Home Theater Forum - View Single Post - Sci-Fi Channel in HD

Ernest · 03-28-2008, 08:22 AM

Those of us with DirecTV have had SCI-FI HD for several months and for me it has been the biggest disappointment of all the HD programs. I gave up after they continually displayed programming window-boxed, thick black bars on all four sides. The reality was my 55" HD TV was reduced to a 32" TV showing SD quality video from SCI-FI.

The definition for HD, as set forth by the DVD forum, is video broadcast in 720P or higher with an aspect ratio of 16 x 9. 16 x 9 was picked as a compromise between 4 x 3 and movies shot in a variety of formats. The reasoning was 4 x 3 would be stretched to fill the screen and 2:35 or larger would show small black bars on the top and bottom. And that is exactly how DVD's are manufactured.

Unfortunately, this process did not carryover to TV programming and we are now stuck with 4 x 3 displayed with black pillar bars. So now we go a step further and SCI-FI displays letter-box, 4 x 3, with pillar bars. It makes no sense and the programming is completely un-viewable.

The TV programmers are not following the forum rules and all we can do about it, is do as I do and not watch any of the pillar bar, window-boxing programming.

03-28-2008, 08:22 AM	#7 of 26
Ernest Member Join Date: Dec 1998 Local Time: 10:00 AM Local Date: 10-12-2008 Posts: 399	Re: Sci-Fi Channel in HD Those of us with DirecTV have had SCI-FI HD for several months and for me it has been the biggest disappointment of all the HD programs. I gave up after they continually displayed programming window-boxed, thick black bars on all four sides. The reality was my 55" HD TV was reduced to a 32" TV showing SD quality video from SCI-FI. The definition for HD, as set forth by the DVD forum, is video broadcast in 720P or higher with an aspect ratio of 16 x 9. 16 x 9 was picked as a compromise between 4 x 3 and movies shot in a variety of formats. The reasoning was 4 x 3 would be stretched to fill the screen and 2:35 or larger would show small black bars on the top and bottom. And that is exactly how DVD's are manufactured. Unfortunately, this process did not carryover to TV programming and we are now stuck with 4 x 3 displayed with black pillar bars. So now we go a step further and SCI-FI displays letter-box, 4 x 3, with pillar bars. It makes no sense and the programming is completely un-viewable. The TV programmers are not following the forum rules and all we can do about it, is do as I do and not watch any of the pillar bar, window-boxing programming.