tv guys

[Stalker]

I just signed up for ATT Uverse HD. I have an interesting problem that is just baffling to me.

1. Standard def tv blocks in on my screen. Meaning that there's about 3 inches to the right and left of the picture that are black and one inch on top and bottom that is black.
2. On HD Channels, the program comes in just fine 90% of the time without a problem, but 10% of the time, it does the same thing as standard def tv. Of that 10% that has the problem, about 90% of that only happens during commercials.

Is this normal? I called ATT and they said that I need to zoom the view in since my aspect ratio is set to HD. I zoomed it in to "stretch" and it fixed the standard def problem to the point that only 1/2 inch on each side of the screen is black. Anyone have any ideas???

 

[Stalker]

For referrence, this is a 37 inch 720P tv.

 

[Rod442]

4:3 content will show borders on a widescreen tv.

16:9 widescreen content will still show borders on the top and bottom on a tv (usually widescreen or not) Also sometimes depending on the ratio if its anamorphic widescreen (sp).

I think this is what your asking, if not; its been a long day.

 

[COBRA90GT]

Hmmm, not sure about the first part (configure your aspect size settings perhaps? ie - 1080i selection under options/settings?).

For the second part:

When you are watching a HD channel and non-HD programming material is broadcast over the HD channel, the picture will appear as 4:3 ratio (so you'll see the black trim around the border of the picture, unless you select a zoom or stretch viewing option).

This frequently happens when some commercials are not true HD content, while airing on a HD channel (or if a certain television program is not in HD, but is viewed via the HD channel, you will experience the same thing). Hope that makes sense...

 

[JustANeon]

4:3 content will show borders on a widescreen tv.

16:9 widescreen content will still show borders on the top and bottom on a tv (usually widescreen or not) Also sometimes depending on the ratio if its anamorphic widescreen (sp).

I think this is what your asking, if not; its been a long day.

ummm 16:9 fits perfectly on a widescreen tv without bars because widescreen tv's are 16:9

 

[jtcstrat]

hum, i have a 37" also and my hd channels have a gap on the top and bottom, can i fix this?

 

[JustANeon]

I have a 52" and a 37" and my HD channels fill the screen like they should

 

[Rod442]

ummm 16:9 fits perfectly on a widescreen tv without bars because widescreen tv's are 16:9

sorry, not always. it depends. I guess I should have mentioned that mostly movies will give you the bars when they are in a 2.35:1 instead of 1.78:1 IE the anamorphic widescreen I mentioned.


lots to read here:

http://www.highdefforum.com/high-definition-lounge/4705-bars-bars-more-bars.html

 

[cjmatt]

if youre using an HDMI cord, itll show it in whatever it was meant to be broadcast in

 

[Stalker]

I am using an HDMI. I just found it odd because when I had Charter, the few HD channels that I had didn't change anything at any time. All channels both regular and hd filled the screen without ever resizing. The difference is that I had the cable running right into the back of the TV as opposed to using an HDMI and box. It's odd that if this is how it should technically be why wouldn't the ATT Tech Support know that?

I'm ok with it, just wanted to make sure that the tech wasn't just blowing me off by saying put it to stretch and be happy.

 

[JustANeon]

This is not how it is supposed to be.

Standard def is just supposed to have bars on the side and HD should fill the entire screen with not bars anywhere. However, not everything broadcast on the HD channels is in HD and should show up like SD. Commercials are often in SD even on an HD station.

 

[Stalker]

I need to call ATT anyway. I've had a couple problems with when I start the system, all it says on a blue screen is ATT UVERSE and sits there for up to 10 minutes. It then goes to VOD and I can access my channels. If this is how the service is going to be, then I'll switch to Charter Cable, though I'd really rather not.

 

[Hugger Z]

Maybe your box is bad? Mine starts right up man.

 

[Buckethead]

Make sure that the tv is not trying to resize the picture 1st. Then verify that the box is set to 720p.---menu-options-aspect ratio-select 720-run test-set. then use the zoom button to fill screen. Yeah most commercials and some old content on the obscure channels are gonna have the bars on the side with uverse. Hopefully you wont switch cuz uverse is fantastic if the installation is done correctly. Also sometimes with the hdmi there are issues where it wont sync up with the tv correctly and cause the issue you described. Is the tv relatively new?

 

[Stalker]

TV is about 9 months old. I called ATT and the guy did some settings on my gateway. Said it was set to auto configuration and was probably causing me problems. He reset it and everything worked the way you guys are describing it.

 

[jtcstrat]

I have a question, anyone know where is the best place to buy tvs at a discount?