hi def tv questions

[sublime]

just got my plasma and cox cable hooked up today. wondering about a few things.

when i first turned the TV on, the picture was surrounded by GRAY on the left and right. i went to NBC (which was hif def CFB iirc) and the same thing. i then pressed the HI DEF ZOOM button on my controller and zoomed the gray away.....doest seem right though? whats the deal here?

fwiw, i was over somebodys house the other day and when i asked him why his TV had gray edges he said "the channel is not hi def"

the gray seems annoying...what should i be doing here?

[wacki]

the gray allows your TV to adjust to non-widescreen formats. It prevents screen burn.

[sublime]

cool.

so do i just zoom out of it?

[piiop]

Ya, that's what the non HD channels do. I think some let you change it to black or white if you don't like gray. You probably went to the non-HD NBC channel.

[sublime]

so i have a 42'' TV that is like a 25'' screen if its not high def? wtf

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
cool.

so do i just zoom out of it?

[/ QUOTE ]

ya, until everyone can agree on 1 single screen size you are going to have to do a lot of zooming.

[KOTLP]

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so i have a 42'' TV that is like a 25'' screen if its not high def? wtf

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If you don't mind a slightly distorted image, try playing with the "stretch" modes.

[piiop]

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so i have a 42'' TV that is like a 25'' screen if its not high def? wtf

[/ QUOTE ]

You'll probably just end up never watching anything that's not HD.

[Thanir]

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so i have a 42'' TV that is like a 25'' screen if its not high def? wtf

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You'll probably just end up never watching anything that's not HD.

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Shows in HD are just amazing. I find myself watching crap on Discovery HD when nothing else is on because the picture is just amazing.

[edfurlong]

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so i have a 42'' TV that is like a 25'' screen if its not high def? wtf

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What did you expect to happen to shows that are square on a widescreen tv?