I noticed this last night watching Sleepy Hollow on my 360 HD addon. The top and bottom of the picture is slightly cut off when my TV is set to Wide mode, which normally displays the full 1.85 picture. This was evident in the DVD menu and in the movie itself. However, when I switched the TV to the Full mode, the entire DVD menu could be seen, as well as the entire movie (or at least, the best I could tell.) I wish I had a copy of the SD Sleepy Hollow so I could cross-reference.

This is contrary to my experiences with SD DVDs, where I can see the whole picture using the Wide mode and not have the top and bottom cropped.

Is this an issue with the DVD, the addon drive, or my TV? Or none of the above.
Any input is appreciated. Thanks.

The issue is likely none of the above. Since you don't post what TV you have, its hard to help you there. You probably should read the TV manual to understand Wide mode vs. Full mode. For most TVs, Full Mode should always be used with all widescreen content.

The TV manual is regrettably sparse but I think I have a grasp on the concept now. For 1.85 movies set it to Full, for 2.35 or narrower, set it to Wide.

Have it switched to full for all HD-DVD movies or you are losing some of the picture.

Also it may be distorting the picture if wide mode is intended for 4:3 content to be stretched and zoomed for 16:9

What type of tv do you have 16:9 or 4:3?

If 4:3 you want letterboxed
16:9= Widescreen

Make sure the tv is set to 16:9 and not zoom or strech, 4:3

The TV manual is regrettably sparse but I think I have a grasp on the concept now. For 1.85 movies set it to Full, for 2.35 or narrower, set it to Wide.

Regardless of the aspect ratio of the movie, the aspect ratio of the pixel data output from the HD DVD player (which includes both the movie and letterbox bars) will always be 16:9. Whichever mode on your TV is appropriate for 16:9 is the one you should always use.

The TV manual is regrettably sparse but I think I have a grasp on the concept now. For 1.85 movies set it to Full, for 2.35 or narrower, set it to Wide.

NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!

I'd rather he zoom his black bars away via the TV than petition for studios to release movies that fill his screen completely.

hello?

oy

that is seriously funny... :)

The TV manual is regrettably sparse but I think I have a grasp on the concept now. For 1.85 movies set it to Full, for 2.35 or narrower, set it to Wide.

You shouldn't have to do that. You need to find out which mode properly shows stuff on the screen without doing any stretching. On my set it's called Full.

Oh, I think I get it now. The OP might be a anti-black-bar person.