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Contributor

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3 Messages

Friday, December 30th, 2011 4:40 PM

Hdmi and Letterbox

I have a HR 24 with a Sharp Elite TV connected by HDMI (hi speed) cables.  It is connected through a aVR (Marantz av7005),  I can play both HD and 3D from the directv DVR.  I can also play 3d through my blu ray.

 

When I push the "format" button I cycle through 1080i  +pillar  box,  108i crop , stretch, original format, The problem is that the output does not change.  The screen is cropped and 1080i. 

 

I tried turning native on and it went to 480p. 

 

How can I get 1080p?  Letterbox?

Guru

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535 Messages

13 years ago

Quote: Originally Posted by pjordan 

I have a HR 24 with a Sharp Elite TV connected by HDMI (hi speed) cables.  It is connected through a aVR (Marantz av7005),  I can play both HD and 3D from the directv DVR.  I can also play 3d through my blu ray.

 

When I push the "format" button I cycle through 1080i  +pillar  box,  108i crop , stretch, original format, The problem is that the output does not change.  The screen is cropped and 1080i. 

 

I tried turning native on and it went to 480p. 

 

How can I get 1080p?  Letterbox?

The only way for your HD/DVR to display a letterbox format is to change the ratio from 16:9 to 4:3. Which in your case would be since less. Letterbox is only there to portray the HD format on a SD TV. 

Guru

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535 Messages

13 years ago

When you are watching a show on a HD channel and they display it in the letterbox format. The screen format for that movie is extended beyond the 16:9 format, other wise known as Cinema Scope. That means you get to watch it uncut and unformated as like in the movie theater. There is nothing on your end that can change it other then zooming in with the tv functions. The other programs that are not displayed in letterbox cannot be changed unless you like letterbox. Then you can change the ratio output of your HR to 4:3 with letterbox. Then all of your HD channels will display in that format, but it is pointless unless you like having the black bars on the top and bottom of your TV.

Contributor

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3 Messages

13 years ago

 When directv says HD, they mean 1080i 16:9  with the excess on the sides trimed off.????  

 

I know 1080i 720p are HD..  Where is the 1080p?  The 2.35:1 Cinemascope? 

ACE - Sage

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46.4K Messages

13 years ago

The video resolution (720p, 1080i or 1080p) and the format (4:3, 16:9, or 2.35:1 Cinemascope), don't really have anything to do with each other.  Any of those formats can be broadcast at any video resolution. But, in general, we associate the old 4:3 "square" format with SD video (480i), and widescreen 16:9 format with HiDef broadcasts (720p or 1080i).   Some PPV or premium channel movies are also broadcast in their original CinemaScope format, causing black bars at the top or bottom of your 16:9 widescreen HDTV, or even wider bars on an old 4:3 SDTV. 

Contributor

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3 Messages

13 years ago

HD in a square box in directb guide measn.... 1080i.  and 16:9 aspect ratio which filss a standard HD 16"9 display. 

 

I assume that standard HD network television is broadcast at 1080i and 16:9. 

 

Are HBO, Starz, SHow, on Demand, PPV are all 1080i 16:9?  Any broadcast at 1080p?  Any boradcast at 2.33:1 (or letterbox)?  I have not seen any.  The screen is full. 

 

DVD/ bluray have ratios wider than 16:9. 

 

If they do boradcast HD letterbox is there a problem accessing it?

ACE - Sage

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46.4K Messages

13 years ago

Some stations broadcast their HD in 720p (ABC, Fox, ESPN), some stations use 1080i (NBC, CBS).  Most cable networks use 1080i.  Both are considered "true" HiDef resolutions.   But not all HD broadcasts are 16:9.  You'll still see many older programs and commercials using 4:3 video format.  

 

No broadcast networks use 1080p because it's not an HD broadcast standard.  DirecTV uses it for a few PPV movies.   

 

And some movies will be shown in their original aspect ratio .... 4:3 for really old movies, 16:9 or 2.33:1 CinemaScope for newer movies.   BluRay discs might have all of those formats on one disc for some movies.  

 

So just keep in mind that the video aspect ratio (4:3, 16:9 or 2.33:1, or whatever) has nothing to do with the broadcast resolution.  Even before HDTV came along we saw movies shown in "widescreen" letterboxed (black bars at the top of bottom) of our old 4:3 "square" TVs.  But now, since most all TVs are HiDef, and all are 16:9 widescreens, most network shows and movies are shown in 16:9 format to fill the TV screen.  Older shows are still shown in 4:3, and you'll see black bars on the left & right of the 4:3 square video (except for some networks like ESPN that show their logo on the left/right side).  And some newer movies will be shown in their CinemaScope aspect ratio, which means you'll see black bars at the top and bottom of your 16:9 widescreen TV.  

 

And most HDTVs give you a variety of "stretch" and "fill" video modes if  those black bars really bother you.  

Scholar

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306 Messages

13 years ago

The only 1080P you will get is from ON DEMAND PAY PER VIEW there is no other source broadcasting in 1080P.  The highest is 1080i from most of your HBO, STARZ, SHOW, etc....

Expert

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20.7K Messages

13 years ago

Quote: Originally Posted by pjordan

 

When I push the "format" button I cycle through 1080i +pillar box, 108i crop , stretch, original format, The problem is that the output does not change. The screen is cropped and 1080i.

 

The format button is only operative when tuned to a SD channel. It is designed to allow you to stretch a 4:3 SD picture to fill the wide screen of a HD TV. When on a HD channel, the format button has no effect.

 

If you're like me, after you've had HD for a while, you'll decide watching the programs in the aspect ration they were made in is the way to go, otherwise the pretty girls all have moon faces and big cabooses.


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