# Bolt Aspect Ratio



## FluteMusic88 (Jan 26, 2011)

I just got a new Bolt 500GB last week to replace my dead Tivo HD. It took me awhile to figure everything out, adjust settings, and get the hang of it, but I think I have it all figured out, except one problem. I have a really, really old TV, one of the ones that's practically a foot deep, and so its screen is the standard 4:3 aspect ratio size. On the Tivo Bolt, like the Tivo HD, you hit the zoom button (or in the case of the Tivo HD the Aspect button) to switch between Full, Panel, and Zoom. This worked great on the Tivo HD, and I kept it in panel to be able to view everything properly.

The problem is, this isn't working on my Bolt. No matter what you set it to, it's showing in either full or zoom, which makes almost everything look horrible. You hit the zoom button and the little pop up comes up and scrolls between the three settings, but the aspect ratio of the picture doesn't change. I've tried changing it in the Tivo settings, changing it on the remote, playing around with the video quality - nothing changes the aspect ratio of the picture. The only way I can view things correctly is to use my TV remote, go into its settings, and change it from 4:3 to 16:9, which luckily does work and I can do, but every time I turn the TV off and then turn it on again, it goes back to 4:3, which is really, really annoying, especially since I know it should be working on the Tivo.

Has anyone else run into this problem or know how to fix it? Is there some setting or process I'm missing? Thank you all in advance for your help!


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I assume you have set the Bolt video output to fixed 480? If not, that might affect how it is behaving.

My first Bolt had a similar problem to what you describe, and it was not affected by changing the fixed output - I cannot say it was identical based on your limited information. In short, the zoom function on my Bolt worked exactly backwards. All of my TVs are 16:9 HD displays, and when a TiVo tunes into a channel broadcasting a 16:9 signal, the Zoom/Aspect button should do nothing if the TV is also 16:9, but if that TiVo is then tuned to a channel broadcasting a 4:3 signal (such as COZI or other stations that mostly air old-time TV programs), then the Zoom/Aspect button should change the TiVo output to either panel. full or zoom, with Panel being the original 4:3 picture aspect with pillar-box bars on the sides. That is the way it SHOULD work.

But with my first Bolt, the Zoom button would only change the aspect ration on true HD 16:9 stations (the ones it should NOT have been able to change with my TV). When I would tune into an SD station, the picture was permanently set to "full", which is stretched sideways to fill the screen and make everyone short and fat. My guess is that there was some fault in the circuitry that kept the Bolt from sensing that the connected display was really 16:9 instead of old 4:3. TiVo tried to just brush me off, telling it was my stupid and old HD TV, despite that fact that the Bolt had the problem with all of them, and my old S3 boxes did not. They even tried to tell me that my Sony Plasma was physically incapable of displaying a 4:3 signal! Took me several weeks of fighting with tech support to finally get them to send me a replacement Bolt, and the new one solved the problem.


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## chicagobrownblue (May 29, 2008)

Maybe it's time to consider a new TV? A smallish 720p should give you a dramatically better picture.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

And the savings in electricity should be significant also.


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## thyname (Dec 27, 2010)

FluteMusic88 said:


> I just got a new Bolt 500GB last week to replace my dead Tivo HD. It took me awhile to figure everything out, adjust settings, and get the hang of it, but I think I have it all figured out, except one problem. I have a really, really old TV, one of the ones that's practically a foot deep, and so its screen is the standard 4:3 aspect ratio size. On the Tivo Bolt, like the Tivo HD, you hit the zoom button (or in the case of the Tivo HD the Aspect button) to switch between Full, Panel, and Zoom. This worked great on the Tivo HD, and I kept it in panel to be able to view everything properly.
> 
> The problem is, this isn't working on my Bolt. No matter what you set it to, it's showing in either full or zoom, which makes almost everything look horrible. You hit the zoom button and the little pop up comes up and scrolls between the three settings, but the aspect ratio of the picture doesn't change. I've tried changing it in the Tivo settings, changing it on the remote, playing around with the video quality - nothing changes the aspect ratio of the picture. The only way I can view things correctly is to use my TV remote, go into its settings, and change it from 4:3 to 16:9, which luckily does work and I can do, but every time I turn the TV off and then turn it on again, it goes back to 4:3, which is really, really annoying, especially since I know it should be working on the Tivo.
> 
> Has anyone else run into this problem or know how to fix it? Is there some setting or process I'm missing? Thank you all in advance for your help!


Really. Time to get a new tv. If budget is an issue (just like all of us), there are some great deals on smaller flat screens on Best Buy and elsewhere. Go take a look and you may be surprised.


