Sides of picture missing on some channels

correct.  some networks instead of broadcasting a SD feed, they crop the HD feed to make it fit in a SD picture which is 4:3.  other networks just letterbox their HD feed to make it fit inside the SD picture.   others, not many, provide both feeds.

Thanks for your response. It's a shame they don't mention that when one orders the service - then I suppose '$29.99 per month but you can only see half the screen' wouldn't sell so well. Pity, really because I only signed up for Direct TV because I couldn't bear to miss the baseball playoffs and I had to keep my computer turned on so i could see what the score was and could only see half of the strikezone. Shabby service.

It's not DirecTV's decision how those SD channels are formatted.  Each station/network provides that feed to DirecTV, and they've been forced to decide between "letterboxing" those channels or "cropping" off the sides.  That's because more and more source material is now 16:9 widescreen format, not 4:3 format.  

as I stated on my last post.......some networks.......

Chaps, I appreciate your responses and i understand that it's not Direct TV's decision. My point is that a hapless consumer like myself has to find out the hard way that if they go for the basic package they're gonna miss out on some of the picture - and with sports there are some very important bits missing.

Why wasn't this explained to me when I ordered the service? Seems a very poor show to me.

It was probably not explained to you because the people who take the orders have no idea when, where and with which stations this might happen. It changes all the time.

Issues like this keep coming up all the time. Unfortunately everything is moving to HD and people who only have SD service will continue to have problems, since most of the providers don't actually have an HD and an SD version of their signal like they used to.

You might benefit by taking another look at your situation. How is it that you have a HD TV? You don't have HD service or a HD receiver, correct? I can guess why. You can't buy a SD TV in any stores around here, and most folks think they can get at least half HD with part of the requirements. You're finding out that feeding the poor SD signal that many stations are putting out to a sophisticated HD TV is akin to putting tractor tires on a new Caddy.

You're half way in the pool and half way out. You're not swimming and you're not sunbathing. Have you called Directv and asked what they would do for you HD wise? They currently waive the $10 per month HD fee for auto pay customers, so all you need is a dish (usually free) and a HD receiver. You get that and you'd be back here blowing all of us kisses.

A final question.  If you just ordered the service why didn't you get the HD system, it's free to new customers?

If issues like this come up all the time it would have been nice to have been forewarned by the sales staff. I am sure that they are programmed only to give the good news, however.

I bought an HD telly because I connect it to my laptop via HDMI to watch movies and DVD's plus I use it as a second monitor - it's great for that. I have a deep seated hatred for American TV because I can't bear all the damned adverts. IF there are any programs worth watching I tend to download them and watch them from my laptop. I'm afraid I grew up with the advert-free BBC so have been spoilt for life. 

I decided to get Direct TV because I wanted to see the baseball playoffs and, as I would very rarely watch anything else apart from The Simpsons and 'How it's Made' (yes, yes, I'm a boring bug ger, I know) I decided to go for the basic service. Have you ever tried to order Direct TV from the website?! It certainly said that the HD box was free but every time I waded through to the 'process my order' bit, the price had magically gone up to about 50 bucks. It's better than Sudoku - you should try it for a laugh. Go on, humour me.

So I called Direct TV, told them to stop offering me things and eventually ended up with the basic service and half a picture some of the time. Then comes trying to cancel all the 'freebies' plus the $6.99 maintenance plan I had magically 'ordered' somewhere along the line. Perhaps I'll call them and try to cancel the service - that'll keep me smiling until Christmas as it's always a grin dealing with Direct TV customer service.

Anyway, sorry about the ranting - as you can tell I know bug ger all about TV and HD and stuff and am hardly the cable-watching customer from heaven but it's a bit of a bore paying for a service and only getting half of it through no fault of my own.