Aspect Ratio - Cant Change

mms · 10-09-2009, 10:09 PM

Hi,

New to the forum and TV world (yeah!). Ordered a brand new LG 32LH30 \(32")HDTV and when I opened the box the Styrofoam was all broken and remote package was all stapled. Bought it from a well known online vendor who agreed to take it back without restocking fee.

The reason I mentioned this is because I am now trying to find out why someone had returned it (seems used/open box). Since this is my first TV (not just HD) I dont know whether the issue I am facing is an issue or just something that everyone deals with.

The aspect ratio is set to 16:9 but I see vertical bars on the left and the right side of the screen. If I go to HD Channel it seems that it works just fine and stretches automatically. I am looking at the manual and there is information about about aspect ratio but all it says that 16:9 should just make all channels go full screen. There is no information about "stretching" but there is Zoom feature but that cuts the edges and gets reset each time I change channel.

Is there something I am missing? Is there an issue with the TV or is it just normal (that only HD channels will be full screen)?

Any help/input would be much appreciated!

P.S: I am leaning towards keeping this, if you know of what I should look for (issues, problems, etc.) before I decided to keep this, please let me know.

Thanks much guys!

Loves2Watch · 10-10-2009, 04:34 AM

If your source is an antenna, that is what you will get as it is the native resolution and things that were/are SD will have the black bars on the side.

If you are using cable or satellite box, they may have a zoom function on their remote which you can use to stretch the 4:3 picture to a widescreen format.

unr3a1 · 10-13-2009, 08:06 AM

Well, first off, the reason there are black bars on the side of the picture is because the resolution of the image is maintaining a HD resolution, which maintains the original aspect ratio of what you are watching. In this case, the original aspect ratio is 4:3. So the channel you are watching is broadcasting an image that is formated for the 4:3 aspect ratio. You have a widescreen TV, it doesn't fit, so there are black bars.

If you want to force that image to fill the entire screen, the image will have a stretched out look. People will be out of proportion, and the image will be overall of less quality. If you are OK with this, then what you need to do is reference the setting on your set top box if you have one. You need to make sure that the set top box is changing it's resolution from a HD resolution to a SD resolution. Then the image will fill the entire screen, but again, be stretched. It's totally up to you what you prefer.

10-09-2009, 10:09 PM	#1
mms What is HD? Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 1	Aspect Ratio - Cant Change Hi, New to the forum and TV world (yeah!). Ordered a brand new LG 32LH30 \(32")HDTV and when I opened the box the Styrofoam was all broken and remote package was all stapled. Bought it from a well known online vendor who agreed to take it back without restocking fee. The reason I mentioned this is because I am now trying to find out why someone had returned it (seems used/open box). Since this is my first TV (not just HD) I dont know whether the issue I am facing is an issue or just something that everyone deals with. The aspect ratio is set to 16:9 but I see vertical bars on the left and the right side of the screen. If I go to HD Channel it seems that it works just fine and stretches automatically. I am looking at the manual and there is information about about aspect ratio but all it says that 16:9 should just make all channels go full screen. There is no information about "stretching" but there is Zoom feature but that cuts the edges and gets reset each time I change channel. Is there something I am missing? Is there an issue with the TV or is it just normal (that only HD channels will be full screen)? Any help/input would be much appreciated! P.S: I am leaning towards keeping this, if you know of what I should look for (issues, problems, etc.) before I decided to keep this, please let me know. Thanks much guys!

10-10-2009, 04:34 AM	#2
Loves2Watch SPAM Police Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: AZ, NM, TX, MX Posts: 13,972	If your source is an antenna, that is what you will get as it is the native resolution and things that were/are SD will have the black bars on the side. If you are using cable or satellite box, they may have a zoom function on their remote which you can use to stretch the 4:3 picture to a widescreen format. __________________ Theater 1 - Panasonic TH-85PF12U Plasma TV, 6 Conrad Johnson LP275M Amps, Anthem Statement D-2 Pre/Pro, 6 Thiel SCS4 Speakers, 2 REL T-1 Subs, Infinity Interlude 120S Sub, Simaudio MOON Orbiter Universal Disc Player, ELP Laser Turntable, 2 Dish Network ViP 622 DVR's, Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray Player, Onkyo DV-HD805 HD DVD Player.

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10-13-2009, 08:06 AM	#3
unr3a1 TWC Tier 3 Rep Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 10	Well, first off, the reason there are black bars on the side of the picture is because the resolution of the image is maintaining a HD resolution, which maintains the original aspect ratio of what you are watching. In this case, the original aspect ratio is 4:3. So the channel you are watching is broadcasting an image that is formated for the 4:3 aspect ratio. You have a widescreen TV, it doesn't fit, so there are black bars. If you want to force that image to fill the entire screen, the image will have a stretched out look. People will be out of proportion, and the image will be overall of less quality. If you are OK with this, then what you need to do is reference the setting on your set top box if you have one. You need to make sure that the set top box is changing it's resolution from a HD resolution to a SD resolution. Then the image will fill the entire screen, but again, be stretched. It's totally up to you what you prefer.