Noob Question about Plasma TV's

[sasquatch98226]

Ok I bought a Plasma TV and have it hooked up to my HT system. Components listed below.

Harman Kardon AVR 630
Harman Kardon DVD-22
Vizio PH-42 Plasma TV
Paradigm Monitor 5's
Paradigm CC-370
Paradigm ADP-170
Klipsch KSW-10
Monster Power HTS 5100-MK2

So my question is this. I thought that when I watched a Letterbox DVD on the new TV that the screen would be filled with the picture as it is a 16:9 TV. I still have the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen. Is this normal, or is it something that can be changed within the settings of the components?

The DVD is hooked to the receiver through component video and fiber optic cable. The video signal is then sent from the reciever to the TV via another set of Component cables. Any ideas?

Thanks

[edtyct]

Hi sasquatch,

Your plasma should display all 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 material labeled as "anamorphic" or "enhanced for 16X9 TVs" without any black bars on top and bottom. However, most displays will not be able eliminate the black bars on anamorphic, enhanced films that carry larger aspect ratios--say, 2.35:1 or 2.40:1. At this stage of the game, nearly all films on current DVDs will be of the anamorphic variety.

Video material, like TV shows, or nonanamorphic films (usually older DVDs made when TVs were still mainly 4:3 rather than 16:9) will require you to use one of the zoom functions on the TV to eliminate black bars. Some displays perform this task more flexibly than others; read your manual. By the way, nonanamorphic films shown via HDMI or DVI rather than component on many displays will not be capable of this kind of zoom. As long as you're using a component video connection, however, you don''t have to worry about it.

By the way, don't forget to set up your DVD player for a 16X9 TV.

Ed