# Black Bars on right and left side of tv screen



## jazzyd (May 31, 2005)

Had dishnet installed yesterday. 811 and 625 no bars on tv at all yesterday today bars on tv newbie at this. samsung hlr-5067 hd picture is clear the tv guide is the sameway except the hd channel is full screen tv is set 16  by 9


----------



## DVDDAD (Dec 21, 2002)

jazzyd said:


> Had dishnet installed yesterday. 811 and 625 no bars on tv at all yesterday today bars on tv newbie at this. samsung hlr-5067 hd picture is clear the tv guide is the sameway except the hd channel is full screen tv is set 16  by 9


SD channels are all 4x3 and don't fit on a 16X9 widescreen TV set unless the video is either stretched or zoomed to fit your TV set. Go into the menu and make sure your TV is set up properly to 16X9. Then you can cycle through the various formats by hitting the * button on your 811's remote control. Then the black bars will be gone, if you want them to be gone.


----------



## Laverne (Feb 17, 2005)

What DVDDAD said.

And :welcome_s jazzyd!

The 811 forum mods are very knowledgable and helpful.


----------



## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

You can use the pgup and pgdn buttons to change stretch mode for SD and HD. I believe PgUp is for HD and PgDn is for SD. 

You can see the current stretch mode by changing channels.

If your TV is 16x9, set the 811 to 16x9 under the setup menu. As mentioned above, with 4x3 material you will see black bars on left and right. This can also happen with HD material if the black bars are being added at the source. 

ESPN adds logos on 4x3 material.
CBS adds gray bars on the side

And as Laverne said.. WELCOME!!! Pull up a chair and stay a while.


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

Ron Barry said:


> You can use the pgup and pgdn buttons to change stretch mode for SD and HD. I believe PgUp is for HD and PgDn is for SD.
> 
> You can see the current stretch mode by changing channels.
> 
> ...


Correct. Or you can use the asterisk button " * " to zoom HD.

First make sure your output is set correctly. If you have a widescreen TV, Go to 'Menu 6-1-9' and check to make sure your set to 16:9 as shown in picture below.










Then, while watching a show, if you press the info button, you will see the info banner pop up. In the picture below I have circled two boxes. The Left box is the aspect mode the HD ouputs (Component Video 'YPrPb' and DVI) are in. The box to the Right is what aspect mode the SD ouputs (Composite 'RCA' and S-Video) are in. If your using a HD input on you TV, which you should be, make sure your TV is set to 16:9 Normal. My display automatically selects this when using DVI. While viewing a show, you can toggle thru the HD modes by pressing asterisk " * " or "Pg Up", to select SD modes use "Pg Dn". The two settings/outputs are independent from each other, so it is possible that they could say something different, in other words they do not need to match.










Hope this helps,


----------



## jazzyd (May 31, 2005)

But when I hook up my cable to my TV everything shows 16:9 with no problem. I thought with dishnet it would've done the same without zoom


----------



## Laverne (Feb 17, 2005)

The thing is, jazzyd, that SD content, in its natural state, doesn't fill up all of a 16:9 screen. (Only true HD content does, those channels in your HD PAK.) So, what E* (Echostar, Dish Network) does is it gives you choices of how you want to fill the remainder of your screen. You can stretch it, put gray side bars on it, zoom it, etc. It's your preference and they're nice :grin: enough to give you a choice. It's your cable that's doing you wrong by deciding for you how you will view your content.

I always make sure my HD channels are set to "Normal" format. (I won't go into how I view the SD channels, because my TV is 4:3 and my options wouldn't apply to your situation.) You change the format of each channel individually.

HTH!


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

jazzyd, the problem is...Laverne's right again. 

OK, let me explain how it works from my perspective. If your seeing everything your cable co sends you in 16:9 format then either a.) You have your TV already set to a zoom mode, like 4:3 enhanced or your TV has an auto aspect control which it decodes from the cable signal. OR b.) Your cable co. is reformatting your picture. When you zoom a 16:9 picture to a 4:3 screen (pan and scan) you are actually cropping part of the picture out. Similar goes for stretching a 4:3 Pan and scan picture to 16:9 widescreen. You either end up distorting part of the picture or cropping it. So if someone was an enthusiast, this would anger them that they are loosing part of the picture or some picture quality. Therefore DBS providers give you control of aspect ratio.

Hope this helps,


----------



## Ddavis (Jan 15, 2004)

Wild guess, but I'm betting that his cable is transmitting a SD (480I) signal and it is connected composite, s-video or RF. His TV is zooming it. His 811 is sending a HD (1080I) signal and is connected component or DVI. The TV does nothing but pass through. Jason, you have it right above, he needs to stretch the 811 signal via the pgup button.


