Grey Border Around My High Def Channels

cbell_2 · 10-11-2006, 02:53 PM

I recently purchased a Mitsubishi 52 inch DLP and I've been kind of dissappointed with the High def pictures so far. One problem is some of the local channels in High Def have a substantial grey border around the picture. Any thoughts on what causes this and any insights to proper connections?

I have a High Def Cable box going to the tv just as extra information.

Any help will be appreciated.

clearday · 10-11-2006, 05:15 PM

If you have your cable box set correctly for your TV's resolution and are using the right cables, component or HDMI, HD channels should not have borders around the whole picture. Some SD channel shows can but not HD. Some may have the bars on the left and right when the pic is not HD even tho on an HD channel, but not all around. So, tell us your cable box settings and how you have it connected and maybe we can help.

cbell_2 · 10-12-2006, 03:33 AM

Hey Clearday, thanks for the quick response. I have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD receiver. The TV is a Mitsubishi WD-52627. I have the cable from the wall going into the cable box and out to the ANT-1 input into the tv. I have the Green, blue and red (YPrPb) from the output of the cable box going in to the same colored inputs in the component-1 connections on the tv, then the white and red from the back of the cable box again in to the red and white of component-1 on the tv. I didn't know there was anything to set-up on the cable box. I assumed it was just plug and play.
HELP!!!

bingotem · 10-12-2006, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbell_2

I have the cable from the wall going into the cable box and out to the ANT-1 input into the tv. I have the Green, blue and red (YPrPb) from the output of the cable box going in to the same colored inputs in the component-1 connections on the tv, then the white and red from the back of the cable box again in to the red and white of component-1 on the tv.
HELP!!!

There is really no need to have a cable going into ant1 from the cable box. You should use that for OTA, assuming the TV has built in atsc, or just not use it.

Make sure the television is set to the correct input, component.

You should have also told the 8300 that you have a 16:9 television in the setup wizard. If you didn't or can't remember, you might want to run it again.

According to the manual, you can get to the setup wizard again by turning the DVR off (leave the TV on), then hitting the Guide and Info buttons on the front of the unit at the same time.

One more thing, I would suggest picking up an HDMI cable, if your TV has a free HDMI input. They are not all that expensive compared to the price of the TV. Check www.partsexpress.com and/or www.knukonceptz.com

bingotem · 10-12-2006, 05:29 AM

Oh, one more thing. All content will not be in HD. Very often you will see SD programs, even on your HD channels.

Some channels add grey bars on each side of the 4:3 picture to fill the screen, instead of leaving them black. In my area, this seems especially true for CBS.

pjc · 10-12-2006, 06:37 AM

My 8300HD had the gray bars when I hooked it up when whatching SD channels (i don't like the stretched picture). You can change the bars to black by pushing up twice on the settings button to get into the "advanced" settings. Then look for the "border" option. There is "light","medium" and "dark". Setting it to "dark" makes the border black. As bingotem said, some of the HD channels will imbed their own bars in the SD picture i.e. ESPN and MSG have their own custom borders. CBS, does imbed gray borders, so even if you set your 8300 to "dark" sometimes you will get gray bars on the SD broadcast over the HD channel.

Hope that made sense....

cbell_2 · 10-12-2006, 12:58 PM

I want to thank you all for your help. I'll let you know if these suggestions solve the problem. I should know by this evening.

97XBAM · 10-14-2006, 06:40 AM

That also happens on my set on some HD channels(Comcast) , CBS and ABC in particular . You'd think that the cheapskates at CBS would put a popular show like Survivor on in full 16:9 HD , not so ! The first Jets game of the year was actually broadcast with gray bars on the CBS HD channel -unbeliveable ! I believe the bars are light gray to stop or reduce burn in on CRT and plasma sets , not an issue on DLP and LCD displays .

Sherman · 10-14-2006, 07:50 PM

If you are getting bars not only on the sides but on the top and bottom, it is very likely that either the set is not set up correctly, or it is a wrong cable box. I had this problem originally, but finally complained enough that they gave me the correct box. Another clue is that the wrong box gave me closed caption on the HD channels, but not on the other channels. I now correctly get closed caption on all the channels. You will not that, even if correctly set up, sometimes the HD channels will broadcast not in HD, and then you will get the black or grey bars on each side (but not top and bottom). You will sometimes get bars all around on commercials, since you never know what format they broadcast on. good luck. I have just had my set for a short time (Samsung HL-S5687W) and I am tremendously pleased and impressed.

drock912001 · 10-14-2006, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97XBAM

That also happens on my set on some HD channels(Comcast) , CBS and ABC in particular . You'd think that the cheapskates at CBS would put a popular show like Survivor on in full 16:9 HD , not so ! The first Jets game of the year was actually broadcast with gray bars on the CBS HD channel -unbeliveable ! I believe the bars are light gray to stop or reduce burn in on CRT and plasma sets , not an issue on DLP and LCD displays .

