Sky HD Screen ratio

[quietlife]

Just had Sky HD installed today. Watching a number of the HD channels, I can only get a 4:3 picture. For example watching Ch4 HD is a 4:3, but turning over to SD Ch4 the pic is expanded to fill the screen

Noticed it on a few ITV channels as well. All the box settings are set to 16:9, TV is set to 'auto'.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[Broadz]

What am I doing wrong?

What you are doing wrong is wanting a 4:3 picture to fill a wide screen. 4:3 shouldn't fill the screen - it should have black borders left and right to maintain the correct aspect ratio. Sky assume if you are watching the HD channel that you care about picture quality and want to watch the best picture you possibly can - which is in the correct aspect ratio.

If you don't want decent quality, and do want to stretch the picture to fill the screen, continue to watch it on the equivalent SD channel. That'll screw it up for you.

 

[oosyadaddy]

http://www.avforums.com/forums/sky-hd-sky-3d/1167995-hd-non-hd-different-aspect-ratio.html

 

[HDCriticalFan]

Watching a number of the HD channels, I can only get a 4:3 picture.

That's right. Sky and other broadcasters often implement this correctly. If a 4:3 show is on an HD channel (e.g. Frasier on C4HD) then it will appear in 4:3 ... with black bars at each side.

This is the way it is supposed to look.

If you prefer to distort and s-t-r-e-t-c-h the picture to fill the screen unnaturally, then you are welcome to switch to 104 (SD) and watch it there. Don't worry about it being an SD channel - virtually all 4:3 material is only SD anyway.





Regards

 

[pdoherty76]

That's right. Sky and other broadcasters often implement this correctly. If a 4:3 show is on an HD channel (e.g. Frasier on C4HD) then it will appear in 4:3 ... with black bars at each side.

This is the way it is supposed to look.

If you prefer to distort and s-t-r-e-t-c-h the picture to fill the screen unnaturally, then you are welcome to switch to 104 (SD) and watch it there. Don't worry about it being an SD channel - virtually all 4:3 material is only SD anyway.





Regards

Sky sports usually get this wrong. When they show 4:3 footage on sky sports HD they stretch it to fit the screen. ITV are doing it right, sky, not so much.

 

[pdoherty76]

What you are doing wrong is wanting a 4:3 picture to fill a wide screen. 4:3 shouldn't fill the screen - it should have black borders left and right to maintain the correct aspect ratio. Sky assume if you are watching the HD channel that you care about picture quality and want to watch the best picture you possibly can - which is in the correct aspect ratio.

If you don't want decent quality, and do want to stretch the picture to fill the screen, continue to watch it on the equivalent SD channel. That'll screw it up for you.

So why do sky sports HD stretch all 4:3 footage to 16:9 on their channels?

 

[Broadz]

So why do sky sports HD stretch all 4:3 footage to 16:9 on their channels?

Don't think they do. But, can't remember seeing anything 4:3 on Sky Sports channels since Sky Sports News went high def.

 

[pdoherty76]

Don't think they do. But, can't remember seeing anything 4:3 on Sky Sports channels since Sky Sports News went high def.

Oh, yes they do. For example, on sky sports 1 HD tonight they are showing highlights of a classic test match from 2000. Switch it on and you will see it stretched to 16:9. They do it on every piece of old sports footage they show.

This is kinda the point. ITV3 old programs were made before we had widescreen and there are plenty of sports shown that were made before widescreen too.