SONY KDP-57XBR2 questions (1 Viewer)

[Yurik]

Hello all,
I have several questions about SONY wide screen rear projection HDTV
model KDP-57XBR2 I bought recently. First, when I connect my Apex AD-800
DVD player to it via component RGB, a movie shows black bars on top and
bottom of the screen even though the disk is clearly widescreen, DVD player
is set to 16:9 output and the TV is in full wide screen mode. Even though
the bars are much thinner than on my old 4:3 TV, they're still there - what
to do to watch a DVD move in full 16:9 wide screen?
Second, there're couple station that broadcast in HDTV here in New York.
CBS-2 for example on channel 2.1. But even though their picture is HDTV, it
doesn't fill the entire screen there're black bars on the left and right.
Even though the bars are smaller than on ordinary 4:3 broadcast, they're
still there. And the TV says it's a 16:9 signal and Zoom options are
unavailable. How come?
Also, www.titantv.com shows at least 7 HDTV broadcasts for the area where I live (Brooklyn, NY). How come I can get only 3 of them?
And finally, I'd like to be able to use firewire i.Link connection of the TV
to record video from it to my PC. When I connect TV to PC, Windows XP
recognizes the model - KDP-57XBR2, but asks for a driver for it. Do you know
where I can download one? If not, what is the work around to use i.Link in
HDTV to PC connection. I have used firewire with another SONY product with i.Link - DV camcorder DCR TRV-20 for a while with no problems, I'd imagine TV has similar interface. Also, direct firewire connect camcorder-to-TV doesn't work either, the TV detects the model of the camcorder but that's it. When switching to that i.Link TV says "No signal".
Thanks in advance for your help, I really appreciate it.

 

[Jim FC]

Yurik,
I can't help you with the Brooklyn HDTV thing, but maybe I can with a couple of your other questions. When you see black bars at the top and bottom of the screen on DVDs, it is normal. It is because even though your TV is a 16:9 shape, Hollywood does not use 16:9 for all their movies. There are two major ratios for today's films: 1.78:1 (16:9) and a wider shape called 2.35:1... it is this ratio that you are watchign when you see thin black bars on your Sony. Again, this is normal and you have everything set up correctly, but this is how all widescreen TVs display this type of DVD.

It seems that most action/sci-fi type movies are shot in 2.35:1, while most dramas, comedies, and animation is 1.78:1. If you don't like the narrow bars, some DVD players allow you to zoom in slightly, cutting off the entire border of the screen, eliminating the bars but also some of the left and right side of the picture.

The second issue you mentioned is why an HD channel shows some programs in 4:3 mode. This is simple: most non-primetime TV is still in 4:3, and that's the only version they have to send it to you. Your TV says it is a 16:9 signal because they are actually broadcasting the bars to you, and with your TV there's nothing you can do to get the zoom options to appear. The TV sees a 16:9 HD signal, even though you see the bars. You might want to tune in to the standard CBS channel when this type of show comes on. As time goes by, more and more shows will be broadcast 16:9, so it's only a temporary thing. Hope this helps!

EDIT: The firewire on your TV is not designed to do what you are trying to do with it. If you want to hook a camcorder up to it you must use the s-video connections, not the i-Link. The i-Link is on there for future use, and there may be a sofware update for the TV sometime down the road to let you do this, but for now the i-Link is largely useless on that TV. Sorry!

 

[Yurik]

Jim,

Thanks, that explained a lot! Saw a full screen 16:9 HDTV show on CBS yesterday - looked awesome!

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Yurik,
You're only getting 3 HD channels because the HD transmitters were all on the WTC, and not all channels have gotten alternate transmitters up and running yet.