I've been searching through AVS and the rest of the 'net for the answer to this, but can't quite get the specific answer I'm looking for.

Every now and then, I rip a few shows from my 8300HD DVR box to my Pansonic DVD recorder to watch in a different location in the house. I never had a problem with aspect ratios or quality before now because I always had a regular hookup (no HD) and shows always displayed in the 4:3 format on the TV and on the disc.

Now what's happening is two-fold: when I transfer HD shows on to a disc, I get the top & bottom letterbox effect. That's fine with me - that's what I would expect from the process.

*HOWEVER*, when I transfer shows that are originally broadcast in 4:3 (Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson as an example) to a DVD, I go to play them and I get a mini 16:9 (stretched picture) rectangle in the middle of my TV - I thought it might just be the TV, but then I played it on my other set and I got the same thing.

Is there some setting - either in my TV or my DVD recorder - that I should be tweaking to make this right? I have a Sony Bravia 40" LCD and a Panasonic EMR25S recorder, just to round out the setup...

ANY help would be appreciated in this matter!

Pete

You should have a button on the TV remote to change the aspect ratio to 4:3 and pillarbox the material, bringing it back to what it should be. The recording does not contain the flag indicating the aspect ratio it should be in.

I'm just wondering why the original broadcast shows up fine yet when burned to a disc the program squashes to this weird format.

I do have the option on the HDTV to change the format, but what of the older 4:3 TV? Right now, like I said, I have this smallish 16:9 rectangle with the program just floating in the middle of my screen...

I'm just wondering why the original broadcast shows up fine yet when burned to a disc the program squashes to this weird format.

I do have the option on the HDTV to change the format, but what of the older 4:3 TV? Right now, like I said, I have this smallish 16:9 rectangle with the program just floating in the middle of my screen...

What you are seeing is normal for the equipment you are using. Using this link as an example:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/anamorphic/anamorphic185demo.html

You are seeing the bottom left picture. This is because the SA8300HD artificially letterboxes when using svideo output which you have to use because your DVD recorder has svideo inputs.

What you want to see is the bottom right picture. This is possible when using the component output of the SA8300HD. But you then need a DVD recorder with component inputs. I use a DVD recorder with component inputs and am able to record the full widescreen image - the one on the right.

You are seeing the bottom left picture. This is because the SA8300HD artificially letterboxes when using svideo output which you have to use because your DVD recorder has svideo inputs.

I'm actually seeing the bottom left plus black areas on the left & right as well. I guess maybe I have to set something in the other TV or DVD player to zoom in?? I don't mind a 4:3 pic that has bars on the left & right, as long as it fills up the TV vertically - on the HDTV, that is. On the older 4:3 set, I'd like to have the picture fill up the entire screen.

What you want to see is the bottom right picture. This is possible when using the component output of the SA8300HD. But you then need a DVD recorder with component inputs. I use a DVD recorder with component inputs and am able to record the full widescreen image - the one on the right.

Correct, only composite, S-video and RF inputs on the DVD recorder - not too much out there in the way of component inputs. May I ask what model DVD recorder you're using?

maybe this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10211644&&#post10211644) thread will shed some light.

I'm actually seeing the bottom left plus black areas on the left & right as well. I guess maybe I have to set something in the other TV or DVD player to zoom in?? I don't mind a 4:3 pic that has bars on the left & right, as long as it fills up the TV vertically - on the HDTV, that is. On the older 4:3 set, I'd like to have the picture fill up the entire screen.

It is the SA8300HD that is creating the letterboxing via the svideo output. There is no way to adjust that out of the picture when recording. When using component outputs of the SA8300HD the "artificial" letterboxing is not present.

I use a Polaroid 2001G because it has component inputs and because I have it rigged right now with 2 terabytes of HDD storage. I also use the Polaroid 2001G to convert the component output of the SA8300HD to svideo and then feed this converted video to a Toshiba RD-XS54. I like the XS54 because it is the most feature rich DVD recorder available and also has networking capabilities. I have it hooked into my home wireless network which allows me to edit video using my notebook PC.

Sounds sweet, but ya lost me a bit.

What's your exact setup, and/or your recording process?

Anyway, so I *shouldn't* connect the cable box to the DVD recorder using S-video? Would connecting via RF or plain ol' composite video solve the problem at all?

I'm not *too* concerned with the quality of the shows on the disc, as I mainly just burn the late night talk shows & things like 'Dirty Jobs' to watch during late-night baby feedings.

But this ratio thing bugs me. I'd just like a 4:3 program to fill up a 4:3 tv... :D

Sounds sweet, but ya lost me a bit.

What's your exact setup, and/or your recording process?

Anyway, so I *shouldn't* connect the cable box to the DVD recorder using S-video? Would connecting via RF or plain ol' composite video solve the problem at all?

I'm not *too* concerned with the quality of the shows on the disc, as I mainly just burn the late night talk shows & things like 'Dirty Jobs' to watch during late-night baby feedings.

But this ratio thing bugs me. I'd just like a 4:3 program to fill up a 4:3 tv... :D

Any high definition material coming out of the SA8300HD via svideo will have the artificial letterboxing effect. The only thing you can do is convert the component output of the SA8300HD to svideo. These converters tend to be pricey ~ $300.

