aspect ratio settings?

[priester68]

My tv and DVR both have aspect ratio settings of 4:3 or 16:9 widescreen. Do I set them both to widescreen or what? For some reason I don't feel like my tv picture is what it should be. Doesn't ever look very letterboxy for lack of a better word. Thanks for the help.

 

[toto]

Is your TV 4:3 or 16:9? What Brand is it? What format is your Diwrecktv remote set at?

 

[RACJ2]

My tv and DVR both have aspect ratio settings of 4:3 or 16:9 widescreen. Do I set them both to widescreen or what? For some reason I don't feel like my tv picture is what it should be. Doesn't ever look very letterboxy for lack of a better word. Thanks for the help.

You only want to use one or the other, but not both. I suggest you leave the D* setting on original and use the TV's aspect. On HD channels, you should use 16X9, on the SD channels, you can use 4x3 or 16x9. If you want a full screen use 16x9, but the picture may be a bit distorted.

On HD channels with side bars, you might want to use the TV's aspect to eliminate them. If you have a "Wide" setting or something similar, you can stretch the picture and eliminate the side bars. The picture isn't quite as crisp this way, but still much better then an SD channel.

 

[priester68]

I guess i could have provided more info. My tv is a 16:9 HD Sony 46". It's an older model (takes up half the room) but the HD looks pretty damn good considering I don't have enough money to upgrade to a newer one. I get 1080i but not 1080p. I'm not sure how to set it and my HR20 together and want to make sure I'm not missing out on a better picture. My tv is set to 16:9 and so is my DVR. The Format button on my DVR stays on original I think. What should I do besides buy a new tv?

 

[Slick Vic]

Ok first off, when your setting either pillar box, stretch, original, or crop on the HDTV menu, it only affects SD Channels. HD channels are not affected by it. The ratio for the type of TV you have should be on 16:9. Unless your tv is an old rear projection thats boxier then that needs to be on a 4:3. And depending on your TV, 1080p will never be an option for you. Doesn't matter anyway, no regular programming is going to be broadcasted in 1080p, its either going to be 720p or 1080i for HD.

 

[RACJ2]

I guess i could have provided more info. My tv is a 16:9 HD Sony 46". It's an older model (takes up half the room) but the HD looks pretty damn good considering I don't have enough money to upgrade to a newer one. I get 1080i but not 1080p. I'm not sure how to set it and my HR20 together and want to make sure I'm not missing out on a better picture. My tv is set to 16:9 and so is my DVR. The Format button on my DVR stays on original I think. What should I do besides buy a new tv?

If you have an old HD projection TV that is not DLP, your probably not going to get a crisp picture. You really might have to invest in a new LCD, DLP or Plasma.

Some like DLP, but you still don't get as good a picture if you sit to the right or left of the TV (like your projection tv works). For the money and a crisp picture, a 46" or 50" plasma might be your best bet. I recommend you go with Panasonic. If you go with LCD, I feel that Samsung 1080P TV's are probably the best. Some cheaper LCD's have picture jitter with fast motion and blacks that are washed out. Good luck!

 

[toto]

The picture quality on the older CRT rear projection sets, while being matched in brightness, have not been matched in picture quality. While I would love to have a new 240Hz XBR, my 52" rear projection set has image quality that is hard to match, but at 6 years, it's starting to lose brightness.