Pioneer DVR-545HX: Optimized SP recording to DVD-R corrupted aspect ratio

[Board Room]

Hi

I recently recorded a 2½hr program at SP on the HDD. Of course it was too big for one disc so I chose to optimize it.

I have my recorder set for widescreen 16:9 and connect to my TV via HDMI. The original SP recording on the HDD is fine but when I playback the optimized DVD-R the aspect ratio is messed up. When I choose widescreen the image size goes to 4:3 and of course everything looks sqaushed or streched. No matter what aspect ratio I choose on the TV for playback none of them look right.

Does anyone know why the aspect ratio got messed up simply because I chose to optimize it?

Thanks for any info.

B R

[tac7]

Have you tried to play it back through composite or component cables? A lot of people report strange aspect ratio problems when playing back through HDMI. May have nothing to do with selecting automatic optimization, although one would expect the playback to be the same from the HDD and DVD. What about playing the DVD on another player?