# History channel's bad picture stretch



## HDlover (Jul 28, 2006)

What's with the horizontal stretch (with accompanying distortion) with black bars on the top and bottom. Why aren't they zooming to fill the screen? :eek2:


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

Well this has to do with the fire damage suffered at the uplink center in Connecticutt. How any of this material is in HD at all is a mystery, let alone showing it unnaturally stretched. I tried watching Dog the Bounty Hunter in stretch-o-vision, and I just couldn't do it.


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## HobbyTalk (Jul 14, 2007)

Maybe not when but where? http://www.history.com ?


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## wonko (Sep 21, 2007)

No, the fire problem is over. They are showing full HD again. However, they are *still* stretching 4:3 content. Does anyone own a TV that this looks good on? I don't think there's any way to get it to look right. I guess they think people are stupid enough to think that anything stretched to 16:9 is "real" HD.

I understand that they won't zoom "widescreen" stuff that was originally 4:3, but at least pillarbox it so people can zoom it or leave it alone as they want to.


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## wonko (Sep 21, 2007)

l8er said:


> No, apparently not. Before the fire their HD content was fine, after the fire it's been stetched. That email from Echostar was just yesterday (9/20/07).


Their HD content is fine. I was watching "The First 48" last night in full (correctly proportioned) HD on A&E. The issue is that they're stretching their SD content to 15:9. And even on the stretched shows, their "HD" logo bug appears correctly.

Also, I don't remember for sure, but I think they were doing the same thing to their SD shows before the fire. Someone else may be able to confirm that.


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## bongohawk (Jan 19, 2006)

I sent an email to A&E programming requesting they fix this, but still no response.


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## motts (Apr 11, 2006)

Wind_River said:


> I, too noticed the problem with "The First 48". The program, itself, was 16:9...but as soon as ANY 4:3 content came of the screen it was stretched. This included commercials and promos. Something is happening automatically at their fire infested uplink.
> 
> Anything in 4:3 is stretching. Maybe someone is at the uplink pushing a button to stretch it, but it does appear to be happening automatically stretch on.....stretch off.....stretch on.....stretch off......etc.
> 
> ...


I have noticed that the logo on History is in fact overlapping the show and the bottom black bar. How would they do this if they still had a problem with the fire?

On another note, again with the TNT bashing. I watched The Village a couple of days ago and it looked fantastic. Trust me, there are MANY other HD channels that are much less valuable than TNT.


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## DStroyer (May 9, 2007)

Wind_River said:


> I can't imagine that they would find it acceptable. ESPECIALLY the commercials. I doubt that the advertisers would approved of the distorted picture during their commercials!


Actually, Honda probably doesn't mind. I was attempting to watch "How The Earth Was Made" this afternoon, and a commercial came on for the new 2008 Honda Accord, and the car looked about the length of a school bus! Of course, if you're taller than 3-foot-7, headroom could be a real problem :lol:


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## wonko (Sep 21, 2007)

Having seen real HD on both A&E and History yesterday, I think we can safely conclude the stretched 4:3 has *nothing* to do with the fire. It seems to be their attempt to fool the general public into thinking they're getting "HD" all the time.

Does anyone have any contact info for anyone technical at A&E?


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

I think some of you are missing something here.

If 4:3 stuff is stretched, it'd fill the entire 16:9 screen. What we're getting is 2.35:1 stretch with 16:9 stuff. Shows like "How the Earth was Made" I would think would be 16:9, right? or no?

Although shows like Dog the Bounty Hunter on A&E, it's 4:3, but stretched to 2.35:1. 

I don't watch TNT all that much, actually in fact, the only thing I watch(ed) on it was NASCAR earlier in the season. So I don't notice this false stretch-o-vision.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Lincoln6Echo said:


> I think some of you are missing something here.
> 
> If 4:3 stuff is stretched, it'd fill the entire 16:9 screen. What we're getting is 2.35:1 stretch with 16:9 stuff. Shows like "How the Earth was Made" I would think would be 16:9, right? or no?


In a few cases, it appears they are taking the letterboxed 4:3 image and linearly stretching it to fill the width... which results in the 2.35:1 use of the screen, rather than a zooming of the image to fill more proportionally.

Ultimately, it would be better if they showed more HD and didn't have to manipulate and upconvert their SD stuff.


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## John in Georgia (Sep 24, 2006)

HDlover said:


> What's with the horizontal stretch (with accompanying distortion) with black bars on the top and bottom. Why aren't they zooming to fill the screen? :eek2:


Isn't zooming in distortion as well?


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## blarg (Apr 15, 2007)

looks like stretch-o-vision is finally gone....however, the frame rate on the History HD channel is horrible. The motion artifact is almost constant.

audio sync seems to be fixed too.


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## wonko (Sep 21, 2007)

blarg said:


> looks like stretch-o-vision is finally gone....however, the frame rate on the History HD channel is horrible. The motion artifact is almost constant.


Nope, both A&E and History are still stretching any 4:3 content (SD shows, commercials) up to 16:9.

And to the poster above regarding the bars. That wasn't 2.35:1 content. That was 16:9 that was letterboxed to 4:3 and then stretched horizontally back to 16:9. I don't really expect them to zoom that type of thing, but just pillarbox the 4:3 stuff and let people zoom if they want to.


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