Wide-Screen TVs
Symptom: Black or gray bars show on the top or sides of the screen.
Minor: Video comes in so many shapes and sizes these days that displaying it properly can be tough. On wide-screen sets, standard-definition television should appear in windowbox format with gray bars on either side of the picture. If you like, you can expand the picture horizontally to fill the entire screen. Use your TV's remote to enter setup mode and look for an advanced video or picture section. There should be a setting called 'aspect ratio' or 'picture mode' with several options that allow you to zoom in on a picture or stretch it horizontally.
Moderate: If you get black or gray bars while watching HDTV, the situation is a little more complex. Depending on the program you're watching, the picture's resolution and aspect ratio can change. For example, most commercials aren't shot in high definition, so the networks switch to standard definition to show ads. Your TV will switch to accommodate that signal, so you may see a windowbox-size picture during commercials. In addition, some movies are shot in an aspect ratio that demands a wider picture than wide-screen sets can display. In that situation, a letterbox-size picture--with two thin black bars appearing above and below the picture--is normal.
Dire: Okay, so this isn't too dire, but if a DVD player is your video source, the player or your TV may not be set up correctly. See "DVD Players" for instructions on solving the problem.