----------



## tonyp56 (Apr 26, 2004)

One note: If you have your stretch set to normal for HD then every channel that is a digital source (OTA stations included) even if they are not broadcasting HD will be in normal mode and therefore you will have black bars on each side of the picture. And of course if you are on a SD channel and you set the HD mode to stretch, every SD channel will be stretched. (stretched is the best IMHO for SD stuff--Full Zoom etc. cut more of the picture off--, of course Normal is best for HD stuff,)Also, don't let what Jason and others are saying (and showing) of the SD stretch mode (post #5) it doesn't come into play unless you are using one of the SD outputs (S-video, etc...) like if you have a VCR hooked up to the 811, you can use the page down button to stretch the image so that HD channels don't have bars on top and bottom of the screen when viewing them with a SD TV and/or won't show up in the recording on your VCR that is hooked directly up to your 811 via RCA (Yellow, Red, and white for video, left audio and right audio) or S-video cables. So you only need to worry about the * on your 811's remote (for now) just remember that page up/page down are there for more uses.


----------



## Laverne (Feb 17, 2005)

tonyp56, I'm not even sure what you just said.  

jazzyd, it would probably help us help you better if you let us know how you have your 811 hooked up to your TV: DVI, component(R/G/B), S-video, or composite, or a combination.


----------



## Jason Nipp (Jun 10, 2004)

Tony, have you been drinking? 

I did not say anything wrong in post #5. What are you talking about? I discussed Page up or asterisk for HD and PgDn for SD and what inputs they relate to. I even called out the difference between the mode boxes in the info banner in a picture. Also, If I stretch a digital OTA it does stretch my HD channels. If I stretch a SD then all SD channels are stretched. If I zoom an HD channel then it changes my digital OTA as well. 

No one ever mentioned a VCR prior to your post? Unless your talking about another thread I haven't seen yet. Please take a minute and reread the posts. No one has said anything incorrect. Again the box on the left is the HD zoom mode and the box on the right is the SD zoom mode. Both modes were presented not just one.


----------



## jazzyd (May 31, 2005)

I've it hooked up composite. I hooked the cable just to see what happen everything show 16:9 no problem. Hooked back up 811 black bars 480I still some black bars. hd stretch People look fat.


----------



## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

Now I am confused. I think Jazzyd you need to see if you can explain you configuration better. What input is the 811 hooked up to. Is the 625 also hooked up to an input and is the Sammy Receiver also taking up an input. 

From you last post are you saying your 811 is hooked to composite? If this is the case then your HD will downscale into 480i and if your are watching 16x9 you will be some bars. It has been a while since I played around with my 811 through svideo or composite. 

If you have a component or DVI input available for your 811 use it. Some will use the composite for SD because the TV may provide better scaling but I always start with DVI/Component and then work from there. 

I really think a more detailed description of what is hooke where will help. And if you can, get your 811 onto a HD connection (DVI or Component).


----------



## tonyp56 (Apr 26, 2004)

Jason Nipp said:


> Tony, have you been drinking?


NO



Jason Nipp said:


> I did not say anything wrong in post #5. What are you talking about? I discussed Page up or asterisk for HD and PgDn for SD and what inputs they relate to. I even called out the difference between the mode boxes in the info banner in a picture. Also, If I stretch a digital OTA it does stretch my HD channels. If I stretch a SD then all SD channels are stretched. If I zoom an HD channel then it changes my digital OTA as well.
> 
> No one ever mentioned a VCR prior to your post? Unless your talking about another thread I haven't seen yet. Please take a minute and reread the posts. No one has said anything incorrect. Again the box on the left is the HD zoom mode and the box on the right is the SD zoom mode. Both modes were presented not just one.


OK, first of all, I did not say that you were wrong (did I say Jason was wrong?), second I wasn't talking about a VCR in the sense that you apparently think. What I was saying is that the SD stretch modes do not come into play unless you are using a SD output and you are on a HD channel! What is something that most people would hook up to those SD outputs on the 811? That is the only reason that I mentioned a VCR. I was trying to separate the two different stretch modes a little further so that perhaps jazzyd wouldn't get confused. (Sorry I must be on a very different wavelength than everyone else) The reason why I referred to your post was because you showed two very detailed pictures of the banner bar, and though you did explain it I wanted to make sure that it wasn't too confusing. I did not say that you were wrong though, I said do not get confused about SD stretch and HD stretch, and because you were someone that had mentioned it I was pointing to your post, I never said that you were wrong. 

jazzyd

HD=Component or DVI outputs 
SD=Composite (or RCA cables the ones with white red and Yellow on each end) or S-video outputs

* or page up only effects the HD outputs

Page down only effects the SD outputs

Stretch mode will make the people look fat, however, there is nothing that you can do about it, you will have to get used to it. (you will after a little bit of time) Partial or full zoom are much worse IMO, but you are more than welcome to explore each mode. Grey bars is a option too, better than black bars, but still not as good as filling the entire screen with the image when it comes to burn-in. 

