Hi-Def tv question

• Hi-Def tv question yanke Posted : 3/4/2007 10:13:55 AM We got a new tv last night.  We have cable with Hi-def.  There are a group of stations listed as hi-def  (700 -730).  On our cable,  channel 2 and channel 704 are CBS.  My understanding is that cbs broadcasts in Hi-def during Prime time. -does this mean that the braodcast will be in high def on both channels or only the hi-def channels during prime time? -why do some stations take up the whole screen and others have "borders" around them? LIKE 8 REPLIES 277 VIEWS LAST POST PRINCE_PRIDE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• pofi_pasquale Posted : 3/4/2007 10:24:51 AM Hi, Yankee - congrats on the new electronic addition.   I've had my "HD capable" tv for a while and dig cable with HD channels.    On your first question, the time is the same, but the HD channel is truly the HD - I honestly think they are broadcasting the signal twice - in HD on the HD channel and standard broadcast on the others.  I don't bother with the non HD any longer - the difference is dramatic.   My favorite thing has been HD Discovery Theater - almost all the programming is developed with HD in mind - well, except for the "Sell My Car" and broadcasts of some standard Discovery fare.  But the special Travel/Adventure/Nature programming they do is amazing.  And opera and some other music too.   On the borders - I still think HD can be formatted in different ratios and I bought the wrong size TV screen to have the most common ratio.  I have a 32 and the 34 would have had more channels without the border.  Truthfully, I don't even notice it anymore!   0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• yanke Posted : 3/4/2007 10:39:09 AM Thanks.  From what you said i'm guessing that you can only get hi-def on the hi-def channels.  I still don't understand why some of the hi-def channels take up the whole screen and some don't.  Is it because the hi-def cbs channel might not be broadcasting in hi-def during the day - only at night?  In other words, it will go to the full screen when when in hi-def  tonight? 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• rwbeagles Posted : 3/4/2007 10:47:42 AM yanke...it is the aspect ratio. Borders have to do with aspect ratio...not HDTV or not. 4:3 is regular box TV...wide screen tv would be 16:9...or something like that. How something is broadcast determines it's appearance on the screen.   MOST all commercials and, probably close to 75% of programming across the entire thing is NOT in HDTV right now. That is still to come..there's some 'date" by which ALL BROADCAST must be in HD...but that doesn't apply to CABLE or Satellite channels that are not broadcast and no 'antenna' would pick up.   Hope that helps?   ETA: in viewing an wide screen TV recently I determined that the borders would drive me INSANE...the switching. We are waiting until there is MORE HDTV and things shot in the right aspect ratio...probably a few more years. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• pofi_pasquale Posted : 3/4/2007 10:47:42 AM That's possible, Yankee. But it may be the format/ratio of their broadcast compared with the format ratio of your TV.    Most of my HD channels are "letter boxed" most of the time -the grey band at bottom and top.  This is becaue my TV screen is not really the right dimensions for whatever that ratio is - mine is closer to square than rectangular. If I'd gotten the same TV in the 34" model, I think I would not have that.   But even so, some programs on some HD channels will sometimes have a small border on all 4 sides - maybe those aren't HD programs - I hadn't really thought about it.  Or maybe that station is using a slightly different ratio.    I can mess with the picture to make it fill the screen, but there is some distortion. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• pofi_pasquale Posted : 3/4/2007 10:51:24 AM Gina's got the numbers right, I think. My TV is actually a 4:3 ration rather than the 16:9.  If I'd been paying attention, the 34" screen was 16:9.   But 32" is plenty big for my living room and I seriously don't notice the borders anymore.   And even when the programming is not HD, the HD channel, in our case, still provides a sharper, clearer picture and better def than the non. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• yanke Posted : 3/4/2007 11:07:55 AM Okay - i think i've got it! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• boneyjean Posted : 3/4/2007 11:13:42 AM We have borders on all of our HD channels.  When we go to CBS on the regular channel and not the HD channel it doesn't have borders ever but I personally think it looks better on the HD channel still and quite honestly, I don't even notice the borders anymore.  If you play with the views you can actually get rid of some of the borders.  We have ours now so that we just have the border at the top and the bottom which I don't think we could get rid of.  I  never even notice it anymore except when we first change the channel because the quality of the picture is so much better.    0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Prince_Pride Posted : 3/5/2007 10:47:43 AM Hmmm...any and all HD programming should be in the 16:9 ratio. Any HD programming I watch takes up the entire 56" screen of my tv, but it is a widescreen TV.   If you have a 4:3 TV any HD programming will have the bars since all HD is broadcast in 16:9 ratio.   On my TV if any programming is not broadcast in HD, I get the bars on the left and right of the picture. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login