ViP211 SD output

[vtjman]

I currently have a 381 SD receiver, it seems to be going on the fritz. Keep losing channels randomly, have to run a check switch at regular intervals. Anyways, this is for my bedroom tv, which is currently SD. At some point in the future I plan on upgrading to HD in the bedroom, but for now SD only. If this 381 dies on me I was planning on getting a 211 or 211k and hooking it up to the current SD tv.

So my question is, if I hook up the 211 to the tv via composite or S-video, and set the resolution to 480i and the aspect ratio to 4:3, how will the output look on the tv aspect ratio wise?

Will it simply letterbox 16:9 content in a 4:3 window and show 4:3 content in fullscreen? or will it pull some of this "window box" crap where the picture is suspended in a box that is not full screen or letterboxed?

 

[BuddyBoy]

Will it simply letterbox 16:9 content in a 4:3 window and show 4:3 content in fullscreen? or will it pull some of this "window box" crap where the picture is suspended in a box that is not full screen or letterboxed?

Yes.

Both sentences you wrote will apply, depending on the content.

HD channels will be letterboxed on your 4x3 display, and SD will fill the screen. However, an HD channel broadcasting upconverted SD will be both letterboxed (since HD is 16x9), and pillarboxed (since the upconversion adds black bars to the side). So the result will be windowboxed (pillarboxed and letterboxed). When this happens, you just hit the format key on the remote ("*"), and it will zoom and the windowboxing will disappear.

 

[vtjman]

Yeah I should have been more specific. I was only concerned with how native 16:9 HD content and native 4:3 SD content would display on my 4:3 sd TV. Thanks for your answer, this seems to confirm that 16:9 content will be letterboxed and 4:3 content will be in fullscreen.

Does anyone actually have an HD receiver, preferably the 211 or 211k hooked up to an SD tv that can verify that this is correct?

 

[gdarwin]

Yeah I should have been more specific. I was only concerned with how native 16:9 HD content and native 4:3 SD content would display on my 4:3 sd TV. Thanks for your answer, this seems to confirm that 16:9 content will be letterboxed and 4:3 content will be in fullscreen.

Does anyone actually have an HD receiver, preferably the 211 or 211k hooked up to an SD tv that can verify that this is correct?

I can verify correct. Connected with composite cables.

 

[vtjman]

I can verify correct. Connected with composite cables.

Thanks alot gdarwin.

 

[bighick]

Just ask for the 211 but dont get HD. Why pay $$ every month until you have the HD tv.

 

[harshness]

Why pay $$ every month until you have the HD tv.

Largely because part of leasing an HD receiver is subscribing to HD.

 

[bighick]

When I called about dumping my 625? dvr they told me they would send me a vip222. But I am waiting until I see what the deal with the 222k EHD is going to be.
And im not on the easter arc.