Or as I mentioned above. Use a DVD recorder with component inputs to record. I use the Polaroid 2001G for this.

There is a thread about making the SA8300 put out HD material in squeezed mode on the S-Video and composite outputs so you can make the recordings correctly. The issue with the inability to watch the same DVDs on your 4:3 television and your 16:9 television is not going to go away though. The Panasonic DVD recorders do not record the 16:9 flag, so whatever device you use to play back the DVD has no way of knowing that the material is widescreen. You can manually put your 16:9 television into widescreen mode, but unless your 4:3 television has a setting to letterbox the display, you will have a distorted picture on it.

The URL for the thread showing how to change the SA8300 settings is here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9571703&&#post9571703).

I forgot about the work around for the SA8300HDs running SARA. I have Passport on by SA8300HD so it is a no go for me. But I think even if I had SARA I'd move on to another alternative. It is possible but very cumbersome.

Also for setting the anamorphic flag the easiest way to accomplish this is to use a recorder that offers this option. Thus the RD-XS54 I mention above. Toshiba has offered the anamorphic flag setting option for a while. I use the Polaroid to convert the component output of the SA8300HD to svideo into the Toshiba. The Toshiba records full widescreen 16x9 content with proper anamorphic flagging for correct 4:3 playback.

Another option would be a DVD recorder with component inputs and Logic Design's Video Filter. I have not tested this yet with the Polaroid. Preferring to go the Toshiba route.

And also this:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=10183820&&#post10183820

My guess is that it might work in this application for component to svideo conversion.

It takes a bit of research but easy and practical options are readily available.

the OP already has a Panasonic DVD recorder, so I wasn't going to suggest he get another one, but as you say, that would certainly solve the problem. There are PC based solutions to the flag problem as well, and a search will uncover these pretty quickly. Since I got rid of my last 4:3 television, I don't have to worry about the flag not being present, so it gets very little of my attention.

You posted in the SA8300 thread, so you should have remembered.

You posted in the SA8300 thread, so you should have remembered.

To be honest I chose to forget this. Here are the steps required from the post:

"OK, here are the step-by-step instructions:
With TV tuned to 8300 input, turn 8300 off.
Press both Guide and Info buttons on the front panel of the 8300.
Setup Wizard will come up - Simply press the "A" button to go into SD mode.
Do a Hard Reboot by unplugging the power cord on the back of the 8300, wait 30 seconds and then, while holding the front panel Power button in, plug the power back in. Release Power when the 8300 front panel indicator says "boot". Wait until the time reappears in the window (about 5 min) before turning 8300 power back on. At that point, you are good to go.
Select program to be recorded and make sure DVD recorder is ready to record.
Start DVD recorder, play program on 8300, and press the "#" key on the 8300 once to get into Stretch (actually Squeeze) mode.
When done and ready to return the 8300 to regular HD operation, go through the Setup Wizard again. This time press the "B" button to set up the HD mode with the resolutions you want enabled (it usually retains the previous settings) and then go through the Hard Reboot process again.
Note: The Hard Reboot steps were needed with 1.88.17.100 because the 8300 would randomly drop out of SD mode, go back to the normal letterboxed mode, and then come on in SD mode when turned on the next day. The hard reboot with the desired mode (SD or HD) seems to force the 8300 to remember the correct mode. This may not apply to newer software versions."

There are better ways.

I'm thinking this isn't an anamorphic flag problem, I think the problem is inherant in the channel he's recording his programming off of. For example, if I record The Simpsons on Fox (Channel 3 on my cable system) I get a regular 4:3 recording which I can easily transfer to my DVR via S-Video with no issues. However, if I record The Simpsons on FoxHD (Channel 1135 on my cable system) they (Fox) add bars to the left and right side to make the 4:3 source material fill my 16:9 screen without any stretching or other distortion. To add to this, the SA8300HD with Passport software is unable to deliver 16:9 material via it's s-video output, so when it sees 16:9 programming, the DVR letterboxes it (adds the top and bottom bars) to make said 16:9 programming fit a 4:3 screen without any stretching or distortion. Now (please don't hurt me :) ) I'm not a big Craig Ferguson fan, so I don't watch his program, so I don't know if it's broadcast in 16:9 on the HD channel. From the description of the problem, I would guess that it isn't. So my suggestion would be to have the DVR record it off of the SD channel as opposed to the HD channel. Or, if you're not recording anything else at the same time, record them both. That way you'd have the HD version to watch on the 16:9 TV (if it is in fact broadcast in 16:9) and the 4:3 version to drop on a DVD.

Now what Nextoo is talking is about is another alternative. It's actually exactly what I do to get 16:9 programming to record onto my Sony RDR-GX330 recorder. It only has S-Video and composite inputs as well. I got a Philips DVD recorder with a component input cheap off ebay that I use to convert component to s-video and maintain the 16:9 aspect ratio. It adds another piece to my equipment shelf (rather shelves now) and I'll probably never use it to record, but for $25 vs $300, I'll deal. The advantage of going that route is that you can record 4:3 or 16:9 via s-video from the Passport SA8300HD without distorting it. I also like the fact that the Sony allows me to manually set the 16:9 flag on my DVDs. For more information on using doing this see here Poor Man's Component to S-Video Converter (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=761474)