USMCBillsFan Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Why is it when I watch some programming in HD, (ESPN) for example, sometimes there are bars on the side that say HD in them and some shows take the full screen from right to left? I hit the aspect button to take away the bars on top and bottom but it stretches the people and they look funny. My tv isn't a widescreen, it's the typical shape. It's just weird that some shows will play full screen, some with bars on top and bottom and some with bars on left and right. Anybody? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rico Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Why is it when I watch some programming in HD, (ESPN) for example, sometimes there are bars on the side that say HD in them and some shows take the full screen from right to left? I hit the aspect button to take away the bars on top and bottom but it stretches the people and they look funny. My tv isn't a widescreen, it's the typical shape. It's just weird that some shows will play full screen, some with bars on top and bottom and some with bars on left and right. Anybody? 211280[/snapback] The shows on ESPN with the bars on the left and right sides may be on an HD channel, but they aren't being broadcast in HD. Only certain programming gets the HD treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDBillzFan Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Why is it when I watch some programming in HD, (ESPN) for example, sometimes there are bars on the side that say HD in them and some shows take the full screen from right to left? I hit the aspect button to take away the bars on top and bottom but it stretches the people and they look funny. My tv isn't a widescreen, it's the typical shape. It's just weird that some shows will play full screen, some with bars on top and bottom and some with bars on left and right. Anybody? 211280[/snapback] Not everything you see on an HDTV channel was broadcast in Hi-Def. Sometimes you'll see commercials with those bars, and sometimes you'll see footage of a particular game with those bars, because they were not shot in Hi-Def. Regular TV uses an aspect ration of 3:4 while hi-def uses the wider screen aspect ratio of 16:9, so when you view the 3:4 on a 16:9 screen, they use the bars to crop the area not used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plenzmd1 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 Why is it when I watch some programming in HD, (ESPN) for example, sometimes there are bars on the side that say HD in them and some shows take the full screen from right to left? I hit the aspect button to take away the bars on top and bottom but it stretches the people and they look funny. My tv isn't a widescreen, it's the typical shape. It's just weird that some shows will play full screen, some with bars on top and bottom and some with bars on left and right. Anybody? 211280[/snapback] Hard to explain this. But on ESPN, even though the show is on the HD channel, the show itself is not HD. It is in 4;3 aspect ratio, not 16:9, hense the 4:3 show with black bars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMCBillsFan Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 Thanks everybody. I guess I just assumed that shows on ESPN HIDEF were all in HIDEF. Makes sense though. TIme Warner just added the channel this month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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