Toshiba 28w93b widescreen advice

[JohnD5000]

Hey I just got a second hand PAL Toshiba 28w93b CRT Widescreen TV. It's got around a 26/27" screen.

I was looking for setup advice. I like to watch shows in the correct aspect ratio and I don't like bits cut off or stretched. I have Virgin Media and I use my XBox 360 to watch DVDs. I have all the colours and everything setup how I want them which I am usualy pretty fussy about too.

I set my XBox and Virgin media box both to Widescreen 16:9 (The only other options they both have are 3:4 and Virgin Media also give the option of 4:3 Letter box which I had set up for my previous TV.)

Evrytime however I put in a DVD or watch a TV show and the reslution changes I have to do it manualy using the PIC SIZE button on the remote. The options the TV gives are Wide, 4:3, Super Live, Cinema and Subtitle. As you can probably tell from what I have already explained, I have been switching between 4:3 and Wide whenever I notice it should change.

I was just wondering if there are any settings that I can set on the TV for it to automaticaly change, if it will eventualy remember my preferences or if I am going to have to spend my time changing this setting forever?

I also didn't recieve an instruction manual with the TV and I was wondering if anyone knew anywhere I could download one for free. I tried a search in a few places but I have had no luck, only dubious sites claiming they'll let me download it or send me one at a price. There are a few buttons and settings that I'm not sure about but could possibly fix my dilema.

[JayCee]

You can download all Toshiba user manuals here
Down the LHS...
"CTV Direct View"
28" and over"
"Select"

[JohnD5000]

Cool, thanks. I got it. Browsing through it now. Anybody able to help me on the aspect ratio thing in the mean time?

From Lanarkshire I see... me too!

[JohnD5000]

Instruction manual is cool though everything about the pic size settings in it I already was aware of, so I could still do with some help about if I'll have to keep pressing the button all the time or not.

A few TVs ago I had a 4:3 one that had a 16:9 option, which I always found a bit unusual. After messing around with it a few times it eventualy remembered my preferences and changed automaticaly and remembered when I wanted it 16:9 or 4:3. Can this TV do that?

[JayCee]

If you have your Virgin Media box connected correctly by scart (it must be connected to the scart socket marked TV) the TV should autoadjust it's aspect ratio depending on the programme being broadcast.

[JohnD5000]

Thanks again for the reply. The Virgin box is plugged into the VCR through a scart connector and the VCR is plugged into the TV through another scart connector into the EXT1 port on the TV. Is it better in EXT2 or do I need to bypass the VCR altogether or am I set up ok?

Also, about my XBox playing DVDs. I have the video composite plugged into the front of the TV for that (and the audio plugs into my surround sound system) Would I need to scart the XBox for that to change automaticaly too?

[JayCee]

The Virgin STB should be plugged in to EXT1 on the TV and the VCR plugged in to the "VCR Scart" on the Virgin STB.

[JayCee]

Originally Posted by JohnD5000

Would I need to scart the XBox for that to change automaticaly too?

Yes, that's why you're not getting auto aspect ratio adjustment...so you could plug that into EXT2 on the TV.

[JohnD5000]

Hmmmm... I'll have a look see what I can do. I have quite an odd set up so that my surround sound works for everything. One scart in the back of my Virgin box goes into the video and the other gets converted into the surround sound. It is also plugged into the VCR using the ariel connector which I could live with for now as I don't use the VCR that much.

I'm going to try a couple of things now to test that I've thought of. I'll post back later with my results.

[JohnD5000]

OK, I tried plugging the scart right into the TV but it's still not doing it automaticaly. I only had 5 mins to try it though and I'm out tonight so I'll have more time to fiddle with it tomorow. Are you sure it should definately automaticaly change? Are there some that don't or do they all change? Do I need to keep changing it manualy before it gets the idea like I was suggesting originaly?

[JayCee]

Just had a read of the manual and it looks as though this model (which is not a genuine Toshiba design but a bought-in Vestel chassis) does not adhere to the normal aspect ratio conventions.
Best to leave it in "wide" mode which is designed for 16x9 and just change it manually when viewing 4x3.

[JohnD5000]

Well when I got home today it was changing itself no problems. I don't know if anyone's been using it or not while I was out so I can't be sure what's been hapening to it since I've been gone.

I then decided to try out my XBox and see what was happening with it. The TV then corrected itself to 4:3 when it should have been set to 16:9 for it. So I corrected it and tried some DVDs with different aspect ratios in it. It didn't change for them.

I then put it back to the TV again and now that's went back to not changing automaticaly after it being fine when I came in.

I felt emoticons would correctly express my mixed emotions throughout these steps.

[JohnD5000]

OK, aparently I need to turn the TV and digital box off then turn on the TV followed by the digital box so that it resets itself again and works the way I want it. I can live with that. Thanks for your help JayCee!

EDIT: Right, I figured out how to get it working. Basicaly I just have to make sure that the TV is set to 4:3 before I change the channel or before I turn on the digital box and then it all sets itself up for me. I can't get it to work for my XBox but I can live with having to do that manualy as long as it's working for the TV. I don't know why it's not working for the XBox, maybe because it's not a direct scart plug into the back, it's a conversion from composite to scart, not sure maybe you can clear that one up for sure?

One thing I'll have to live with though is the annoying click the TV makes when it changes ratio. What's the deal with that?