HDTV: Black Bars vs No Black Bars

[Ga_Gamecock]

WHat exactly are the 'black bars' and why do some HD channels have them and some do not?

ESPN HD is full screen and looks amazing!

NFL on Fox - watching the Falcons right now - looks grainy-er and has the black bars on each side of the image

what gives?

[CofC Cock]

if you see the black bars then you are not watching HD. Sometimes they are just not available. its the nature of the beast with new technology. on ESPN you will notice that commercials will go non hd and so forth.

[Ga_Gamecock]

ah hah.

i thought it might be diff hd formats - like 720 vs 1080, thus 'more data' to fill the screen, but that makes sense ...

its crazy to see a show/game in HD and then compare it to SD ... how did we live b/f HD?

LOL

[IHateOrange]

ah hah.

i thought it might be diff hd formats - like 720 vs 1080, thus 'more data' to fill the screen, but that makes sense ...

its crazy to see a show/game in HD and then compare it to SD ... how did we live b/f HD?

LOL

yeah you get spoiled REAL QUICK... i refuse to watch games at friends houses unless they have HD. I would rather have 15 guys at my place watching it in HD then to watch in in standard somewhere else.

[Gamecock_Aholic]

ah hah.

i thought it might be diff hd formats - like 720 vs 1080, thus 'more data' to fill the screen, but that makes sense ...

its crazy to see a show/game in HD and then compare it to SD ... how did we live b/f HD?

LOL

thats a good question. im watchin the dolphins and houston in HD right now. i love it!

[Spur]

I am an addicted HD guy

I always watch HD games and/or programs before SD ones

[97srad750]

Yeah CBS doesn't show all their NFL games in HD. Another thing I can't stand is the difference if volume between the channels. I have my TV on volume 1 for CBS and it's loud, and if I switch to WACH I can't hear the game.

[dshocker]

I am going to assume that you have TWC and are using the Scientific Atlantic HD receiver. The HD channels that you watch are in different resolutions (i.e. 780i, 1080i). The receiver does NOT support 1080p, though your TV may. The SA receiver, by default, does not run all the appropriate resolutions. You can get rid of the black bars (even for non-HD channels) by setting up all the appropriate resolutions. This is to get rid of the vertical bars, there is nothing you can do to get rid of all the horizontal bars as this is sometimes the nature of the beast with the "letterbox" format.

Turn off your receiver, press the Guide and Info button at the same time. This will put you into the setup menu. Follow the directions on the screen to setup all the compatible resolutions between your TV and your receiver. There is a caveat, when you change a channel from an HD to a non-HD channel, your screen will look like it is freaking out. It is just your TV readjusting to the signal.

On a side note, when I setup mine, I realized that my TV could not support some signaling when using an HDMI cable. I temp. used a coax cable between the TV and receiver, then setup all the resolutions, then started using my HDMI, and I went back to setup and unselected some resolutions that were not compatible.

I am sure there is a similar setup for the other providers, receivers, etc. Consult Google.... The reason the receivers are shipped like this is because people would be pissed if their receiver provided signal to a TV that the TV did not support and all that came up was the sound.

Just a little tip from your Uncle SHOCKer. I hope this helps.

[dshocker]

Yeah CBS doesn't show all their NFL games in HD. Another thing I can't stand is the difference if volume between the channels. I have my TV on volume 1 for CBS and it's loud, and if I switch to WACH I can't hear the game.

A lot of new TV's are equipped with sound features that will automatically adjust volume to a same level. Consult your owner's manual

[dshocker]

Another thing, if you look at the front of your receiver, you will see the resolution setting of the channel your watching...at least what is being sent to the TV. Flip through some channels and watch the changes. After you setup all the signals your TV can handle, you will notice that they change a lot more than before. The best HD is ESPN and Fox. I can't wait for a 1080p receiver, though I am not sure if anyone is broadcasting in that format. The only way I know right now to see is through Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, which I have neither.....yet.

[bgallup]

So what your saying is the Boxes we get from Time warner or Direct arnt able to show the best picture your TV can?

[dshocker]

So what your saying is the Boxes we get from Time warner or Direct arnt able to show the best picture your TV can?

Not necessarily. First of all, I am only guessing for DirecTV. The HD receivers ship with resolutions that all HD TV's can support. Newer TV's can support higher resolution and which the networks broadcast. That is why you see black bars because the network is broadcasting in a higher resolution, but the receiver is converting it into a lower resolution.

Does that make sense?

What I am saying is, I guarantee that 90% of people who have a TWC HD receiver are not using it to its potential. Once you set this up and see ESPN in its true 1080i, you will know what I mean. Assuming your TV can handle 1080i.

[bigmuthafooka]

Not necessarily. First of all, I am only guessing for DirecTV. The HD receivers ship with resolutions that all HD TV's can support. Newer TV's can support higher resolution and which the networks broadcast. That is why you see black bars because the network is broadcasting in a higher resolution, but the receiver is converting it into a lower resolution.

Does that make sense?

What I am saying is, I guarantee that 90% of people who have a TWC HD receiver are not using it to its potential. Once you set this up and see ESPN in its true 1080i, you will know what I mean. Assuming your TV can handle 1080i.

man, u should wrk at Best Buy or sumthin

[dshocker]

I don't know if that was a compliment or not, but uh no....:-x

I am a geek by trade though.:thumbsup:

[sc455]

twc directv or any other hd box can support 1080i...i think you are confused. in your scenario the bars are because the network is broadcasting in a higher res than the box can handle. this would mean the networks would broadcast 1080p, the next highest from 1080i, wich they dont. If anything all the guy needs to do is make sure his box is formatted for 1080i, and that is usually already done. the more likely answer is what everyone else says..he just is watching a game not in hd. sucks but it happens

[dshocker]

Yes they can, but they are not configured for this by default. I think maybe you are confused. I know they can support it, but they do not do this by default because some TV's cannot support 1080i. You are correct, no network is broadcasting in 1080p at this time.

[sc455]

Yes they can, but they are not configured for this by default. I think maybe you are confused. I know they can support it, but they do not do this by default because some TV's cannot support 1080i. You are correct, no network is broadcasting in 1080p at this time. an hd receiver is only purchased if you have hdtv. the manufacturer defaults 1080i because they know only hd tv owners will get that box. the digital boxes without hd are totally different.................

[USCya]

man, u should wrk at Best Buy or sumthin


:rotfl: You ain't right...

[acejrock]

Do you guys remember how bad the CBS HD was for the LSU game. The picture when it worked was good but it kept freezing and breaking up throughout atleast the first half. We changed to SD because of the problems for the rest of the game.

[acejrock]

Do you guys remember how bad the CBS HD was for the LSU game. The picture when it worked was good but it kept freezing and breaking up throughout atleast the first half. We changed to SD because of the problems for the rest of the game.
Oh yeah I was watching on a SA HD box from time warner if that makes any difference.