# DISCUSSION OF BUG: All SD content is permanently stretched to wide screen 16x9



## AVJohnnie (Jul 27, 2004)

DonLandis said:


> BUG REPORT L211: All SD content is permanently stretched to wide screen 16x9
> 
> There are several poll bug reports that address this bug but they seem to confuse the question.
> 
> ...


Don, In my case I have the issue you describe but only when the unit is in SD output mode. When it's in HD output mode, all format change options are functional and selectable with the "*" format key. When in SD output mode, its locked to "Normal" (16x9) and pressing the "*" format key does absolutely nothing.

So I answered "No" to your poll because I assumed this was what you were after. But the actuality is that I can watch SD content at 4x3 in HD output mode.

I also need to state that I am using the 921's component outputs for HD viewing. At present I have no DVI HD capability with my setup.


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## FaxMan (Oct 14, 2003)

Don,

Unlike AVJohnnie, I always leave the output mode in 16X9 1080i and usually have the format on normal.

MOST of the time, SD content is fine, but on a few occasions, after watching an HD program, when I change to an SD channel, the SD content has become stretched as if I had changed the format to stretched. At that point, the format button stops responding and I can't get SD content to appear correctly. Re-booting and in at least one case, channel surfing between various Sat/OTA HD/SD channels gave me format control back. After one of the channel changes, I literally saw the bars appear. After that, the format button started working again.

So... My answer to the poll would be yes (sometimes) and no (sometimes).

How would you suggest I answer?

John


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## Ron Barry (Dec 10, 2002)

What I am seeing is the following. 

1080i with 4x3: I can only change it to Normal and Zoom I believe. 

720p with 4x3: I can only change it to Normal and Zoom I believe. (Have to Check this)

480p with 4x3: I can cycle through a number of formats. However this seems to stop working after a period of time. By period it seems to stop working within and hour or so after a reboot. 

Is there a place or thread that indicates what the expected behavior under these settings should be? 

I have currently set my 4x3 TV to 1080i with 16x9 to see if my issues are related to possible 480p or 720p or 4x3 configurations.


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## dishbacker (Jun 15, 2004)

FaxMan said:


> Don,
> 
> Unlike AVJohnnie, I always leave the output mode in 16X9 1080i and usually have the format on normal.
> 
> MOST of the time, SD content is fine, but on a few occasions, after watching an HD program, when I change to an SD channel, the SD content has become stretched as if I had changed the format to stretched. At that point, the format button stops responding and I can't get SD content to appear correctly. Re-booting and in at least one case, channel surfing between various Sat/OTA HD/SD channels gave me format control back. After one of the channel changes, I literally saw the bars appear. After that, the format button started working again.


Ditto this experience. Had an OTA-HD channel tuned in for the evening news. Left the house to go do a few things, came back (been a few hours) and went to change the channel to an SD channel. The SD channel was stretched and both the format and HD/SD buttons were not responsive. Had to do a reboot to fix it.


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## TonyB (Jul 5, 2004)

FaxMan said:


> Don,
> 
> Unlike AVJohnnie, I always leave the output mode in 16X9 1080i and usually have the format on normal.
> 
> ...


I too have seen this problem. Never occured before 211, but now occurs about once a day. Since I don't always shut down the 921 overnight I was wondering whether that had something to do with it. I have not had a chance to attempt to isolate the exact conditions.

My setup is always 1080i/16:9, with HD output - TV expects 1080i and 921 is connected via Component video cables.


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## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

I have what I am sure is just a slight variation of this bug. My TV and monitors are 4:3 so I set up to watch all HD in letterbox. And I'll come out of a menu/info type screen or even just change channels (I only watch HD channels on 921) and the screen will becomes stretched (vertically) even tho banner says its still in letterbox mode. and just like you guys the format and HD/SD buttons no longer work.


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## FarNorth (Nov 27, 2003)

This has happened to me twice since 211, never before. Both times had to do a power cord reboot.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It appears from consensus I need to do a power plug reboot and try again to see if my results are following yours. I have not done a power reboot since September as it appeared unnecessary and I also removed my reboot timer gadget last August as the stability issues were resolved with a software forced reboot.

Anyway, thanks and I'll post back here again when I find something positive to report. FWIW- My 921 is set for 720P output and my * key has no effect on the 921 anymore. I'll see if this changes when I power reboot.


PS- How did my original post get deleted? Thanks for copying it so others could read the original problem.


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## DalePuckett (Feb 16, 2004)

This is happening to me too! Running in 16x9 at 1080i. Using component output into MITS 55807 16 x 9 set. Format button and HD/SD button both have no affect. Rebooting causes the format button to work again, but only temporarily. The FAT effect caused by the stretching is ruining all the OTA signals broadcasting in 480i and all the satellite stations like CNN.


