Dvd player plays widescreen dvds in fullscreen on widescreen tv

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

I just got a Sharp 42" widescreen TV but my dvb712 dvd player will only play dvds in fullscreen. In the dvd settings widescreen is selected but it still plays fullscreen. I use the standard red,white,yellow cords but I also tried an HDMI cable with no luck.

In the dvd settings when I select full screen it will still play fullscreen but now puts the bars on the tops and bottoms showing the movie in widescreen but still on a 4:3 image.

And before you ask, yes they are widescreen, store bought movies. They play widescreen on my computer.


Any help??

[Noahtuck]

I have 4 widescreen LCD/LED TV's and the tv remotes themselves have a button/setting, 4 actually, that allows you to zoom in or out the aspect ratio of what you are watching on the screen.

I don't remember exactly what they are called but something like, 1:1, stretch, fullscreen and overscan ?

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

Yes the remote hase several options "normal, Smart Stretch, Stretch, Zoom"

The problem is that they all crop the edges because its taking the fullscreen image and making it widescreen. for some reason the image is only giving a 4:3.

[davexnet]

Seems as if it treats the signal from the DVD player as 4:3 no matter was is actually playing.
When you tried HDMI, did you output at 1080i signal to the TV?

[yoda313]

Yes make sure your at 1080i or p for hdmi to get the widescreen working at its optimal level.

The other thing is to go back into your dvd player setting and choose WIDESCREEN instead of fullscreen if these are indeed widescreen dvds. It should scale it properly to 16:9 and do the stretch automatically without distortion or need for manually manipulating in the tv menus.

The last thing is make sure these aren't letterboxed dvds. Many older first generation releases of dvd movies were letterboxed not 16:9. They'd play 4:3 and have the widescreen frame locked inside the 4:3. Kind of the postage stamp effect where the rectangular image you want is surrounded by black on all sides rather than just the normal black bars on top and bottom the way its meant to be on a widescreen tv.

Keep fooling with the settings and you should nail it assuming these are true 16:9 dvds. Otherwise if they are letterboxed your stuck with using the zoom feature - which isn't bad at all just a nuisance - and some tend not to fully fill the frame regardless if they are 1.85:2 or 2.35:1 - some dvd players just don't seem to properly zoom on letterboxed material.

Take the xbox 360 and ps3 for example. I have both hooked up to my tv. THe 360 via the vga cable and the ps3 via hdmi. The 360 has an internal zoom setting that perfectly stretches a letterboxed video to fill properly. The ps3 seems to leave a small black border around the video. If I use the ps3 for letterboxed material I usually use the tvs three zoom settings rather than the ps3.

Edit - I see you say they do play widescreen on your computer. Thats still not a 100% confirmation of them being widescreen if you have a video player set to stretch a letterbox image to fill the screen. However if these are recent movies chances are they are true 16:9. Also check the disc itself or the box you bought it in to confirm it says 16:9 widescreen - it will still say widescreen even if its letterbox but won't say 16:9 if its letterbox.

Its weird but true in my circumstances. Perhaps if I had the 360 connected via hdmi it would exhibit the same behavior. It is a hdmi model but I leave it hooked via vga to keep my inputs where they are.


Also you say you are using rca cables in addition the hdmi. Have you tried svideo out? Does the player have svideo out? Does the tv have svideo in? You'll get a bit of a better picture with svideo.

Also is component available on both the player and the tv? Try that as well.

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

I figured it out.

It was the resolution, when i changed it to 1080 with the hdmi it went widescreen surprise surprise.


Thanks guys!

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

I spoke too soon.

Now with the hdmi at 1080 the dvd player ONLY plays widescreen. it just stretches full screen dvds out.

I really hope that there is another way than having to go into the settings and change from 1080 to 480 every time i watch a different aspect ratio.

argh!

[jagabo]

Most DVD players have the ability to pillarbox 4:3 material when putting out a widescreen picture. You just have to look through the menus and find the setting.