If you go to channel 200 (CNN) for instance and set it to Stretch, every SD channel that you tune it too will be in stretch mode, and then if you go to 9420 (TNT-HD) and set or make sure that it is set to Normal, every HD channel that you go to will be set to Normal. However, sometimes if you are on TNT-HD (more often on HBO and Showtime HD) it may not be showing something in HD and therefore it will not fill your screen, even though it is a HD channel it may not always show true HD and you will have bars. You can either stretch it when this is the case or watch it like it is. (For TNT, ESPN, Showtime, and HBO I just switch to the SD channel to watch when I get bars)

Within your 811's menus, you have the option to set your output to 480p, 720P, and 1080i. For HD it has to be set to 720P or 1080i. Some people say to switch it around depending on what you are watching, for instance if you are watch a SD channel then switch it to 480P, but if you are watching a HD channel switch it to 1080i or 720P. IMHO, that is nothing but a waste of time, however, you should feel free to explore and see if you think it is worth the trouble. Just remember, it has to be set too either 720P or 1080i for HD. (Note: CRT TV's including CRT rear projection TV's don't support 720P, some will up-convert 720P to 1080i, and others like mine will simply go to a black screen, to which the only way to get it back is to go to one of the SD outputs and switch it back to 1080i, so be aware of this if you go switching things around.) (yes everyone I know "no one has talked about this before me, however, I felt that it was usefull)

jazzyd are you running a coax cable to the back of your TV for cable? If so then you are on one of the SD inputs on your TV and therefore your TV is probally doing all of the stretching automatically. Which is why you notice a difference.


----------



## Laverne (Feb 17, 2005)

Now, see? That was so much more coherent and easier to read. 

What you said about Jason was:


> ...don't let what Jason and others are saying...


 And then it just kinda went downhill toward unintelligible from there. "Don't let what Jason and others are saying.." WHAT? "Get you down"? "Make you cry"? "Make you laugh uncontrollably"? This (and other parts of your post) is what we did not understand, and therefore needed much clarification. It just helps to convey actual _meaning_ when you use complete sentences and proper punctuation. 

NOW,


> ...Some people say to switch it around depending on what you are watching, for instance if you are watch a SD channel then switch it to 480P...that is nothing but a waste of time...


This would be me, of no one else. I believe I have sufficiently explained why I do this in other threads. 480p "HD: Stretch" (via component cables) fills the screen of my 4:3 TV without me having to fool with the zoom on my TV (which, BTW, seems to be a bit out of alignment). The "Stretch" chops off the overscan on the sides (as opposed to trying to squeeze them in), but that's not very much, relatively speaking, and makes everyone look absolutely normal, not fat or tall.

BUT, _my_ TV is 4:3, and trust me, I've explored all the options, short of ADDITIONALLY hooking up the 811 to one of the SD inputs on the TV, which is a BIG waste of time IMHO. It would be a huge PITA _TO ME_ to have to do this and switch the TV settings around all the time. My kids know the TV has to be on "Satellite" (it has on-screen labeling for the Video inputs), and that's good enough for them. They don't mess with the HD stuff, nor do I want them to. They don't mess with any of the settings on the TV or the 811. They just turn the receiver and TV on and watch it. So you can see, it's not a "waste of time" for me to leave it set at 480p for general viewing. (Now if I ever get that Harmony remote I've been wanting it may be a whole new ballgame...)

Of course, Your Mileage May Vary, and none my settings apply to anyone whose TV is 16:9. 



jazzyd said:


> ...stretch People look fat.


jazzyd, whenever you are watching an SD channel on a 16:9 TV, no matter _what_ connections you use (Jason correct me if I'm wrong ), for the picture to fill the screen it will either have to be stretched, OR zoomed, therefore cutting off the top and bottom a little bit. The SD picture is _by definition_ not as wide as 16:9, but just a bit wider than 4:3. It is essentially 4:3, except for the bit of overscan width. This is why we say your cable co. must be zooming the picture (and therefore cropping the top and bottom), since you say it looks "normal". The only channels that will _be_ normal on your 16:9 TV are the HD channels, which are by definition in the 16:9 aspect ratio. ESPNHD sometimes adds gray "ESPN" bars to its SD broadcast to get to 16:9, and also TNTHD sometimes takes SD content and stretches it "for you"  (it actually may be a combination of stretch and zoom), but again that is done at the point of transmission from the station, and there's nothing we can do to change it.

The reason I bought a 4:3 TV is because for a long time to come (hopefully not, but I'm not holding my breath  ), most of our family (kids) viewing is on the SD channels. Whenever we watch an HD channel, yes we have black bars at the top and bottom (just the reverse of your complaint, BTW), but right now that's just something me and DH like to do for kicks.  The kids don't know how to be impressed by the good picture. :shrug:

HTH!!! :grin:


----------