CBS doesn't produce survivor and the producer of the show (Mark Burnett) says he has no intention of filming it in hd.

10-11-2006, 02:53 PM	#1
cbell_2 What is HD? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Round Rock, Texas Age: 56 Posts: 3	Grey Border Around My High Def Channels I recently purchased a Mitsubishi 52 inch DLP and I've been kind of dissappointed with the High def pictures so far. One problem is some of the local channels in High Def have a substantial grey border around the picture. Any thoughts on what causes this and any insights to proper connections? I have a High Def Cable box going to the tv just as extra information. Any help will be appreciated.

10-12-2006, 05:29 AM	#5
bingotem High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Warren, MI Age: 31 Posts: 250	Oh, one more thing. All content will not be in HD. Very often you will see SD programs, even on your HD channels. Some channels add grey bars on each side of the 4:3 picture to fill the screen, instead of leaving them black. In my area, this seems especially true for CBS. Last edited by bingotem; 10-12-2006 at 05:32 AM.

10-11-2006, 05:15 PM	#2
clearday Samsung LCDs Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: N. Texas Posts: 1,883	If you have your cable box set correctly for your TV's resolution and are using the right cables, component or HDMI, HD channels should not have borders around the whole picture. Some SD channel shows can but not HD. Some may have the bars on the left and right when the pic is not HD even tho on an HD channel, but not all around. So, tell us your cable box settings and how you have it connected and maybe we can help.

10-12-2006, 03:33 AM	#3
cbell_2 What is HD? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Round Rock, Texas Age: 56 Posts: 3	Hey Clearday, thanks for the quick response. I have a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD receiver. The TV is a Mitsubishi WD-52627. I have the cable from the wall going into the cable box and out to the ANT-1 input into the tv. I have the Green, blue and red (YPrPb) from the output of the cable box going in to the same colored inputs in the component-1 connections on the tv, then the white and red from the back of the cable box again in to the red and white of component-1 on the tv. I didn't know there was anything to set-up on the cable box. I assumed it was just plug and play. HELP!!!

10-12-2006, 06:37 AM	#6
pjc High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 2,123	My 8300HD had the gray bars when I hooked it up when whatching SD channels (i don't like the stretched picture). You can change the bars to black by pushing up twice on the settings button to get into the "advanced" settings. Then look for the "border" option. There is "light","medium" and "dark". Setting it to "dark" makes the border black. As bingotem said, some of the HD channels will imbed their own bars in the SD picture i.e. ESPN and MSG have their own custom borders. CBS, does imbed gray borders, so even if you set your 8300 to "dark" sometimes you will get gray bars on the SD broadcast over the HD channel. Hope that made sense....

10-12-2006, 12:58 PM	#7
cbell_2 What is HD? Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Round Rock, Texas Age: 56 Posts: 3	I want to thank you all for your help. I'll let you know if these suggestions solve the problem. I should know by this evening.

10-14-2006, 06:40 AM	#8
97XBAM High Definition is the definition of life. Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 176	That also happens on my set on some HD channels(Comcast) , CBS and ABC in particular . You'd think that the cheapskates at CBS would put a popular show like Survivor on in full 16:9 HD , not so ! The first Jets game of the year was actually broadcast with gray bars on the CBS HD channel -unbeliveable ! I believe the bars are light gray to stop or reduce burn in on CRT and plasma sets , not an issue on DLP and LCD displays .

10-14-2006, 07:50 PM	#9
Sherman A couch and an HDTV to go please. Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 10	If you are getting bars not only on the sides but on the top and bottom, it is very likely that either the set is not set up correctly, or it is a wrong cable box. I had this problem originally, but finally complained enough that they gave me the correct box. Another clue is that the wrong box gave me closed caption on the HD channels, but not on the other channels. I now correctly get closed caption on all the channels. You will not that, even if correctly set up, sometimes the HD channels will broadcast not in HD, and then you will get the black or grey bars on each side (but not top and bottom). You will sometimes get bars all around on commercials, since you never know what format they broadcast on. good luck. I have just had my set for a short time (Samsung HL-S5687W) and I am tremendously pleased and impressed.