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

Most DVD players have the ability to pillarbox 4:3 material when putting out a widescreen picture. You just have to look through the menus and find the setting.

I think you missed the point, the settings on the dvd player for widescreen/fullscreen dont do anything. Its only the resolution that changes the picture. Other than that theres nothing on the menu for that.

[davexnet]

There is probably a setting on the TV. Either 4:3 pillar box, 4:3 stretched, or 4:3 pseudo-widescreen
where it attempts to leave the center untouched and stretches the edges to the sides

[jagabo]

Most DVD players have the ability to pillarbox 4:3 material when putting out a widescreen picture. You just have to look through the menus and find the setting.

I think you missed the point, the settings on the dvd player for widescreen/fullscreen dont do anything. Its only the resolution that changes the picture. Other than that theres nothing on the menu for that.

No, I didn't miss the point. I've used many different DVD players and TVs. When you have the player set to output 1920x1080 it's the players responsibility to format the picture. With modern player there's nearly always a combination of settings on the player that has it automatically output widescreen DVDs as widescreen and full screen DVDs as widescreen with pillarboxing (very old players, those made before there were widescreen TVs, are an exception). Unfortunately, it's not always obvious what those settings are because different players use different terminology and different combinations of settings. Try setting the output to 1920x1080 and the widescreen/fullscreen option to fullscreen.

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

I tried both the pan & scan and the letterbox options on 1080 but both stayed full widescreen on a fullscreen dvd and on a widescreen 16x9 dvd it looked like it took a fullscreen picture and streched it to a 2:35:1 picture.

what the heck is going on?

[jagabo]

I tried both the pan & scan and the letterbox options on 1080 but both stayed full widescreen on a fullscreen dvd and on a widescreen 16x9 dvd it looked like it took a fullscreen picture and streched it to a 2:35:1 picture.

what the heck is going on?

I think your TV is set wrong. It's set to stretch a the center 4:3 portion of the picture to the full width of the 16:9 screen.

[wulf109]

Some DVD players,many Philips models, have another setting in the menu to output 4:3 in pillarbox,it's usually in the HDMI menu,so that it displays 4:3 with correct AR. Many DVD players have no such option and by default will display 4:3 stretched to fill the 16;9 screen. If that's the case with your DVD player your out of luck unless your TV can correct the problem. Look in your TV's menu or sizing remote button for an option called 4:3HD. The video screen size option in your DVD player is useless for this problem.

[neomaine]

I'm with Jagabo on this one. You're half way there. Find a setting on your TV the is '1 to 1', 'Pixel Maping' or something that disables any overscan or zooming function.

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

As i said earlier there are 4 view modes on the tv remote and thats all i can find. with the cables the first choice was called 'normal' but on hdmi its called 'dot by dot' which shows the full picture however on 1080 it still stretches it.

I guess im S.O.L. until i get a new player

[jagabo]

Is your TV native 1080p or 720p? Put the TV in "dot by dot" mode. That's the 1 to 1 pixel mapping neomaine spoke of. Then go through the DVD players options again. It's been many years since I saw a DVD player that can't properly format upscaled HDMI output (it looks like your player is 4 or 5 years old but that's not so old). Make sure the DVDs you are testing with are 4:3 and anamorphic 16:9. And remember 2:35 movies will still have letterbox bars on a 16:9 TV.

[wulf109]

DVB712 DVD player is that an LG brand? or Zenith? I looked up a Sharp TV manual and your problem is only going to be solved with a new DVD player. I can't look up the LG manual because it requires Internet Explorer and I won't use it.

[Fireworks_at_Dawn]

DVB712 DVD player is that an LG brand? or Zenith? I looked up a Sharp TV manual and your problem is only going to be solved with a new DVD player. I can't look up the LG manual because it requires Internet Explorer and I won't use it.

It is a zenith. What does it say in the manual? I couldnt find anything.

