Video gurus: reconciling 4:3 Tivo with 16:9 HDTV
 

I've been playing around with video options:
- 80% of the time, I watch normal 4:3 shows recorded on Tivo. News, home fix-up shows, Speed Channel stuff, etc.
- 20% of the time, I watch HD movies/shows on HBO etc. or movies on DVD. All of this comes into my home via Comcast digital cable.

I've had an older but high end 27" 4:3 Sony Wega for years. Everything looks pretty good on it, but the HD/DVD stuff is obviously not at full HD quality and is letterboxed.

I just got a 32" 16:9 LCD. It's a Sharp Aquos and is pretty well reviewed. It's 32" since it's got to fit in the same cabinet as the Sony.

Here's the problem: HD and DVD stuff now looks AMAZING. But everything else on regular TV or from Tivo (80% of what I watch) looks MUCH WORSE. I either have side letterbox, or I have to zoom or stretch it, and it looks like ass either way. Basically it looks like the picture was run through a Photoshop blur filter.

This widescreen HD revolution is cute, but how are you supposed to watch normal TV or Tivo?

I was all set to get a big-ass plasma screen but in the show room all the 4:3 broadcasts were s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d so everybody looked short and fat. I was watching a basketball game and Shaq looked like a fireplug. The salesman said, "You get used to the short, squatty look pretty fast!"

Not!

Comcast digital cable isn't digital for the first 80 channels or so, and analog signals can look horrible on a HDTV. That problem was solved for me by switching to satellite TV.

How is it different? I have DirecTV (non HD). I've been very happy with it, particularly the DirecTivo integrated box.

Reading the Tivo forums, it seems this is a chronic problem. Apparently a good tube-type TV does the best job of making crappy compressed signals look good.

All the DIRECTV channels are digital. Seems like HDTVs display digital signals better than analog ones.

I've pretty much gotten used to the stretchy look; still notice it, but it bothers me less. The only "cure" is to do like your doing; switch the sceen size to match the program being viewed.

Keep in mind that as time progresses, more and more programming will be converted to wide-screen.

Another option is to install an antenna to pick-up/record all of you local network broadcasts in HD; much of which is already broadcast widescreen and Dolby digital. I'm in a small market, and currently all but 1 station are broadcasting 3 signals: std, digtal, HiDef. Alot of the over the air stuff is still 4:3 on the HD channel because that's how it was recorded, but current stuff (esp. sports) comes 16:9.

BTW: I've got a largish but plain 'ol std antenna up in the attic that was there when I bought the house which picks up the HD signals just fine; so it's a myth that you "have" to have an special HDTV antenna. Of course if buying a new one you'd want to get one that's optomized for HDTV.

In response to my concerns, Tivo is releasing an HD version this fall. Maybe they were planning on doing it anyway, but either way it's good news.

TiVo's had an HD version for a while now, at least for use with DIRECTV. What I like about it is that it has two tuners, so you can either record two programs at the same time, or watch one and record another. I still think if you're recording an analog signal, you're going to have the same problem. There's a TiVo forum at tivocommunity.com.

DOn't know about other receivers, but Sony has a "normal" and "zoom" capability (button right on the remote). The "regular permits wide screen and the "zoom" prevides the 4:3 ratio.

Of course, our receiver IS a CRT HiDef with a 4:3 ratio screen (32")

On the LCD, normal = small not-so-good picture with bars, zoom = bigger but fuzzy with digital artifacts.

Wow, they released the HD Tivo today!

I'm surprised that most of the HD programming on Cablevision is in the 4:3 format. I was (naively) under the impression that it would all be 16:9.

As TV's get bigger, the bad pictures just get fuzzier and zoom is going to make things even worse on non-hd. Some sets are better at upcoverting to 1080, some sets have more native resolutions, some have stretch modes that are more pleasing to the eye, that is they stretch more at the borders and leave the middle alone.

Personally, I'm used to the stretch now. It's buttugly at first.

I've owned a Directv HD Tivo (HR10) now for over a year. Paid a small fortune to be an early adopter, but hey who has the patience to wait for prices to drop when there's HD to time shift.

Directv and Tivo are now divorced. When their current inventory is gone, a new DVR from Directv won't be Tivo but their house brand instead. I got one (HR20-700) free last week, but when I discovered it's still in beta and over-the-air (OTA) HD is not enabled yet, I disconnected it and shoved it under the bed. Directv doesn't provide PBS, WB and other independent local HD stations. I grab them with an antenna on the roof.

Their newest dish was installed with the 5 lnbs and mpeg4. Big dish compared to the earlier versions.

All HD is native 16:9, you need to either adjust your TV or your receivers aspect ratio.

edit: I'm assuming you have a HD TV and HD cable box. :D

The HD Yankee game on Sunday was definitely not in 16:9. When I cahnged over to 4:3 it looke perfect but in a square format.

If you are seeing some HD in 16:9, then the shows that are being shown in 4:3 are probably not being broadcast in HD.

Not all broadcasts on a HD channel will be HD especially local networks. That is when you see the sidebars.

Not to redirect this thread but this info may help others......

So it turns out my original assumption was correct, as Terry states. Where I was truly naive was in that channels that are defined and sold as HD channels don't always broadcast in HD. ??????????????? A live Yankee game playing on "YES HD" ??????

Think they'd give one a clue when selling the damned package. I did a search on their site and nothing. Unbelieveable....oh wait, it is....it's cable.