[Infominister]

I have the JVC DR-MV1 hooked up to an LG LSS 3200A DirecTV HD STB via an S-Video cable. When I record 16:9 programs, either true HD or a 4:3 program stretched using the STB's own stretch options, the recordings play back as they should: 16:9 on a widescreen monitor or letterboxed on a 4:3 monitor, if the second DVD player is set accordingly.


The problem I'm having is when I record a 4:3 program off the STB set in "Standard" 4:3 mode, and then try to play it back on a 4:3 monitor. What happens is that the recorded 4:3 program displays bars on the left and right, in effect squeezing the image. This, even though the attached player is set-up for a 4:3 monitor.


What can I do to avoid this problem? It happens primarily with digital OTA stations when the programming is NOT HD, and therefore shown in 4:3 aspect ratio. Please advise how to set my source (STB) so as to fill a 4:3 TV screen with a 4:3 program. Thanks.

 

[PatsWonSB]

I think the black bars on the sides are put there by the broadcasters on 4x3 material. I would think you would need to use the zoom mode in the STB to get rid of them.

 

[ClarkeBar]

I'm sure you've double checked already but make sure the player is not set up for 4:3 LB instead of plain vanilla 4:3.

 

[Infominister]

Quote:

Originally posted by PatsWonSB I think the black bars on the sides are put there by the broadcasters on 4x3 material. I would think you would need to use the zoom mode in the STB to get rid of them.

Yes, but I'd rather not zoom or stretch 4:3 programming. In playback on a 4:3 system, I'd either be letterboxing a stretched image or zooming part of the picture off the screen. I don't understand why I can't just play back a 4:3 picture as a 4:3 picture.

FWIW, my STB has simultaneous S-Video output and when viewing from that output the choices for a 4:3 image are "Standard", "Shrink" and "Expand."