TNT HD on HDMI

[ejb1980]

Does anyone else with TWC have issues with TNT HD? Whenever I go to TNT HD (channel 1301 on TWC Triad/Burlington, NC), it shows up on the screen with proper resolution/aspect ratio on the TV for 1 or 2 seconds, then the screen flashes off, and comes back and for another 1 to 2 seconds, it's still proper, then it automatically stretch-o-visions itself to the point where the TNT HD logo is half-chopped off. IT LOOKS TERRIBLE!! This happens on the HDMI output only (if I use the yellow RCA connection, this not happen... of course then it's not really HD). What am I (or, more likely, is TWC) doing wrong? This also happens with Hallmark HD, but no other channels. The SD feeds of these channels are fine. Thanks.

 

[Islandguy43]

Does anyone else with TWC have issues with TNT HD? Whenever I go to TNT HD (channel 1301 on TWC Triad/Burlington, NC), it shows up on the screen with proper resolution/aspect ratio on the TV for 1 or 2 seconds, then the screen flashes off, and comes back and for another 1 to 2 seconds, it's still proper, then it automatically stretch-o-visions itself to the point where the TNT HD logo is half-chopped off. IT LOOKS TERRIBLE!! This happens on the HDMI output only (if I use the yellow RCA connection, this not happen... of course then it's not really HD). What am I (or, more likely, is TWC) doing wrong? This also happens with Hallmark HD, but no other channels. The SD feeds of these channels are fine. Thanks.

Have you checked your hdmi connections? If so, call support and complain. I know that their cisco boxes can be really challenging at times with their switched digital video.

 

[jayn_j]

Just guessing here.

What are you using for a cable box? TNT is one of those stations that switches resolution when going to commercials and the like. I am wondering if the cable box is seeing a 480i image and resizing. Check the TV aspect ratio setting on the box. Check the default configuration for SD material. Try setting it to windowbox or gray bars instead of zoom or stretch.

How is the TV set for SD material? Again, try going to a windowbox type setting rather than stretch or zoom.

 

[ejb1980]

I figured it out...
I had the TV set for "Screen fit" and some setting deep inside the box set to "stretch" because if I had it set on "normal" the 4x3 channels were smushed in the middle of the screen. (Not 4x3 with the black side-bars, but literally smushed inside of the 4x3 area, creating double-sized black bars). I kept the box on "stretch" but changed the tv to 16x9 which stretches the smushed 4x3 channels to regular size (4x3, not stretch-o-vision) but keeps the 16x9 channels at 16x9. Even non-HD (16x9 SD) News 14 Carolina (that had always appeared in a "picture frame" in the middle of the screen) is now taking up the whole screen but the SD channels are still at their proper 4x3 picture.
I really want to meet the person who decided the current set-up of TWC boxes was a great idea and punch them. I have gathered from reading this forum that they didn't always used to be this stupid.

 

[ejb1980]

Oh, it's a Scientific Atlanta.

 

[ejb1980]

I don't understand why only 2 of the HD channels had this issue; it doesn't make sense to me. It also doesn't make sense to me why the HD feed of channels are separate from the SD on TWC. On Dish Network, they were mixed together and it was easy to change channels... oh well...

 

[jayn_j]

Dish is the only provider that does the remapping and automatically choosing the HD channels.
It would be easier if TWC hadn't disabled the favorites list because then you could just show the HD ones.
I think this was happening on just these two because TNT and TBS use a strange stretch algorithm for SD material in stead of leaving it HD with logos for pillars.

I was frustrated enough with the TWC HD DVRs that I switched to TIVO. A big pain to get configured, but much happier now.