View Full Version : 16:9 1 min, then 4:3 the next
friday567
08-23-2009, 05:09 PM
i will watch one HD channel the program fits good with the white bars on top then one commercial is 16:9 ratio but a gap all the way around like i need to use overlay then another commercial is a 4:3 ratio that fits top to bottom turning my 42" HD into a 34". I watch the HD and SD channels through my cable provider (dishnet) and happens on both why is this happening? how can i fix this problem?
tehboris
08-24-2009, 05:38 AM
Is 4:3 the correct ratio for that image?
sembazuru
08-24-2009, 08:24 PM
I think I know what you are describing. You are watching a nice HD channel, and the program fits your HD 16:9 screen nicely. Then cut to commercial break. You will probably see a mixed bag of full screen 16:9 commercials, 4:3 commercials (with the pillars on either side), and what I think you are describing, a 16:9 commercial with pillars and letterbox. What I think is happening here is the commercial was shot widescreen and then letterboxed into a SD (4:3) video source. Then when that commercial source is played back over your HD channel it gets the pillars added to the existing letterboxing. The result is what looks like a large black border all the way around the commercial. This is normal, and what will happen (I'm assuming for cost reasons) when a commercial is supplied to the TV broadcaster as a widescreen commercial but only one video source (for SD broadcast).
It's obvious that this effect is as-broadcast when you have captioning turned on as the captions will show in the bottom black margin. It shouldn't be a problem with your set.
But really, if this only effects the commercials and not your actual programming content, is it really a problem?
friday567
08-26-2009, 04:28 AM
so i am screwed until every one gets on board the same band wagon thx
mikec
08-26-2009, 05:24 AM
so i am screwed until every one gets on board the same band wagon thx
Just remember, there is NO requirement to produce or transmit in HD. I can see commercials still being shot and edited in standard def for a long time. I am talking about locally produced spots that are generally low budget, not big time commercials that are run on major networks.
I used to work for a cable company and if you bought a certain amount of local advertising you got a 30 second commercial for free. When I left the shop moved into a Windows based non linear editor but they still shot stuff in 4x3 using Betacam SP or S-VHS. Until someone decides that the gear should be upgraded to HD, they still will be doing standard def spots.
mahalie
08-27-2009, 07:14 PM
Yeah, unfortunately most of our nice HDTVs get wasted on regular cable television. Until everyone is broadcasting in 1080p, the only time you'll really get the full use out of your tv is video games and movies.
thalidomiderobot
09-02-2009, 06:32 AM
Stop watching TV and start watching REV3, haha. sembazuru is right on.
demonfoo
09-05-2009, 03:20 PM
Yeah, unfortunately most of our nice HDTVs get wasted on regular cable television. Until everyone is broadcasting in 1080p, the only time you'll really get the full use out of your tv is video games and movies.
No one's going to be broadcasting in 1080p for some time, considering the bandwidth required to do it. That said, 720p and 1080i are "true" HD just like 1080p, so it's still a legit use of your HDTV.
Besides, breaking up bandwidth into sub-channels can be more profitable. Where's the incentive for 1080p?
ghelyar
09-08-2009, 11:02 PM
The DVB-T here (Freeview) frequently changes between 16:9 and 4:3 even in the same set of adverts. Some TVs will resize or scale it, some flick to the new resolution.
When you have borders all the way around it is usually that the original material was 16:9, which was then converted to 4:3 by adding top and bottom padding (letter box), which is then being shown on a 16:9 screen by adding left and right padding (pillars). I hate when this happens but the only thing I have ever done about it is use a "crop" setting when playing something on VLC.
Some channels here are better than others for this. I think they scale everything to the same resolution before transmitting it so that the TV doesn't have to switch.
The worst thing is when a 4:3 programme is converted to 16:9 by stretching it and then transmitted in 16:9 so there is nothing you can do about the fat people.