of burn-in with black bars either, so you\'re safe there..

[kindm's]

Ok, so it is normal to have the black bars depending on the format of whatever you are watching.  Do you change the aspect ration on your tv to fit what you are watching, or do you just leave it in 16:9 mode all the time?  

Also, if you constantly watch shows with the black bars, is there any danger of burning the black bars into the screen?

Thanks for helping me out with this.

you purchased a LCD TV so there is no burn in period.

[Marcial]

yeah i don\'t mess around with any of the zoom modes ever. i keep everything its OAR (original aspect ratio).. if something is 4x3, i watch it in 4x3.

so does your tv automatically adjust itself to the OAR?  or do you have to do it?

[davepeck]

yeah i don\'t mess around with any of the zoom modes ever. i keep everything its OAR (original aspect ratio).. if something is 4x3, i watch it in 4x3.

so does your tv automatically adjust itself to the OAR?  or do you have to do it?

you should be fine if you just set the zoom to \'normal\'.

[Marcial]

hmmmmm.  i will have to play around with it some more tonight... I\'m not sure if I have a "normal" zoom mode though... seems like last night I had to choose which picture size I wanted (16:9, Panorama, Zoom 1, Zoom 2, and 4:3 were my options), and the picture size stayed the same even if I switched channels.

Another question: on several channels, while viewing with the black bars, there was a bright fuzzy line between the picture and the black bars... any ideas what this might be?

[davepeck]

interesting. could be the DVI/HDMI vs. Component thing - with the digital cable, the aspect ratio (for HD and Digital broadcasts) switches automatically, and you can\'t change it. that\'s not the case with component though.. hmm...

as for the bright fuzzy line - :idunno:

[Marcial]

After several hours of pulling my hair out, I finally found the problem... my HD cable box was set to 480ionce I changed checked the 1080i & 720p boxes everything worked perfectly!  

Thanks again!