Is your TV native 1080p or 720p? Put the TV in "dot by dot" mode. That's the 1 to 1 pixel mapping neomaine spoke of. Then go through the DVD players options again. It's been many years since I saw a DVD player that can't properly format upscaled HDMI output (it looks like your player is 4 or 5 years old but that's not so old). Make sure the DVDs you are testing with are 4:3 and anamorphic 16:9. And remember 2:35 movies will still have letterbox bars on a 16:9 TV.

Its 1080p. The way i have it set now it plays 16:9 and 2:35 movies normal but stretches the 4:3's. One of the ways i tried earlier would scruntch the 2:35's even more than what they should have is what i meant.

[MilesAhead]

As i said earlier there are 4 view modes on the tv remote and thats all i can find. with the cables the first choice was called 'normal' but on hdmi its called 'dot by dot' which shows the full picture however on 1080 it still stretches it.

I guess im S.O.L. until i get a new player

I think so. I have Philips 5990 players. They will pillar 4x3 picture and upconvert to 1080 only if connected via HDMI. My TV will upconvert 16x9 video whether connected via composite or component cable. But if it's 4x3 the TV just shows it full screen in SD. I took the DVD player off my HDMI connection and use component. I have set top box on the HDMI as it plays the most formats with upconverting and can pillar 4x3 content over HDMI connection.

Usually the player or set top box has a setting to autodetect the highest resolution your TV can handle. I just leave it on that. My TV is 1080i and the auto setting works for both the set top box and the DVD player.

[wulf109]

I have a Philips 5990 hooked up via HDMI and 4:3 Pillar Box turned on. It displays 4:3 in correct AR on my 32 and 42 Toshiba 1080P TV's. I watch a lot of 4:3 DVD's so this feature is important to me and it works with the Philips 5990.

[jagabo]

All the Philips players I've had displayed both 4:3 and 16:9 properly. Maybe the oldest (640) had to be switched manually. But by the time I had an HDTV I wasn't using that player anymore. I currently have an LG Blu-ray player connected to the HDTV and it handles both properly.

[MilesAhead]

I have a Philips 5990 hooked up via HDMI and 4:3 Pillar Box turned on. It displays 4:3 in correct AR on my 32 and 42 Toshiba 1080P TV's. I watch a lot of 4:3 DVD's so this feature is important to me and it works with the Philips 5990.

Forgive me but I don't see where your statement contradicts mine. Philips 5990 will postage stamp letterbox 4x3 DVD over the HDMI connection. But not via component or composite. But since it won't play HD resolution sources such as HD avi mp4 mkv etc.. it's a better use of my HDMI TV input to hook it to the set top box. My TV will upconvert 16x9 video from the DVD player over the other connections.

If you read the 5990 manual, the DVD player only does upconversion over the HDMI connection. If you get an HD picture over another connection it's because the TV is doing the upscaling.

[MilesAhead]

...

[JJMARTIN]

[QUOTE=Fireworks_at_Dawn;2125291]I spoke too soon.

Now with the hdmi at 1080 the dvd player ONLY plays widescreen. it just stretches full screen dvds out.



Did you ever find a proper fix for this?

For several years I have been using a Philips DVD player connected to my HSTV at 1080I via HDMI.
When I play a 4:3 DVD it displays at 4:3, a 16:9 displays at 16:9. No action needed on my part.

But the Philips player is dying, so I went looking for a new one. So far I have tried out 4 makes, no luck. All of them will stretch a 4:3 video to 16:9 when running at 1080i thru HDMI cable.

I went through all the options in the Philips setup and found a "Pillar Box" option I had selected years ago. Without this set, it stretches 4:3 videos.

None of the new players has a Pillar Box option.

It seems all manufacturers think people like to watch 4:3 videos stretched out. Sorry, but if I watch Casablanca I don't want Bogey and Bacall to look seriously overweight!

If I set a new player to output at 480i via HDMI then the TV displays at 4:3. But then ALL DVDs display at 4:3.

I really don't want to have to change the DVD player mode for each DVD I play.

