Very starnge Toshiba HDTV problems (1 Viewer)

[Maneesh]

I just bought a Toshiba 51H93. I am using it with a Comcast hdtv cable box (Motorola DCT 5100) connected to its component inputs, and I'm having a few problems with hdtv content-

Most HDTV channels (ABC, ESPNHD, NBC) display with black bars on the left and right. The black bars are not as big as those when I watch 4:3 tv without any stretch modes, and something strange is going on -

- on ESPNHD, the bars are not totally black but instead display a background texture which I think reads HD in big striped silver letters

- KQED displays perfectly in all its 16:9 glory

- widescreen dvd's display perfectly

On the Toshibas for any hdtv input, there are no picture mode adjustments (Theaterwide 1,2,3 etc) available, thats how I know the tv is displaying hdtv signals and I can't adjust it.

I have cheched the cable box output (using the trick of powering it off, then hitting menu), and its set to a 16:9 tv with 1080i output.

I know NBC broadcasts in 1080i, ESPN in 720p, I was unable to find out what KQED is in. The Tosh supposedly upscales everything to 1080i.

I am really perplexed by this. Is my tv bad? I can't imagine why it shows some hdtv signals correctly and fails on others.

Please help me!! The Olympics start tonight and that was a big reason for buying the tv

edit - sorry for the bad spelling in the title - can't change in now

 

[John S]

Your set is fine, you are experiencing a normal fact of us being in transition between NTSC and HDTV, you are see'n what the channel puts out, if/when they really put out a true HD presentation, all will be normal on those channels.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Although the channels are being broadcast in 1080i, the source material that they are displaying is often nothing more than upscaled 4:3 content. In most cases, 4:3 content broadcast on an HD signal will have bars on the sides.

ESPNHD is a great example of this:

The studio cameras on the Sportscenter set are true HD cameras - so when you see the anchors sitting at the desk the image looks spectacular and fills the entire screen. But when they cut to commercials, (or if they show some footage shot from a little league baseball game in Shemokin, Pennsylvania), that material is not shot in HD and so is nothing more than upscaled SD content - hence the bars on the side. SOME local networks may choose to stretch 4:3 material BEFORE they broadcast it (however, I think this is very rare). In this instance, the image may fill the screen, but will not look as sharp as native HD material.

Don't worry about the Olympics - I'm certain that they will be broadcast in full 1080i, HD, widescreen glory. It'll look awesome.

-Jason

 

[Maneesh]

Thanks, thats a relief !!

So right now th eonly true HD source is KQED and thats only for a couple hours each day.

How about shows like Alias, CSI etc which are advertised as HDTV. I'm hoping they are not upscaled 4:3.

Another concern is I now have to worry about burn in on these channels, since I Can't even stretch the picture. That really sucks.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

If you are concerned about burnin, watch 4:3 shows on the regular SD channels and only true HD on the HD channels. That way you can stretch the 4:3 content and protect your display. There is an improvement in the upconverted 4:3 stuff, but not so much to worry and it frustrates me to no end to watch upconverted stuff because it just reminds me how much better it would be in true HD.