black bar on both left and right sides?

Question

I have a samsung 3251 HDTV (16:9). I watched HD program. Why some of them narrowed the picture by two black bars on both left and right sides? Even watch the same HD channel, sometime it is widescreen (16:9), some does not---generated two black bars?

I have a samsung 3251 HDTV (16:9). I watched HD program. Why some of them narrowed the picture by two black bars on both left and right sides when watched HDTV through over-the-air antenna? Even watch the same HD channel, sometime it is widescreen (16:9), some does not---generated two black bars?

Answer 1

If the bars on the sides are black, then the TV station is transmitting them with the picture; they're actually part of the picture. If they're gray, then you have control of the display aspect size. You can change it to stretched zoomed or whatever.

Answer 2

Andrew's answer is correct. Usually the side bars appear on commercials during HD programs. But if the whole program is in SD with bars on the side (it's called "pillar-boxed"), you may be able to stretch the picture to fill the screen (check your TV set's manual to see if it has a stretch mode). There is some image distortion when you do this, but it works surprisingly well

Answer 3

Depends on the broadcast sometimes. Not everything is displayed in HD, even though your TV is HD. Commercials, syndicated programs, and movies will sometimes display the bars you are referring to. Most prime-time shows, sporting events, and newscast are now broadcast in HD. If you are experiencing these bars all the time, and even on HD broadcasted events or 24 hour HD channels, then refer to your user manual. You may have to tweak the display settings or set the correct display output on the HD cable box itself.