Sony UPB-X700 player: problem with some DVDs of old TV material in 4:3 ratio

Bruce Morrison

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Hi everyone. I've come across a strange issue with my Sony UPB-X700 player. I was playing a DVD of older TV material in the 4:3 aspect ratio and I powered down the player, i.e. with the DVD still inside. When I restarted the player some time later, the playback resumed but the image was now filling the entire TV screen, so that everything was horizontally stretched. There was no way I could correct the aspect ratio except by ejecting and reloading the disc.

Having unexpectedly stumbled across this problem, I've done some more testing with other DVDs of 4:3 TV material. It doesn't happen with all such DVDs - in fact, it seems to be a particular problem with DVDs released by the BBC - for example their classic sitcoms from the '70s and '80s and DVDs of TV plays and series from that era. My TV is the Panasonic 65FZ802B. I've checked the relevant settings for the player and the TV and, as far as I can see, they are correct.

I don't know whether this would happen with other players. I haven't had this Sony player very long and I obviously don't play these older DVDs very often. Because it doesn't happen with all such DVDs, I suspect it may just be due to sloppy disc encoding. But I'd be interested to hear any thoughts or suggestions, particularly if people who may have similar DVDs could try this scenario on their players.
 

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