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First impression of Time Warner HD

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I just got in my PT-AE900 last week and finally got the new cable box from Time Warner. I believe it is a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 3250HD. Anyway, last night was the first time I have ever seen any HD content. I thought it was okay. On CBS, Survivor for some reason did not fill the screen all the way. The picture was noticeably better than standard def (I flipped back and forth to see the differences) but certainly wasn't a jaw dropping experience. Over to ABC at 9pm for Grey's Anatomy; now this is what I was expecting. The show filled the whole screen and the picture quality was great compared to SD. I look forward to catching 24 in HD tonight to see how Fox compares to the other networks.


All in all, I am relatively pleased with the HD service Time Warner provides. I'll need to look at the settings for the box because they did not provide me with a user manual for it. Maybe there's some kind of setting to flip between 720p and 1080i. Perhaps that is what accounts for Survivor not filling the screen. Also, does anyone know how to find out the exact resolution of a particular broadcast? Seeing that it's in HD is nice, but I want details. Thanks.
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Survivor is not in High Definition.


In most markets:

ABC and FOX broadcast 720p on their HD channel.

CBS and NBC broadcast 1080i on their HD channel.


Everything on HD channels is 16:9 widescreen, however, if a program is not shot or shown in HD (like Survivor), then black, gray or colored vertical bars are inserted in the 4:3 image to fill the 16:9 frame.Whether you can zoom or stretch the 4:3 image is dependent on the format options of your STB and/or display.


Original aspect ratio usually gives you the sharpest image with the least distortion.
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Originally Posted by arxaw
Survivor is not in High Definition.


In most markets:

ABC and FOX broadcast 720p on their HD channel.

CBS and NBC broadcast 1080i on their HD channel.


Everything on HD channels is 16:9 widescreen, however, if a program is not shot or shown in HD (like Survivor), then black, gray or colored vertical bars are inserted in the 4:3 image to fill the 16:9 frame.Whether you can zoom or stretch the 4:3 image is dependent on the format options of your STB and/or display.


Original aspect ratio usually gives you the sharpest image with the least distortion.
Well, that would explain why Survivor was not widescreen. Strange that the picture quality was certainly better than the standard digital broadcast though. Thanks for the response.
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Originally Posted by PCMusicGuy
Well, that would explain why Survivor was not widescreen. Strange that the picture quality was certainly better than the standard digital broadcast though...
Not really strange. The network is using professional upconversion equipment when airing that show, so it's already 1080i when it gets to your STB or TV. But when you watch a standard def channel (digital or analog), your STB or TV does the upconversion (so it can display on your HD monitor). The equipment the networks use to do this costs a lot more and the results are a lot better than consumer equipment.
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