# Aspect Radio issues



## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

If I left my TV in 4:3 mode, the V+ always switched to W/S mode automatically. This doesn't happen with the Tivo.

I also see that there are some display options that weren't on the old S1 or on the V+. I assume that these options are to do with having the unit attached to an HD TV?

If I remember rightly, the don't have SCART in the US. I assume this has something to do with it?

Perhaps, as someone suggested via Twitter, they haven't implemented the SCART switching correctly and if not, why not?

I suppose this _may_ also account for the problems my old CRT has staying in the correct aspect ratio anyway


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## ptruman (Jan 8, 2003)

It behaves perfectly well on HDMI for me, although I did have to set the display option to "Panel". Not entirely sure about the SCART as I've not really played with it, but mine is fed to a DVD+RW which has screen size options of it's own, so I *could* get it really confusing


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## hornist (May 13, 2002)

I got confused by this when mine first arrived, and I was using it via SCART with an SD TV. It seems that the TiVo box does all of the 16:9/4:3 handling itself, so if you tell it that you have a 16:9 TV it will always send a 16:9 image to the TV, and will make its own decisions about how to convert a 4:3 picture. By default it is set to stretch the 4:3 picture to fill the screen (can't imagine why anyone would want that as the default).

There's a page in the settings where you can change this to tell it to use black bars. Once I had set my TV to 16:9, my TiVo output to 16:9, and the TiVo aspect handling to black bars, then it was all OK. (I can't remember the exact option names on the TiVo and I'm not in front of it at the moment.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Then, as I suspected, it's my TV that's the problem as it sometimes changes mode by itself and - even weirder - although it displays "widescreen" is looks like 14:9  

It's not just me as there's a thread about it over on the AV Forums, but we do both have Panasonic TVs!


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## Digital Fanatic (Feb 16, 2011)

cwaring said:


> Then, as I suspected, it's my TV that's the problem as it sometimes changes mode by itself and - even weirder - although it displays "widescreen" is looks like 14:9
> 
> It's not just me as there's a thread about it over on the AV Forums, but we do both have Panasonic TVs!


Is there no way to correct it in the settings of the tv?


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Yes. I have to press a button every time it changes. Which is usually only oncer per session but it's still annoying  Won't be able to afford an HDTV for a while either.


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## Digital Fanatic (Feb 16, 2011)

cwaring said:


> Yes. I have to press a button every time it changes. Which is usually only oncer per session but it's still annoying  Won't be able to afford an HDTV for a while either.


At least there's a workaround then, but annoying non the less. You gonna save up for a new tv then, Carl?


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## Zaichik (Mar 21, 2002)

cwaring said:


> Then, as I suspected, it's my TV that's the problem as it sometimes changes mode by itself and - even weirder - although it displays "widescreen" is looks like 14:9
> 
> It's not just me as there's a thread about it over on the AV Forums, but we do both have Panasonic TVs!


Boo! 'Twas me that started the thread over on the AV Forums!


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Zaichik said:


> Boo! 'Twas me that started the thread over on the AV Forums!


Oh... okay. Sorry. Lousy memory 


Digital Fanatic said:


> You gonna save up for a new tv then, Carl?


Wouldn't have to if the damned thing worked right


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## dogsbody (May 2, 2005)

I have this exact same problem and it's REALLY bugging me!! 

Sony CRT TV connected to TiVo via SCART. TV is set to Widescreen and TiVo is set to "Panel". Half way through a show the TV suddenly flips to 14:9, cuts off the top & bottom of the screen and adds black bars to the sides 

It wouldn't be so bad if it just happened when I turned the TV on but it does it randomly thoughout a session especially when witching between TV and TiVo screens. It never once happened before with S1 TiVo 

I can't afford a TV or even an HDMI -> SCART adaptor. Is there anything at all I can do to fix it? Would cutting any of the SCART pins help?

I would so happy to put my TV remote in a draw now the TiVo has long press power but have now had to get it out again to keep switching resolutions 

Thank you in advance for any advice!


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

14:9? AFAIK there's no 14:9 signalling over SCART, just 16:9 and 4:3.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

^ Exactly


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## dogsbody (May 2, 2005)

I know! but that's what it's making my TV switch to!


