I have a Sony SDTV hooked up to a Scientific Atlanta 3250HD cable box (its the one the cable company provided - I DO NOT own an HDTV)

My problem is that I've noticed recently that the sides are getting cut off on programs like 24, or Lie to Me etc - and I've noticed some commercials are no longer "centered".

What's weird is that say a weather alert comes on some channels, and it will switch to the whole letterboxed HD layout, but then will switch back and cut everything off again.

I tried setting the box to Normal, Zoom, and Stretch, but no good - also tried various aspect ratios and "output resolutions". I know I have either a 480i or p not sure which, but it doesn't seem to make a difference if I choose 1080i or 780p either (signal still comes through loud and clear).

How can I fix this - short of getting the cable company to give me a new box?

It appears you're getting what is essentially an SD feed from a digital channel sending a 16:9 feed that has black pillarboxed sides to retain the original 4:3 aspect. Some TV's will see it as only 4:3 and allow you to adjust it (or automatically adjust it) but possibly yours just sees it as 16:9 and considers your screen filled. My Dish DVR will adjust this type of feed OK, but possibly your box doesn't have the capability.

So, should I contact my cable company about changing boxes (though I'm thinking of canceling my service and switching to over the air transmission only) or do you think possibly changing the input to the TV (coax vs. 3-way cables) would make a difference?

So is there any way to make it so the black bars show up at the top and bottom of the screen or am I stuck watching a zoomed in picture?