Help please re aspect ratio adjusting on DTR-T1010

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Help please re aspect ratio adjusting on DTR-T1010

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giotto

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Hi all, I've finally dipped a toe into the world of PVRs and bought a Humax DTR-T1010. My initial impressions have been very good, but I have one query regarding switching aspect ratios.

Everything is fine for 16:9 broadcasts, but if I record a 4:3 programme, it seems to stretch the image to fit a 16:9 display, and therafter, every programme I view via the Humax receivers is similarly stretched and slightly zoomed in. I've had a trawl through the various settings but don't see anywhere to adjust the aspect ratio.

If I revert to using the tv's receiver to view programmes however, the aspect ratio is still correct at 16:9. I therefore assume it's not the tv, but something to do with the Humax.

Am I missing something obvious, or is there really no way to manually adjust or over-ride the aspect ratio?

If it makes any difference, the tv is a Sony Bravia KDL42W7.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

| Thu 7 Aug 2014 16:59:06 #1 |
JamesB

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Can you alter the Sony settings independently for the tv tuner and for the Youview box? If so, you may need to adjust.

The YouView boxes always send a 16:9 picture (black bars added to 4:3 to make it 16:9) as I understand it. Any stretching is probably not being done by the DTR-T1010.

| Thu 7 Aug 2014 17:35:51 #2 |
gomezz

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Is this over HDMI or SCART? What type of TV set have you told the PVR it is connected to?

| Thu 7 Aug 2014 23:01:33 #3 |
giotto

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Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately, I can't alter the Sony settings independently for tv and pvr, it's only a 'global' adjustment available. The connection is via HDMI but I cold try it wihth a SCART connection to see if that makes any difference.

The work-around I found last night was for me to go back to viewing via thte tv's receiver, make sure the 'Full' (ie 16:9) aspect ratio was selected, then go into the My View listings and view a programe which was broadcast in the 16:9 format. This seemed to flick subsequent viewings made via the Humax revert to the regular 16:9, rather than the stretched version I'd previously been getting. (I've not figured out if I can actually view a 4:3 recorderd programme in that same aspect ratio - I'll try that tonight.)

It's not ideal, but at least it means I don't have to do a regular factory reset.

| Fri 8 Aug 2014 8:05:15 #4 |
JamesB

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Have you tried using ’Auto' rather than 'Full' in the TV's settings?

| Fri 8 Aug 2014 8:33:45 #5 |
giotto

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I can't be positive so I'll check again this evening, but I don't think there is an 'Auto' option. Full, Zoom, Normal and Caption are the ones I remember, but there might be a 5th I've forgotten.

| Fri 8 Aug 2014 12:46:11 #6 |
JamesB

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My guess - somewhere in the Sony settings there's another option which is for some reason getting altered when the TV tries to decide how it should display the recorded 4:3 content. And not getting changed back (to e.g. FULL, WIDE, WS, AUTO, DEFAULT, or 16:9) when the recording ends.

I've never had a Sony Bravia though, so I'm not speaking from experience.

| Fri 8 Aug 2014 13:57:04 #7 |
Martin Liddle

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Have you tried the 'Normal' option?

| Fri 8 Aug 2014 14:30:37 #8 |
JamesB

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According to an online manual at http://esupport.sony.com/referencebook/en/w5100/pages/funfeatures/widemode.html the "Normal" option is not available when the "original source" is 4:3

Though "original source" seems a slightly ambiguous term when it comes to 4:3 material embedded in a 16:9 picture.

| Fri 8 Aug 2014 15:08:01 #9 |
giotto

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In reply to ML, yes, I've tried 'Normal', but unfortunately, it makes no difference. What seems to be happening is that as son as I switch from the tv to the Humax, it forgets what you've set the aspect ratio to and takes control of this automatically.

As things stand at present, and without having changed anything, I can now at least watch 16:9 programmes (both live and recorded) on the Humax in the correct aspect ratio. 4:3 programmes are still stretched and zoomed in, but at least after I finish watching one such programme, it reverts to 16:9, which is an improvement on my earlier situation!

One further point to note is that for 4:3 programmes, I actually have the following Aspect Ratio options:

- Wide Zoom
- Normal
- Full
- Zoom
- 14:9 (not normally available)
- Caption

| Sun 10 Aug 2014 19:34:26 #10 |