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## Tavis75 (Jan 27, 2011)

There is a specific pin for 16:9 signalling on scart, though I can't remember which it is off the top of my head, google should help with that. So guess you could try snipping it off and seeing if it fixes your problem.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pin 8. But there's also a "software" signal in the blanking interval.


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## Brangdon (Feb 9, 2001)

hornist said:


> t seems that the TiVo box does all of the 16:9/4:3 handling itself, so if you tell it that you have a 16:9 TV it will always send a 16:9 image to the TV, and will make its own decisions about how to convert a 4:3 picture.


This is rather a shame, because it sometimes makes worse choices than my TV does. I've had some programmes where a wide-screen picture was reduced into an SD 4:3 frame, with black bars at top and bottom, and then a channel ident overlaid over the top bar. My TV was smart enough to expand the main picture even though it meant clipping the ident. TiVo doesn't.

This example is from memory; I may have the details wrong. I ended up with a smaller picture, with black bars both left and right and above and below.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Brangdon said:


> I've had some programmes where a wide-screen picture was reduced into an SD 4:3 frame, with black bars at top and bottom, and then a channel ident overlaid over the top bar.


To be fair, that's the channel not the Tivo. MTV, for example; TCM also.



> My TV was smart enough to expand the main picture even though it meant clipping the ident. TiVo doesn't.


Actually, it can. As mentioned above, you need to set the Tivo up to handle it how you want.

Help & Settings | Settings | Video Output


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## dogsbody (May 2, 2005)

TCM2007 said:


> Pin 8. But there's also a "software" signal in the blanking interval.


Have tried removing pin 8 but the resizing is still happening 

It's really starting to annoy me now as it will randomly switch the TV's resolution a number of times per session. Even pausing a TV program can make the TV switch and certainly going to the menu's and back does it.

While I wanted to set the Video Settings to "Panel" I have now tried all the different settings to try and get the TV to not switch but they all do it. None of any of my other set top boxes have caused this problem!


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## Zaichik (Mar 21, 2002)

This aspect problem is really pissing me off now. Quite apart from constantly having to adjust my TV, I copied some programmes to DVD last night and they have also ended up in 14:9. My portable player can't adjust the aspect to fill the screen so it just looks wrong.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

^ You mean 4:3, surely? ie unstretched anamorphic W/S? I think this is correct as isn't the TV is supposed to handle the W/S switching? The thing I have noticed is that the signal that it's an anamorphic pic that _needs_ "correcting" isn't there.

Though I could be wrong on ALL of that


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## dogsbody (May 2, 2005)

This is really upsetting me too :-(

Had a phone call from VM last week wanting feedback, I was in the middle of something and they said they would call back an hour later. They never did and I feel I have missed the opportunity


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## OzSat (Feb 15, 2001)

Tavis75 said:


> There is a specific pin for 16:9 signalling on scart, though I can't remember which it is off the top of my head, google should help with that. So guess you could try snipping it off and seeing if it fixes your problem.


On VM/TiVo - the output is always 16:9 so there is no SCART switching.

The borders are added by TiVo - as they are via HDMI.


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## Zaichik (Mar 21, 2002)

cwaring said:


> ^ You mean 4:3, surely? ie unstretched anamorphic W/S? I think this is correct as isn't the TV is supposed to handle the W/S switching? The thing I have noticed is that the signal that it's an anamorphic pic that _needs_ "correcting" isn't there.
> 
> Though I could be wrong on ALL of that


The portable DVD player doesn't have any problems showing other stuff (including that recorded on my DVD recorder) at the correct aspect, but I can't even manually adjust the TiVo recordings to fill the screen. The borders are part of the recording as it is on the disc.


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## Ianl (Nov 16, 2000)

i connected up the scart recently to a second (widescreen) tv and am having aspect ratio problems.

the HDMI output is still always ok

the scart out shows 4x3 but filling the width (ie top and bottom of image cropped off) and sometimes switches repeatedly between this and stretching the image to fit the widescreen.

not helpful in menus when some of the options keepjumping off the screen


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## Zaichik (Mar 21, 2002)

Virgin have stated on their TiVo forums that they have fixed the aspect ratio switching problem and the fix will be released in a future software update. (They haven't said when, though.)

This is good because this issue is, for me, by far the most annoying glitch with the Virgin TiVo.


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## dogsbody (May 2, 2005)

Awesome! I am very very happy about this


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Nice. Update expected sometime in the Autumn I think. So Aug/Sept/Oct.


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