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## FluteMusic88 (Jan 26, 2011)

V7Goose said:


> I assume you have set the Bolt video output to fixed 480? If not, that might affect how it is behaving.
> 
> My first Bolt had a similar problem to what you describe, and it was not affected by changing the fixed output - I cannot say it was identical based on your limited information. In short, the zoom function on my Bolt worked exactly backwards. All of my TVs are 16:9 HD displays, and when a TiVo tunes into a channel broadcasting a 16:9 signal, the Zoom/Aspect button should do nothing if the TV is also 16:9, but if that TiVo is then tuned to a channel broadcasting a 4:3 signal (such as COZI or other stations that mostly air old-time TV programs), then the Zoom/Aspect button should change the TiVo output to either panel. full or zoom, with Panel being the original 4:3 picture aspect with pillar-box bars on the sides. That is the way it SHOULD work.
> 
> But with my first Bolt, the Zoom button would only change the aspect ration on true HD 16:9 stations (the ones it should NOT have been able to change with my TV). When I would tune into an SD station, the picture was permanently set to "full", which is stretched sideways to fill the screen and make everyone short and fat. My guess is that there was some fault in the circuitry that kept the Bolt from sensing that the connected display was really 16:9 instead of old 4:3. TiVo tried to just brush me off, telling it was my stupid and old HD TV, despite that fact that the Bolt had the problem with all of them, and my old S3 boxes did not. They even tried to tell me that my Sony Plasma was physically incapable of displaying a 4:3 signal! Took me several weeks of fighting with tech support to finally get them to send me a replacement Bolt, and the new one solved the problem.


The Tivo won't allow it to be set to 480 because of the HD menus. The lowest you can go is 720. No matter what channel I'm on, HD or SD, the zoom button changes absolutely nothing except the little tag that says Panel, Full, or Zoom. The picture stays put. With most programs being HD, it looks AWFUL until I change the TV to 16:9. Fortunately, on 16:9, it seems to be automatically set to panel, which works well for pretty much everything and is the setting I prefer. It's just a pain to change it every time I turn on the TV, with a remote that I haven't need to use in years. (It took me awhile to even find it, but it's better than doing it with the buttons on the front of the TV!) I have a feeling you might be right about it being a problem with the Bolt, but it sounds like with my old TV, they probably wouldn't send me another one and blame the TV, like everyone else is. LOL. Gotta love it when you buy something new with a problem and the solution is to spend more money on something else that isn't broken, just old.


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## BigJimOutlaw (Mar 21, 2004)

Assuming the Bolt is passing through an HDMI-to-analog converter, that's a possible fail point also. I don't use any, but I'm throwing it out there.

Not to be dismissive of the problem but ideally the TV would stay in 16:9. The Bolt can't really enforce that, and it's designed to expect a widescreen TV since it's HDMI-only.


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## FluteMusic88 (Jan 26, 2011)

BigJimOutlaw said:


> Assuming the Bolt is passing through an HDMI-to-analog converter, that's a possible fail point also. I don't use any, but I'm throwing it out there.
> 
> Not to be dismissive of the problem but ideally the TV would stay in 16:9. The Bolt can't really enforce that, and it's designed to expect a widescreen TV since it's HDMI-only.


Now that makes a lot of sense. I am using a converter... So there might be a loss of aspect ratio adjustment through the converter. Changing the ratio on the TV is a work around, and you're right: ideally, it would just stay there. No such luck I guess. But the silver lining is that there IS a work around at least! Otherwise, this would be miserable. The Bolt and converter were Christmas gifts. Maybe I can find out how much that converter cost and if I can find a TV that is close in cost, (like on Craigslist) return the converter and end up making more of a financial exchange than an additional purchase. (I think the converter ended up being kind of pricey for an add on and I almost forgot it until you mentioned it! Thanks!  )


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## V7Goose (May 28, 2005)

I had not tried setting my Bolt to fixed 480 output (no reason to!), but after your reply I tried it and saw the message about the menus requiring at least one HD output selected too. And having an HDMI converter connected definitely throws everything else up in the air! Cannot really blame the TV if it is not connected directly. One last comment on the TV - since it actually does have a 16:9 setting, you really should be able to get into the setup screens and change that to the default so that you do not need to change it with the remote. Find your manual and check into it.

Before the warranty runs out you really should find a friend with a modern HDTV to let you bring the Bolt over and make sure the zoom works properly on it. No need to hook up anything but the power and the HDMI cable to play back some recorded programs; shouldn't take any more than 15-20 minutes. Just make sure you know you have at least one program recorded in HD (either 720 or 1080, and one in SD (480). When connected to a real HDTV, the Zoom button will NOT change the aspect of an HD program, but it WILL change the aspect of an SD program.


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