# Display Setup Question



## DalePuckett (Feb 16, 2004)

I'm confused. I just had my PVR 921 installed Saturday. I have a Mitsubishi 55 inch, native 16 x 9 display. The Mitsubishi takes 1080i as its native format. I first set up the 921 for 1080i and 16 x 9 as that seemed like the logical choice, but everything was stretched excessively. I expected the 4:3 portion of the screen to be stretched to fill the screen, but I thought when I was watching a full 16 x 9 broadcast that it would stop stretching but it doesn't. When the satellite HD or OTA HD stations are broadcasting full 16 x 9, the 921 was cutting off everything past the 4x3 area. The credits on and HBO movie didn't even fit.

I solved the problem by putting the 921 in the 4 x 3 #2 mode. Now it works just like the Zenith receiver I had before. It just doesn't make any sense. Are the modes mislabelled?

--

Boot: 120B
Flash: F052
SW: L187HECD-N


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

No - the aspect ratio modes are correct. Have you tried using the Format button (bottom left of the remote)? It cycles through various zoom and stretch modes. I run my setup in 1080i 16:9 almost all the time, and use different Formats for 4:3 (sometimes). It all works out in the end.


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## jmbrooks (Jan 11, 2004)

Are you sure that the Mitsubishi is not in one of the stretch modes?


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## DalePuckett (Feb 16, 2004)

jmbrooks said:


> Are you sure that the Mitsubishi is not in one of the stretch modes?


Yes. The Mitsubishi will not allow any of its stretch modes when you are in the DTV mode.

Also, I'll experiment with the format control.

Thanks!


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## BobMurdoch (Apr 24, 2002)

Also, make sure that your 921 has updated to the latest software release. They fixed the aspect ratios (well, at least they made it much more tolerable) in a recent release. Originally I had to set mine at 4:3 #2 to make SD content watcheable....


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## Slordak (Dec 17, 2003)

If the TV is a 16:9 aspect ratio TV, the option should be set to 16:9 in the 921's setup menu, as you guessed. This option is not mislabeled nor does it have any sort of functional disabilities, although we have argued in the past about having the TV do a resolution passthrough rather than a forced up-conversion.

You need to use the pound key or the star key; don't remember which is which, but one of them is format (and the other is search). Using the "Format" key, you need to set the 921 to "Normal". On your television, if your TV is getting 1080i, you usually won't be able to adjust the stretch mode yourself. If, for whatever reason you *are* able to adjust it, it should be the "uniform anamorphic stretch mode" (often named "Full" mode on many sets).

If you like watching 4:3 content stretched, then you're going to have to either do what you're doing where you lie about your TV set, or you're going to have to switch the 921 between "Stretch" and "Normal" modes when switching between 4:3 and 16:9 content. The 921 honors "Stretch" on 16:9 content for the very fact that the 16:9 signal could contain a 4:3 signal, and hence the user might still want to apply a stretch.


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

DalePuckett said:


> I'm confused. I just had my PVR 921 installed Saturday. I have a Mitsubishi 55 inch, native 16 x 9 display. The Mitsubishi takes 1080i as its native format. I first set up the 921 for 1080i and 16 x 9 as that seemed like the logical choice, but everything was stretched excessively. I expected the 4:3 portion of the screen to be stretched to fill the screen, but I thought when I was watching a full 16 x 9 broadcast that it would stop stretching but it doesn't. When the satellite HD or OTA HD stations are broadcasting full 16 x 9, the 921 was cutting off everything past the 4x3 area. The credits on and HBO movie didn't even fit.
> 
> I solved the problem by putting the 921 in the 4 x 3 #2 mode. Now it works just like the Zenith receiver I had before. It just doesn't make any sense. Are the modes mislabelled?
> 
> ...


If your absolutely certain that your monitor is 16:9 aspect ratio and is 1080i, then be absolutely sure that the monitor is is set for that. Sounds like an internal set-up issue with the monitor. The DVI connection is not sympathetic to variations as is the component connections.


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## ajohnson (Jun 28, 2004)

DalePuckett said:


> Yes. The Mitsubishi will not allow any of its stretch modes when you are in the DTV mode.
> 
> Also, I'll experiment with the format control.
> 
> Thanks!


Are you sure?? My mitsubishi 55411 has two modes, Normal and Zoom, when in DTV mode. It is possible yours is different. It's also possible your overscan is off, but fixing that is not for the faint of heart.

At any rate, if you haven't already discovered www.hometheaterspot.com I highly recommend it.


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

ajohnson said:


> Are you sure?? My mitsubishi 55411 has two modes, Normal and Zoom, when in DTV mode. It is possible yours is different. It's also possible your overscan is off, but fixing that is not for the faint of heart.
> 
> At any rate, if you haven't already discovered www.hometheaterspot.com I highly recommend it.


My monitor does have the stretch, panoramic, zoom1, and zoom2 modes. It is a DLP and what you see with it is what you get. Have you tried the 480p, 720p vs. the 1080i with the 921, just to see what a differences there are?

I also found this: When viewing content formatted in standard 480i, the TV up converts it to 480p, and if you connect to an HD receiver, this TV will display the content in 1080i for true HDTV. You have a choice of viewing 480i/480p content in narrow, standard, expanded, zoom, or stretch format, while 1080i content may be viewed in standard or expanded mode.


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## DalePuckett (Feb 16, 2004)

Thank you to all. The format key held the secret. I am now running the display setup with 1080i and 16 x 9. After putting the format to normal, all is well and as expected. The DTV stations with 4 x 3 content display as 4 x 3 and the 16 x 9 content displays as 16 x 9. Thanks Again!


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

You're welcome, Dale.


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## Walt C (Sep 21, 2004)

BobMurdoch said:


> Also, make sure that your 921 has updated to the latest software release. They fixed the aspect ratios (well, at least they made it much more tolerable) in a recent release. Originally I had to set mine at 4:3 #2 to make SD content watcheable....


Brand new user here. How does one get the latest SW release? I surmise the update comes via satellite, but do I have to intitiate a request?


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Welcome aboard!

The new software should show up "after a while". You will need to force the box to reboot to activate it.

Use Menu-6-7 to determine if you have fresh software waiting. and Menu-6-1 to tell what you're currently running.

Just curious - what version did it come with? L188 is current.

As for the reboot, there's 2 kinds - soft (hold in front panel power button for 5-10 seconds) and hard (pull power plug for at least 30 seconds). A hard reboot is recommended AFTER the soft or hard reboot to get the new software activated.

Isn't this fun?


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