# Are all HD-Channels truly HD?



## pcstuff (Jan 22, 2007)

I know that soem of the HD channels transmit only regular sized 4:3 programming from time to time, but I'm not talking about that.

I'm talking about true "full-size" HD (16:9) programming on some of the channels that looks more like it has been "stretched" to make it look like true HD. For example watching Men in Black and MI:2 this weekend (forgot what channels) often enough it looked like the sides of the screen were streched, while the middle of the screen showed a true image.

And yes, before anybody asks, I did double-triple check that all my equipment was set to a regular picture, no "zoom" or s"strech" mode on my equipment.

One channel that looks like it does this kind of thing a lot is TNTHD.

Anybody else notice?


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## Mr.72 (Feb 2, 2007)

yes TNTHD does that. It's irritating because there's NO WAY to turn it off.


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## dpd146 (Oct 1, 2005)

TNT definetly the worst offender but I have noticed NG does some of their 4:3 programs in 16:9 but they zoom instead stretch so it's not as bad. There are some movies on TNT that I feel like I'm looking through a fish eye lens.

They do it for one simple reason. The majority of HD owners don't really have a clue. I went to my friends house for the superbowl and he had his tv zoomed. 90% of the people there would have never noticed. I told him he would get a better picture without zoom and he said he didn't care. He watches all his HD channels zoomed so he doesn't have to change settings when watching SD. I must say E* got it right when they made the settings independent on the SD and HD tuner.


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## rasthan (Apr 30, 2006)

dpd146 said:


> They do it for one simple reason. The majority of HD owners don't really have a clue.


Exactly. I bought my parents an HDTV, since they already had an 811 receiver. I tried to show them how HD looks great on an OTA channel with the picture zoomed out.. and how much of the picture they are missing when it is zoomed in.

When the commercials came on that are SD and have the black sidebars, they immediately zoom the picture in and leave it that way for the rest of the time.

I said "Who cares about the commericals! Don't watch them!", but they said the sidebars bothered them too much.

Annoys the $#@^@#$^ out of me!


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## Steve Mehs (Mar 21, 2002)

Yep me too. My mom watches everything stretched, in fact most of the time she watches standard def programming on the networks which it's all available in HD. She doesn’t watch the HD programming because ‘its too high up’. Our HD channels are in the 1000s, my mother doesn’t go past 408-411, which are the Lifetime channels.


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## Mr.72 (Feb 2, 2007)

yeah I think all of our parents do this.

In fact, it was watching the stretch-o-vision at my parents' place that had me convinced for the past year or two that there was absolutely zero value in a HD TV.


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## Yes616 (Sep 6, 2006)

I think it makes most older and chubbier folks feel like they are in better shape if they are looking at everyone on TV seem like they are 50 lbs overweight.

Could that be it? lol


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## mdublu (Feb 24, 2005)

I'm proud to say...my 73-year-old dad, who went out and bought his own 42" plasma six months ago, was very happy to learn the ins and outs of Normal, Zoom, and Stretch. I must admit that he is a retired electrical engineer, but then again, my mother and I are just now getting him to use a PC.

Now if I could just get my mother-in-law and father-in-law clued in. When I go to their house now, as soon as I look at the TV and say "You know..." I get cut off by "I...DON'T...CARE!" Can't even get her to buy the Widecreen movies either...she loves her Full Screen versions.


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## P Smith (Jul 25, 2002)

TV manufactures must create somewhere down in menu tree new switch - ZOOM DISABLE.


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