Jay

DTVuser2009

About the Zoom, although some channels seem to give the error "Aspect Ratio Cannot be Changed on this Channel' it happens most often if you're TV mode setting (selectable from 4:3 normal or 16:9 widescreen) is opposed to the broadcast.

For example, if you're viewing a 4:3 broadcast on a mode set at 4:3 (which seems appropriate for a standard television) it won't zoom. sometimes if your standard TV is large enough, like 19" or bigger, some broadcasts will appear 'windowboxed' in the dead-center and won't expand to fill the screen. the fix is to go into MENU--->OPTIONS, and TV type, and select '16:9 widescreen', and return to TV viewing, and then attempt zoom, and it will expand to fill the screen with no noticeable loss of quality. the same rule applies if you're selected at 16:9 widescreen and it's a 16:9 picture showing up and won't zoom and you're letterboxed (top and bottom has black bars) set the TV for 4:3 standard and re-attempt zoom. will work fine. kinda stupid but that's the only way you'll have a full-screen on some broadcasts.

Aaron62

OK man, +1 for you on this one, and I'll give you another 1 tomorrow if you can tell me how to do a full zoom on my direcTV unit. (Hint: It's not possible, but I wish it was)

DTVuser2009

Sorry, my love for satellite TV died off with Dish Network. heaven forbid i'd attempt the oddball system that DirecTV uses (hint, it requires THREE dishes!!! WHY?)

Dish Network's receivers had no such option at all, it was normally formatted correctly from the start where all channels filled the screen from the get-go. it'd be neat on the DTV converters though if they were able to zoom no matter what, set it a certain way and it automatically zooms as far as it'd go regardless of TV type or channel mode.

Aaron62

The only problem I see with full zoom is the fact that, depending on how much the picture is magnified, it creates a bit of distortion. I wish movie studios and TV studios would record in 2 seperate format's. I guess with production costs already being high enough as it is, this isn't possible, but it's damn annoying to see black bars on my TV sometimes. Especially with Blu-Ray DVD's too.

DTVuser2009

if you have a 4:3 TV (normal non-HDTV) and it's got bars, set it for widescreen and re-attempt zoom (same with your blu-ray player or DVD). if you have a widescreen with bars and you cannot zoom, try setting the blu-ray/DVD or converter to 4:3 standard def and try again with zoom. sadly that's the only way. it may have to be done back and forth depending on the broadcast or disc but so far that's the only way i can get the bars gone. my TVs are all older CRTs, one's a 19" TV/VCR and the other is a 1991 TouchTune 25" TV. and zooming even in widescreen mode results in no perceiveable quality drop. but then i cannot perceive non-HD and HD anyways, save for the terrible standard def picture on most HDTVs. grainy as hell.

Put a 25" console with a SD digital picture next to a 45" widescreen with a HD picture, i cannot see the difference. someone tested me at Best Buy and asked me if i could see the difference in HD, i said "the screen's bigger" much to the guy's disappointment.

HTNut

You can't tell the difference between 480p and 1080i or 1080p??? Shame! Just kidding, but words cannot describe how much better movies look in 1080p!

DTVuser2009

I'm sorry. i have 20/20 vision and perfect color vision and i just cannot perceive it.

If you stuck two HDTVs side-by-side, one with 1080i blu-ray disc with HDMI hookup and another with 1080p and the same setup, nope, no diff.

Stick a digital (and good reception) quality DTV signal on a 25" console and then stick a HDTV with a 1080p, nope. the screen's bigger that's about it. although it's true that HDTVs have higher resolution so obviously using anything other than HD or a connection other than HDMI or DVI (say use only RF-in) and yea, the picture sucks. but on my SDTVs, even if the signal is whatever, it looks fine. no sucky down-convert and no need to use HD since all pictures are nice (And the black levels are on par, something that even today LCDs fall behind on)