[AkaStp]

When I receive D* SD channels on the TS360 they are pillar-boxed properly and appear appropriately squeezed to 4:3 on my Sammy 50" DLP HD TV. When I receive D* HD channels they fill the screen properly and look just right. So, no problems receiving HD and SD content from D* satellite.


However, OTA digital HD channel reception is another story. Some channels won't pillar-box properly and are stretched to the width of the 16:9 screen and just don't look right. Other channels are over-squeezed and are too narrow (the L & R bars are too wide). There seems to be no way to compensate for this with either the TS360's format function or the TV's aspect function. I was expecting OTA digital HD channels to be appropriately formatted just like from satellite. What am I doing wrong?


I'm also finding that the audio volume is softer from OTA digital HD channels vs. from satellite. Is that normal?


Or, is the problem that my local stations just haven't yet got digital HD channel broadcasing right yet?

 

[mjones73]

One problem you get with OTA channels is they are broadcast in HD all the time so when the station is showing SD programming, it's side pillared as it's broadcast to you and your TV still sees it as an HD (1080I or 720P depending on the station) feed so you don't always have the same stretch modes as SD 480i channels....

 

[AkaStp]

Problem is that because I'm using a DVI connection between the TS360 and my HDTV it is not possible to change the aspect to compensate for the over-squeezing or the lack of pillar-boxing. With these kinds of formatting problems how can anyone stand to watch SD programming via digital HD OTA? Or, do you only use the OTA channel for HD programs and switch over to satellite for non-HD programs?