HDTV Almanac - Reader Question: Ban the Black Bars?

[Rodolfo]

Mike,

As you said, if Toshiba admitted there is a problem with your player for 4:3 viewing I assume there is nothing else to do than wait.

However, looking at the manual of your player, on page 36 the video menu shows some options that may cause/solve what you describe, and I quote:

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16:9 Wide*:
Select this when a wide-screen TV is connected. Discs recorded in wide-screen format is played back over the entire TV screen.
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16:9 Squeeze:
When playing back 4:3 images, the picture is displayed in the center of the 16:9 screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
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You did not said what your current setting was, but the "squeeze" setting above seems to perform what you want, and the wide setting may produce what you do not want.

I assume you have researched your case with other player owners on the AVS forum to confirm the problem is widespread and there is nothing you can do than wait for a firmware.

I also assume you have tried the other two (4:3) display settings in the menu when playing 4:3 content, even if your TV is 16:9, one never knows how this manufacturer's software was designed until your try it.


Best Regards,

Rodolfo La Maestra

[ccclvib]

When I read the page you're referring to in the manual, I thought it would mean [b]everything[/b] would be squeezed down to 4:3, and never tried it. Since I do have a 16:9 aspect TV, I never even considered the other 4:3 options. What "16:9 Squeeze" [b]does[/b] mean, though, is the 16:9 material plays properly, and the 4:3 is shown with black bars, exactly as I wanted. I only found this out after trying it with your prompting. So, now everything works the way it's supposed to.

Thanks.

[Rodolfo]

Mike,

I am glad it worked for you. Toshiba may then be looking for a phantom firmware (a solution for a problem that does not exist).

Without looking at the software code that Toshiba used to implement their version of this aspect ratio setting (every manufacturer has their own choice), I assume the following:

On either setting, the Blu-ray player is outputting 1920 horizontal pixels per line (if you set the 1080 resolution on the video menu).

The software in the player may take first the original 400+ horizontal pixels of the 4:3 image in the DVD disc (max 720 pixels on the full line for a widescreen anamorphic image) and scale the 400+ pixels to 1440 pixels to maintain the 4:3 aspect ratio within a 1920 pixel-line of the 1080 resolution.

If you are playing a Blu-ray disc, rather than a regular DVD, the 4:3 image should already be 1440 horizontally (x 1080 vertically), keeping the aspect ratio of the image within the higher resolution of the Blu-ray format. The image was mastered and stored in the disc that way.

So what your 16:9 settings of the player’s menu would do?

A) On the "16:9 wide" setting, the software spreads those 1440 pixels of content over the 1920 horizontal pixel positions of the final image. 480 new pixels are interpolated (with invented picture elements), which stretches the image sideways maintaining the same vertical resolution, therefore, human faces look fat, moons look as ovals, etc.

If they do not look that way it means streching was also done vertically and the image looses part of the top and bottom, ESPN scores disappear, heads are cut, etc. In both cases the image looses the original quality such as when you enlarge a photo beyond normal limits.

B) On the "16:9 squeeze” setting, the software is not doing the interpolation of the 480 new pixels WITHIN the image, but rather uses those pixels for the side pillars, 240 black pixels on each pillar, giving the impression of "squeezing" the image by those side pillars, compared to the other "wide" format for 16:9.

However, the signal your TV receives is a full mode 16:9 (1080x1920) with pillars that are inserted as part of the image (such many SD/ED DTV stations insert black pillars within a 16:9 image).

Many TVs are not capable of changing the aspect ratio of a full mode signal to allow the viewer to use the TV set’s stretching (such the "Natural" on the Pioneer Elite sets, which gradually stretches the sides of the image, keeping the center in geometry, where most of the human close ups happen.

Best Regards,

Rodolfo La Maestra