So - did you ever find a new DVD player that has a Pillar Box setting?

[manono]

Did you ever find a proper fix for this?

If you've set up the player to output for a 16:9 or widescreen TV set, then that's all you can do for the player. The screwup is with the TV set, I think. Maybe you've also changed TV sets since the other player died?

For some TVs, they'll adjust the aspect ratio automatically. Others have to have it adjusted manually when changing from16:9 to 4:3 material. Maybe at the moment you have it set up for 'Wide' which will stretch 4:3 material to fill the screen. My suggestion is to play with the TV aspect ratios, rather than going into the DVD player's menus every time you change from a 16:9 to a 4:3 DVD.

[JJMARTIN]

Did you ever find a proper fix for this?

If you've set up the player to output for a 16:9 or widescreen TV set, then that's all you can do for the player. The screwup is with the TV set, I think. Maybe you've also changed TV sets since the other player died?

For some TVs, they'll adjust the aspect ratio automatically. Others have to have it adjusted manually when changing from16:9 to 4:3 material. Maybe at the moment you have it set up for 'Wide' which will stretch 4:3 material to fill the screen. My suggestion is to play with the TV aspect ratios, rather than going into the DVD player's menus every time you change from a 16:9 to a 4:3 DVD.

Sorry, this TV is my first HDTV and the Philips player is the only player I've had with HDMI output.

When the TV is receiving 1080i via HDMI, it has no zoom options.

When it is receiving 480i, it does: stretch width, stretch height, stretch both.

So I could leave the player set for 480i output, and zoom the TV as needed.
Or, I can switch the player between 480i and 1080i as needed.

But since I haven't had to do this before, I really don't want to start now.

I also have some DVDs where the menu is 16:9 but the videos are 4:3 (a 1990s TV show). At present each displays properly.

Also, a lot of new movie DVDs have the menus and movie at 16:9, but the extras (how it's made, etc) are often 4:3. At present everything displays properly. But if I leave the player set to 480i, I will have to fiddle with the TV zoom constantly.

From some searching on the internet I find that some Blu-ray players have a Pillar Box option.
Perhaps the manufacturers want to force us to buy Blu-ray players???

[yoda313]

Perhaps the manufacturers want to force us to buy Blu-ray players???

I know everybody's personal finances are different but bluray players aren't the 1000.00 beasts they used to be. There are many budget models under 100.00 usd or there abouts these days. I know what seems like nothing to one person is monumental to another so I don't want to judge anybody's economic situation.

I just want to let you know there are affordable (for a lot of people that is) options for bluray players. Also you could try your hand at a used model from reputable seller at an online auction site.

It shouldn't be too hard to switch back and forth on the modes if your tv is driving the zoom/stretching you need to do. Usually you have a single button on your remote that you press a few times to cycle through the different display modes.

And yes a lot of background material on blurays are actually just ported from dvd releases that were originally square 4:3 and not letterboxed 4:3. That is usually just on older movies that are re-released on bluray. The star trek blurays are a good example of that. THey have quite a bit of new widescreen hd material added on but they also have archived the full screen square 4:3 material that was on the original dvds.

Edit - don't forget bluray players play dvds just fine and do a great job at upconverting to boot

[jagabo]

My Philips 5990 has the "4:3 pillarbox" option in the HDMI settings. It automatically pillarboxes 4:3 DVDs and outputs 16:9 normally. You also have to set the TV type to 16:9 in the video settings.

Our Blu-ray players are maintain the correct aspect ratio too.

Are you sure some of your DVDs aren't authored incorrectly?

[JJMARTIN]

I just checked Best Buy - they have an LG Blu-ray player for $70.
I looked up the manual on the LG site and it says the player has 2 options: display 4:3 video at 4:3, or stretch it to 16:9.
Since a DVD player with HDMI output costs $30, and I have no Blu-ray discs, I don't want to pay over twice the price just because the manufacturers chose to delete an option.

I may have to, but I WON'T like it.