Recording not a full 4:3 Screen

[JoeM]

Hi,

I'm a first time poster and am near the end of the free trial period. I love the functionality so far and have pretty much decided to go ahead and order SageTV/Windows.

One last problem seems to be that my recordings have a bar on the right side of the screen (about 1/10 of the screen in size). It seems to have a tiny gap with something getting though right on the right edge.

I've read a few similar posts, but most suggest adjusting settings within Sage to eliminate it during playback using horizontal stretch. This works, but in my case I put the recordings on a shared network drive for everyone in my home to be able to view with WinDVD or MediaPlayer. Is there any way to eliminate this problem from the recording itself?

Thanks.....

Setup: P4 2.0GHZ, 512MB, Windows XP, NVidia 440MX, Hauppauge 1600MC, LM Remote, Scientific Atlanta 3100

[JoeM]

I've tried some experimenting today, and found that the problem seems linked to my Digital Cable box.

I tried bringing up the WinTV application and I still see the same effect. Interestingly, the Menu and Program Guide display an image all the way to the edge, but not the actual content. Where there are preview windows on the program guide, I can see the guide itself going past the edge of the preivew window.

Picture with black bar on right side:
sample1.jpg

Picture with black bar on right side in a guide:
sample2.jpg

Does anyone know a good forum for SA Explorer Digital Cable Boxes?

Thanks

[QueOnda]

Originally Posted by JoeM

I've tried some experimenting today, and found that the problem seems linked to my Digital Cable box.

This should tell you were it's coming from:
If you connect the cable box to a 4:3 tv, do you see the same effect?

If you connect, cable straight into your video card from a vcr or dvd player, do you get the same effect?

[JoeM]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll need to move some equipment around to try this, so I probably give it whirl tonight. Also, I'm going to try burning some of those files to DVD and see how they playback on a computerless setup.

[Taddeusz]

Many SD channels and even some HD channels on their graphics are going to be this way. On a standard tube SDTV there is going to be overscan. If you play that recording on an SDTV that right side is most likely going to be off the edge of the screen. The same isn't necessarily true for an HDTV playing an SD source. Unless either the cable box or TV are applying overscan before or while its being displayed you'll get to see all the junk that's on the outside edge of the image, which may include the CC line at the top of the picture.

Personally, I prefer to have a little overscan, even on HD. Most, if not all HD channels assume your TV will apply overscan so many times the graphics won't go all the way to the edge of the video picture. If your TV is applying overscan you won't see this and the graphics will be at the edge of the screen. The SciFi Channel does this.

I hope this gives you at least a little of an idea of what's going on.

[JoeM]

Thanks Taddeusz, I guess that makes sense. I'll still try some of the things discussed with QueOnda just to see what degree, other sources have that effect.

[JoeM]

Well...I got around to trying a few other things as suggested earlier, and it's still leaving me a bit confused. I thought the overscan suggestion would definitely be it, but now I'm not sure.

1) I tried burning some of those files to disk and on an SD Television I don't really see that bar....so that overscan suggestion works here.

2) I burned an SD Letter Box recording and played it on my HD set then Zoomed it, that black bar was there on the right. Normally I have a 4250HD on my HD set and when I zoom an SD Letterbox broadcast, it always...always fills the screen. This is where I'm not so sure about the overscan, or maybe I still don't get it.

3) I hooked analogue cable to a VCR ... output the VCR to the Hauppauge 1600 with a coax. With the VCR I never saw the black bar on the right. The old VCR doesn't have an S-Video connector, so I haven't been able to test that S-Video input yet.

With the TV through the VCR Signal .... sample4.jpg
Or with a VCR screen ... sample3.jpg

I also tried connecting the analogue cable straight to the TV card and it also filled the screen.

I've gone through the Explorer 3100 menus and there seems to be nothing to control it. I've tried Googling SA Explorer 3100 issues, but haven't found much useful material.

Too bad there isn't a setting on the device level of the TV card, or within Sage, to eliminate this on the recording.

For computer viewing I can live with issue, but I was hoping to get an HD200 and use both standalone and extender modes. Hopefully this unit will have an offset setting. My TV has one setting for each input but I wouldn't want to have to switch it back and forth when moving from Extender to Stand Alone mode.

Thanks for everyones suggestions so far.

[JoeM]

Swapped the SA Explorer 3100 with the 3200 (from my wifes bedroom TV) and problem gone.