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## FaxMan (Oct 14, 2003)

DonLandis said:


> ...
> 
> PS- How did my original post get deleted? Thanks for copying it so others could read the original problem.


Don, your original post is still there in the bugs forum.


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Yes, I saw it. Cross posting, probably initiated by my error confused me. 

Anyway, I will let my thread die off and try to post in this one from now on.


Test results: Simple reboot did nothing to help my stretch mode. Next I decided to do an extended power outage cycle. Actually, I forgot the power was off to the 921 for 7 hours and when I rebooted, I had my normal SD AR. Eureka!

Now for the bad (rather- I don't care) news- I tested the * key to switch AR to stretch to see if that was functional. Dead as a doornail! So at least I'm stuck in the Normal mode where I want to be. Fact is, I couldn't care less if this never offers stretch mode again since I don't like looking at fat distorted video. But I do respect that some people prefer that look. To each his own beauty!

I tried to jump around outputs from 480i and 480P 1 and 2 etc and nothing affected my "Normal" preferred operation. Prayers were answered. I'm stuck for now in a "Normal" world.


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## Big D (Aug 19, 2002)

I also had this problem right after rebooting from the update. I could not get the * key to work on my MX500 and was stuck in stretch. I watch HD only on my 921, using component cables and my Mits TV does not respond to aspect changes via it's remote commands, so I knew the issue was with the 921. My menu settings were not changed by L211, I was still at 16x9, 1080I. I found that if I changed the setting to 4X3 #1, it corrected the aspect error, of course it still said stretch, but the picture seemed right. No amount of reboots helped. My fix was to switch my 921 into SD mode (probably the first time ever for it) and then my * key worked, I was able to cycle through all of the settings. I left it in normal and switched back to HD and all was well. It has stayed that way since.


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## CJLinst (Dec 19, 2004)

I'm seeing this right now. But I thought I'd add that OTA 4:3 content is displayed with black bars while Dish 4:3 content is stretched. Both "view" displays report "NORMAL." Content is the Oakland game on KCBS OTA and Dish channel 8001. Format key unresponsive.

Boot: 150B
Flash: F053
F/W: L211HEED-N
Output: 1080i DVI to Samsung HLN437 DLP

Now let me powercord reset..... Yup. That fixed it. Saw jittery video when it first came back up. Switching from HD to SD and back fixed it for now.


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## wcswett (Jan 7, 2003)

I'm afraid I have this bug, too. I noticed it for the first time today. After watching WCBS-HD for a while I switched to the Weather Channel and it was stuck in stretch mode instead of normal. The "*" key doesn't work. I did a smart card reboot and that gave me back normal mode on SD channels, at least until I watched CBS-HD some more, then the problem returned. I'm about to do my second reboot this evening.

--- WCS

Boot: 120B
Flash: F051
F/W: L211HECD-N
Output: 1080i component to Sony Grand Wega


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## wcswett (Jan 7, 2003)

wcswett said:


> I'm afraid I have this bug, too. I noticed it for the first time today. After watching WCBS-HD for a while I switched to the Weather Channel and it was stuck in stretch mode instead of normal. The "*" key doesn't work. I did a smart card reboot and that gave me back normal mode on SD channels, at least until I watched CBS-HD some more, then the problem returned. I'm about to do my second reboot this evening.
> 
> --- WCS
> 
> ...


Ok, little more info... rebooting restores normal mode to SD channels and from that point switching back and forth between SD and HD channels is fine and the "*" key works. I played around a bit and found that the action which initiates the bug is pausing or reversing live TV on an HD channel. From that point on all SD channels are stretched and the format option is disabled until reboot.

--- WCS

Boot: 120B
Flash: F051
F/W: L211HECD-N
Output: 1080i component to Sony Grand Wega


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## DonLandis (Dec 17, 2003)

Doesn't appear to be any consistency from these reports. Different people experience different cause and effect.

I have been quite stable with Normal after the power cord reboot, but the "*" key still has no affect on the stretch mode. The good news it is stuck in the position I want, Normal. None of what you did wcswett, makes any difference here. 

Oh, BTW- I also saw my caller ID no longer works either. So that is one more thing that used to work and is now broke with L211.


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## wcswett (Jan 7, 2003)

DonLandis said:


> Doesn't appear to be any consistency from these reports. Different people experience different cause and effect.


There may be a bunch of causes, the pausing HD to precipitate the SD stretch is just the one I found that I can reproduce.



DonLandis said:


> I have been quite stable with Normal after the power cord reboot, but the "*" key still has no affect on the stretch mode. The good news it is stuck in the position I want, Normal. None of what you did wcswett, makes any difference here.


Hmmm... that's interesting because I've rebooted three times tonight, once with the smart card and twice with the power button and every time the 921 returned to pre-211 behavior. I watched football for the rest of the evening and it behaved itself as I also kept an eye on the weather channel. All I did was stay away from pausing HD. I wish I could get my SD stuck on normal, since that's how I always watch it, too.



