811 and 4:3 panasonic HD aspect ratio problems

[splat10]

I am having issues getting my aspect ratios setup right with the above
system. I am using the component outputs on the 811. The 4:3 tv
wants to default to 16:9 mode every time I turn it off. This just
squeezes the picture no matter which way I have the 811 set (16:9, 4:3
#1, or 4:3 #2). It only happens when I have the 811 set for 1080i,
the 480p works fine but it's the lower quality (not really HD) signal,
right? Once i go into the setup on the tv and set it to 4:3 and have
the 811 on 4:3#2 everything works right, i think. But once I turn off
the TV it reverts to 16:9.

Any help?

Steve

 

[normang]

Unless there is some setting on your TV, when you use component out of the 811 and in on your TV, and your TV is 4:3, you should get a 16:9 window on your 4.3 set and assuming that your 811 is set to "Normal"

Then depending on what you are watching, HD should fill the screen, however if you switch to a SD channel, you will get a 4:3 display in a 16:9 window. If you want full screen SD on a 4:3 TV, you will need to use the S-Video or composite video outputs of your 811. This is not an 811 issue, its the TV.

 

[ElroyJ]

Then depending on what you are watching, HD should fill the screen, however if you switch to a SD channel, you will get a 4:3 display in a 16:9 window. This is not an 811 issue, its the TV.

If it is true that it is not an 811 issue then why do they even have 4x3 settings in the setup? Why can't the 811 detect an SD 4x3 picture an make it fill the screen horizontal and vertical for the componant and DVI outputs if the setting in setup is set to a 4x3 TV . My DVD player uses componant and it will show a full 4x3 if the recorded material is in 4x3.

My brother has HD cable with a Motorola box and a Sony TV like mine and it fills the screen when viewing normal 4x3 material through the componant output.

 

[splat10]

It is a TV issue. I think it's just a panasonic thing. I may just buy a remote that i can record a macro and program it to run through the menu whenever i turn on the tv. I don't even know why it has a 16:9 setting.

Anyone know what the difference between 4:3 #1 and 4:3 #2 on the 811 is?

If it is true that it is not an 811 issue then why do they even have 4x3 settings in the setup? Why can't the 811 detect an SD 4x3 picture an make it fill the screen horizontal and vertical for the componant and DVI outputs if the setting in setup is set to a 4x3 TV . My DVD player uses componant and it will show a full 4x3 if the recorded material is in 4x3.

My brother has HD cable with a Motorola box and a Sony TV like mine and it fills the screen when viewing normal 4x3 material through the componant output.

 

[CKNA]

All HD TV's switch to 16:9 mode when fed 1080i signal. HD is always 16:9 even if there is just 4:3 upconvert. This is not only Panasonic thing. Your TV is working properly.

 

[dcarpa]

to fine tune the answer a bit

Almost there - let me add my 2cents - The TV assumes that if the signal is 1080i that it must be a true HD signal, which by default is 16:9 - i think this is a flaw due to the upconversion of SD that most receivers due now, but nearly all 4:3 TVs have this detect feature built in. And this is what 4:3 option 1 on the dish 811 is. Now in addition some TV manufacturers went the other route and showed all HD content in a 4:3 window (some models from Panasonic, Toshiba, etc. - mine is a panasonic pt61hx40)- this works great for upconverted SD but it stretches a true 1080i signal. The only way to get around this one these types of TVs is to physically add black bars to the top and bottom of the picture [and since they have to add some bars, they have to take a few lines of the picture out, dropping from 1080i down to around 800 or so]. This is what 4:3 option 2 does - it allows for the letterbox of true 1080i signal, while it doesnt do anything to a SD show that it upconverts with respect to aspect ratio. So if youre tv does autodetect the HD signal and goes into a 16:9 pic then the chaning of the 4:3 option 1 or 2 shouldnt do anything on upconverted SD, but for true HD content it should show a letterbox on option 1 and what would like like a double letterbox on option 2 (short fat people).

BTW - Even though the FCC mandates that the term HD refers to 1080 or 720 in a 16:9 frame the CEA still allowed manufacturers to release some 4:3 TVs that dont have the detect featuer so it shows in the stretched 4:3 window (tall skinny people). I've actually filed complaints against panasonic about this but nobody there believes me since the CSR guys that work with HD have only ever seen a widescreen version (it just kind of puts us early adopters in a bind since only a handful of the set top boxes have that physical 4:3 letterbox option 2 mode - which is why I got dishnetwork and cancelled cable).

Also I know that some people make fun of 4:3 HDTVers but since about 80% of what I watch is upconverted SD I would still make that move if I could redo it - i can live with letterbox black bars when I do watch true HD - and since my TV is 61" 4:3 the 16:9 window is easily big enough for me. Sure in a couple of years I'll get a widescreen, but for now its been a few years and I still am happy with the 4:3 (not so happy with some of the idiots at panasonic though)