IN RE: TV 16:9 problem.
 

Alright, I got a 30' LG CRT HDTV for christmas. I absolutely love this tv. great picture quality and haven't experienced any problems with it. And the price was even better.

Now, the problem. I play dvd's through my PS2. I did buy a set of cheap component cables for my ps2/tv. Whenever I play Widescreen DVD's through my PS2 I get the black bars above and below the picture on my tv. someone told me to go under the settings/configuration under my PS2. There you can select 3:4, Full, 16:9. Well I selected 16:9 and it seems to make the black bars bigger. Which just baffles me. Also, When I have a DVD in the PS2 and while it is playing I can also go in the settings/configuration that way. And it says 3:4 letterbox on the Display settings. But it's grayed out and I can't switch it. I just don't understand why I am getting the Black bars when I am watching Widescreen DVD's.

I also tried different types of widescreen dvd's. 1:85:1 & 2:35:1. I may have misnumbered these. but yeah, these different widescreen versions.

Is the problem in my tv, or do you think it's the PS2 or something?

Please help.

Actually there is no problem at all. If you have it set for 16:9 you are seeing all the image there is.

ok but why am i getting the black bars. I thought they shouldn't be there if you are watching a widescreen dvd on a widescreen television...???

That depends on the aspect ratio of the movie you are watching. If you are watching 1.78 or 1.85 material, then you shouldn't see any black bars. If you are watching 2.35 or 2.40 aspect ratio material, then you will see black bars. Google OAR or visit the widescreen museum for more detailed explanation.

Ok, well I was watching a 1:85 dvd and was still getting the black bars. Which is what made me frustrated and confused. Think it's the fact that i'm watching dvd's through my PS2?

Also another thing about the LG 30' CRT HDTV. I have basic cable. No box or anything. Just plug in the coaxil to get 50 some basic cable channels. Well, when I plugged in the cable and turned the tv on, I was only getting like 6 channels. So the tv has this thing called EZ scan. Basically scans the channels to see what your tv can get. Well, I did the EZ scan and got all my basic cable channels. BUT, I also got a section of HD channels. And I have Premium Direct TV channels as well. All coming through just having basic cable. I don't understand it. But I get movie channels and HD channels. Is this normal and has it happened to anyone else?

Not really familiar with the settings, but I'd try setting it to Full instead of 16:9 to see if it makes a difference.

Yes, it’s normal.
It sounds like you have a built-in QAM tuner (and probably an ATSC/NTSC tuner).

A QAM tuner will display all unencrypted digital channels from your cable system including unencrypted HD signals. In some cable areas, that includes a lot of good stuff, while in others areas - not so much.

My only question is, are you sure you also get Premium Direct TV channels using the EZ scan method? The reason that is weird is because Direct TV is not broadcasted over any cable company network. It’s transmitted using a satellite dish and all channels are encrypted.

Can you tell us specifically what DVD you were watching?

And also, a 30' CRT would be 30 feet. I assume you mean 30," which would be 30 inches.

One more thing make sure your TV is set correctly too. Sometimes your TV has its own settigns that you need to toggle to view the Video material correctly. You want to set the Ps2 to 16:9 (I think) as this is the TV size that you are outputting to. You MAY still get small bars with 1.85:1 as it all depends on the overscan on your TV usually the overscan that is apparent on most TVs will take care of that for you and you wont see the bars since 16:9 is tech 1.777777777. for 2.35:1 and bigger you will get "thick" black bars but thinner than if you had a 4:3 TV on the top and bottom since the aspect ratio is wider then your TV can display.

As far as the scan I agree with the previous poster that with the QAM tuner you willg et any uncrypted channels that are comming through from you cable provider. You should NOT be getting Direct TV channels though (btw how do you know that they are direct TV channels?). The channels will include any unencrypted HD channels, Extended Basic, ect that are comming from your provider. With my TV I get some "on Demand" Channels for free as "leaks" but only when someone else somewhere is watching that feed.

I have to admit, this surprised me when I recently got the Westinghouse LTV-32w6. I assumed that all of my widescreen movies would suddenly fill up the entire screen, when in reality, most movies now have aspect ratios of 2.35 or greater. So what's next: even wider TVs? Do higher-end TVs have more fill features to lose the black bars? I'm still thrilled with my TV -- even with the black bars, the picture is larger and cleaner.

Yes, you discovered the dirty little secret of all the new HD TVs.

Do you notice, by the way, that whenever you see an ad on TV or online about widescreen TVs that the pictures always fills the screen? Ha!

I think the wide screen ratio of 16x9 is the best compromise they could come up with.
But if you think about it, as far as filling up the screen, nothing has really changed.

When you had a 4x3 TV you only had horizontal black bars on wide screen shows to contend with. Now, along with 2.35 ratios, if you look at 4x3 material (still plentiful) on your new set you get vertical bars – you can’t win! :)

Correct. I remember watching "Ben Hur" on a friend's 42" WIDEscreen and there were black bars. Still looked great though. :)