New Toshiba 42" Cinema Series has Picture Stretch - Advice?

We just purchased a Toshiba 42LX177 42" Regza Cinema Series. We do not have the HD sattelite channels yet so we are just watching regular DVDs and movies on regular sattelite (dishnetwork).

The pictures all some some degree of horizontal stretch (left/right), except the "4:3", mode which stretches up and down. We have tried all of the different picture size modes with all sizes of picture from wide screen DVDs, nature channel etc. It does it with HDMI feed from the upconverted Sony DVD player, as well as direct video feed (3 line) from the sattelite box or the DVD player. I read everything on the manual about picture size and found no solutions. Also cannot find a help phone number in the manual.

We can see that the picture is stretched because the faces look too wide, and round things like tires look oval shaped. It seems worse when viewing the TV head-on than it is when viewing from a side angle.

This is our first HD or flat panel TV but I can't imagine that it is considered normal to have a distorted picture. We were laughing last night because it made Julia Roberts look fat! :-)

I just bought the TV and could probably return it for another but I think that I need to get educated on this issue.

Your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dean44

We just purchased a Toshiba 42LX177 42" Regza Cinema Series. We do not have the HD sattelite channels yet so we are just watching regular DVDs and movies on regular sattelite (dishnetwork).

The pictures all some some degree of horizontal stretch (left/right), except the "4:3", mode which stretches up and down. We have tried all of the different picture size modes with all sizes of picture from wide screen DVDs, nature channel etc. It does it with HDMI feed from the upconverted Sony DVD player, as well as direct video feed (3 line) from the sattelite box or the DVD player. I read everything on the manual about picture size and found no solutions. Also cannot find a help phone number in the manual.

We can see that the picture is stretched because the faces look too wide, and round things like tires look oval shaped. It seems worse when viewing the TV head-on than it is when viewing from a side angle.

This is our first HD or flat panel TV but I can't imagine that it is considered normal to have a distorted picture. We were laughing last night because it made Julia Roberts look fat! :-)

I just bought the TV and could probably return it for another but I think that I need to get educated on this issue.

Your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dean44

It is just a setup problem. You need to go into the setup menu and fix it. I'm not a Toshiba owner but I'm sure there is an option that displays whatever aspect ratio is transmitted. That's the one you want.

Get the hd box asap.........

It is just a setup problem. You need to go into the setup menu and fix it. I'm not a Toshiba owner but I'm sure there is an option that displays whatever aspect ratio is transmitted. That's the one you want.

I wish it would be that easy. I have gone all through the menu, I am using the auto setting for the screen size. It does not specifically say apsect ratio but there is no seperate setting for that that I can find. Does anybody know of a menu setting that I am missing?

Just so I am clear in this, there is no funky problem with HDTVs in general that distort (stretch) the picture when things are set correctly is there? Just wondering if I am being too picky, but for $1550, I don't want a distorted picture.

Need more help please, thanks!

I'd say, thoroughly read the instruction manual, become familiar with the various picture modes, and select the right one.

Should be on p 56 of the manual. For now set it to natural.

We just purchased a Toshiba 42LX177 42" Regza Cinema Series. We do not have the HD sattelite channels yet so we are just watching regular DVDs and movies on regular sattelite (dishnetwork).

The pictures all some some degree of horizontal stretch (left/right), except the "4:3", mode which stretches up and down. We have tried all of the different picture size modes with all sizes of picture from wide screen DVDs, nature channel etc. It does it with HDMI feed from the upconverted Sony DVD player, as well as direct video feed (3 line) from the sattelite box or the DVD player. I read everything on the manual about picture size and found no solutions. Also cannot find a help phone number in the manual.

We can see that the picture is stretched because the faces look too wide, and round things like tires look oval shaped. It seems worse when viewing the TV head-on than it is when viewing from a side angle.

This is our first HD or flat panel TV but I can't imagine that it is considered normal to have a distorted picture. We were laughing last night because it made Julia Roberts look fat! :-)

I just bought the TV and could probably return it for another but I think that I need to get educated on this issue.

Your thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Dean44

If you are watching 4:3 content, i.e. SD television or Full-screen/Letterbox Widescreen DVD's, then 4:3 is the only display mode that will show the image unaltered. The only alternative to stretching a 4:3 picture to fit a 16:9 screen is zooming, which will cut off the top and bottom of the picture.

On SD television or Full-screen/Letterbox Widescreen DVD's, selecting "Natural" mode should show you a full height picture without distortion, however there will be blank bars on either side of the picture.

If you are watching an Anamorphic (squeezed) Widescreen DVD, you need to set your DVD player for a 16:9 screen and set the TV to "Full" screen mode. If you have the DVD player set correctly but the TV set for "Natural" mode, the image will not fill the screen and it will look tall and thin. If you have the DVD player set wrong, the image will either be widescreen but letterboxed on the top and bottom to fit a 4:3 window, or the sides will be cut off to fit a 4:3 window.

except the "4:3", mode which stretches up and down.

As BobY said "then 4:3 is the only display mode that will show the image unaltered." That is in 4:3 mode the picture is not stretched.