Setting Aspect Ratio

There are two common TV screen shapes that most folks will recognize — the squarish shape of
conventional TVs, and the widescreen shape of today’s HDTVs. The term used to describe TV screen
shape is “aspect ratio” — conventional TVs, and some small LCD HDTVs, have a 4:3 aspect ratio;
widescreen HDTVs have a 16:9 ratio.

TV shows also typically have a 4:3 or 16:9 ratio. While most new HD programming is in 16:9, a significant
amount of TV broadcasts are still sent in the conventional 4:3 ratio. And it’s the difference in shape
between those two ratios that can result in a “pillar boxed” picture — one with black columns standing
to the left and right of the image — when you watch a conventional 4:3 program on your widescreen TV.

What can I do about the “black bars”?

You may choose to keep the black bars on 4:3 sources, or decide to stretch or zoom that picture to fill the
whole screen — it’s a matter of personal preference. Nearly all recent widescreen TVs include one or
more viewing modes that fill out the screen’s width by stretching and zooming the image. While most
people find this effect acceptable for non-critical “background” viewing like the local news, many aren’t
thrilled when their favorite actors suddenly look noticeably stockier.
To stretch or zoom the screen press the * button on your remote. Simply press the star button again to
go back to the original setting.

How do I change my aspect ratio and input settings?

Press MENU on your remote
Arrow down to SETTINGS
Arrow over to the right and highlight DISPLAY and press OK
Your Display Settings will appear on the screen
Use your arrow buttons to change the following display options
1. Turn Closed Captioning On or Off.
2. Set the Audio Language to English or Spanish.
3. Set the TV Type or Aspect Ratio to either 16:9 or 4:3.
4. Change your Connector settings to Coaxial, Composite, S-Video, Component or HDMI.
5. View the setting for Conversion Mode, Original Size or Fit to Screen (this may also be changed
temporarily by pressing the * button on the remote control).
6. Select the Output Resolution for the television.
If you feel you have changed something by accident, select Exit and press the OK button or just press the
EXIT button on the remote to retain the original settings.