DonLandis said:


> Oh, BTW- I also saw my caller ID no longer works either. So that is one more thing that used to work and is now broke with L211.


Mine never worked since I have a wireless outlet that doesn't pass caller ID info. At least my 921 hasn't answered the phone on its own in a while.

--- WCS


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## Rory (Dec 14, 2004)

The SD stretch happened to me tonight. After watching OTA CBS local in HD for a couple of hours, I switched to a sat SD channel and the screen was stretched. 

* key did not work, nor did the SD/HD key. I did a power reset reboot and the problem cleared up.

I notice that when switching channels, the SD channels will often appear stretched for maybe 750ms or more before the channel banner appears and they shrink down to normal aspect. This time they did not.


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## Bradtothebone (Aug 11, 2003)

wcswett said:


> I played around a bit and found that the action which initiates the bug is pausing or reversing live TV on an HD channel. From that point on all SD channels are stretched and the format option is disabled until reboot.


I think this happened to me today. I was watching a football game on OTA, using the pause and skip back functions. When I went to watch an SD movie later, it was stuck on "Zoom." I did a power button reboot awhile ago; we'll see what happens.

Brad


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## TowJumper (Sep 19, 2003)

This is happening to me and my power cord is very inaccessible - any solution other than tripping the breaker?


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## Mark Lamutt (Mar 24, 2002)

You could try the front panel reboot, TowJumper to see if that's enough of a system reset to fix it.


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## TowJumper (Sep 19, 2003)

Front reset did fix it, thanks for the reply Mark.


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## gregmisc (Jan 10, 2005)

Mark Lamutt said:


> You could try the front panel reboot, TowJumper to see if that's enough of a system reset to fix it.


I have the same problem as discussed but can't get the 921 to reboot except to unplug unit. Power cord is hard to reach. I can't seem to figure out how to reboot from the front panel. 

Please explain how to correctly do a front panel reboot.

Greg (new owner; still learning)


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## TowJumper (Sep 19, 2003)

Greg:

Push the power button forever. 

Actually if you push it long enough, you will see it cycle to reboot. What a pain in the ass, I know. 

Mine sits in an entertainment center with an 125 pound 50 inch plasma just waiting to fall and crush me.

Good Luck.


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## gregmisc (Jan 10, 2005)

TowJumper said:


> Greg:
> 
> Push the power button forever.
> 
> ...


 I held it down for a long time but all I got was a circle with the word DISH in it. The power button is off (no light) and the unit doesn't go on again no matter what I do (except unplug it). Is there a sequence to follow? What should I see as I hold the button down? When do I release it?


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## TowJumper (Sep 19, 2003)

Greg:

As best I can remember, I held it until the Dish logo came up like it was rebooting, then it does its thing and I release the button. Afterward, I think I did power it back on with the remote.

I am at work atm, but will be happy to try again when I get home tonight. Honestly, I am usually cussing when I preform this maneuver so I might be forgetting something.


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## ibglowin (Sep 10, 2002)

If you see a Dish or HDTV medallion you are seeing the boot sequence. Usually only 5-10 seconds is needed to initiate. Beware the reboot process can take 5 minutes and that the 921 will more than likely reboot in "standby" mode. i.e. no lights glowing on the front panel. You have to hit the main power button to turn back on. If you haven't waited long enough, pressing the power button will do NOTHING making it appear the 921 is totally "dead" more or less. Be patient, give it another minute and then try the power button once again and it will power up as normal (whatever that is for a 921 these days!)



gregmisc said:


> I held it down for a long time but all I got was a circle with the word DISH in it. The power button is off (no light) and the unit doesn't go on again no matter what I do (except unplug it). Is there a sequence to follow? What should I see as I hold the button down? When do I release it?


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## gregmisc (Jan 10, 2005)

SUCCESS! Thanks.  
Held down button for 90 seconds.
Released and HDTV circle came on in about 10 seconds.
After about 45 seconds a booting screen came on.
Went blank after 3 min and I was able to turn it on again.
Thanks,
Greg


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## FaxMan (Oct 14, 2003)

Every time this happens to me I find that I can fix it by:

-Pressing Guide Button
-Pressing the format button while in guide
-Exiting from the guide.

After that, I get controll of all of those buttons back.

Perhaps a sticky?


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## FaxMan (Oct 14, 2003)

Unfortunately, this bug seems to have remained in 212, however I have found that the same method described above cures it every time.

Is there anybody who has the problem and tried the solution NOT found it successful?


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

FaxMan said:


> Every time this happens to me I find that I can fix it by:
> 
> -Pressing Guide Button
> -Pressing the format button while in guide
> ...


never works for me. Posted L212 bug report on aspect ratio button not working.


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