# 921 Format key



## Rodsman (Jan 29, 2005)

Hi all,

My 921 has been working well since I got it last week. Saw the jitters-issue but reboot sent that one packing. In trying to find the best PQ for SDs, I've been playing with the formatting through the menu of the 921. Yesterday I saw a post aobut the */format button on the remote but when I push that, it does not cycle through the options I can use going through the menu-6-9, etc. Should that key work and cycle the format optiosn directly, or am I missing something here?

Thanks


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## Allen Noland (Apr 23, 2002)

The * key changes the aspect ratio, not the resolution. There is NOT a button on the remote that will cycle you through 480p,720p,1080i.


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## Rodsman (Jan 29, 2005)

I was talking about changing the aspect from 16:9, to 4:3 #1 or to 4:3 #2. Maybe I misunderstood that you could do that with the * button?


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## Larry (Aug 1, 2003)

Rodsman said:


> I was talking about changing the aspect from 16:9, to 4:3 #1 or to 4:3 #2. Maybe I misunderstood that you could do that with the * button?


Small misunderstanding....the aspect ratio you are referring to is a setup function and is changed from within the menu. The * button on the remote is for changing between stretch, zoom, and normal viewing options. These options allow you to view normally or resize the picture to "fill" your screen.


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## boylehome (Jul 16, 2004)

While we are talking about the Format "*" button and what it does, my remote has a "< /" to the left of the word format and a ">" above the zero. What does this mean and how does it work?


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## David_Levin (Apr 22, 2002)

The < > keys are supposed to be used when entering search text using the numeric keypad. On the 501/508/510, the < key will step the curson back and delete the character. Sadly, this doesn't work on the 921 (FORCING US TO BRING UP THE KEYBOARD TO CORRECT MISTAKES).

The option selected for TV aspect (menu-6-9), will effect the formats available when using the * key (e.g. if you have a 16:9 TV the "LETTERBOX" option makes no sence.

Menu 6-9 is basically for setting the TV type, and many people never change it. * is need more frequently for things like zooming 4:3 letterbox to 16:9.

I perfer the scaler in my projector to the one in the 921, so must use the men to match the 921 output to the source (ABC, ESPN, & FOX get 720p).


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

I use the "*" key daily, but only for my OTA locals. The 921 is connected via S-Video to my VCR and via RCA to my 27" Sony. Some of my locals broadcast "pre-stretched" to 16 X 9, while others broadcast 4 X 3 (I presume both are SD upconverted). I can tell the difference between the pre-stretched and true HD 16 X 9. I prefer to view the true HD 16 X 9 in letterbox, while the pre-stretched 16 X 9 looks better in stretch mode (stretching the picture back to the original 4 X 3  ). The 4 X 3 broadcasts I view in Zoom, which fills up the whole screen (the 4 X 3 broadcast appears as a smaller window within the screen - even though I'm set-up as 4 X 3 in the menu). I wish all the broadcasters would setle on one way to handle SD tramsmissions on their digital signals.


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