Can't seem to record in widescreen

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CM

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#58005 4-Mar-2010 11:23

I'm sure I'm overlooking something simple, but I can't seem to record tv in widescreen.
I have recently bought a Samsung LA40B650 telly (replacing an old CRT) to partner by aging DVD/HDD (Sony RDR-HXD 910). But for some reason I'm still recording and watching programmes at the old 4:3 ratio. E.g. I'll record 'House' on TV3 and to watch it I'll need to change the tv setting to 4:3 as 16:9stretches everything out.
I've made sure the setting on my HDD/DVD is '16:9' so it can't be that (which would be the most obvious thing).
Surely it doesn't matter what my Sky decoder is doing (although that's also set to '16:9') if I'm not recording a Sky channel?
I've using 'component' between the DVD/HDD and the tv. When I switch the tv to that component number (i.e. I can see what would be recording), it's 4:3. How would I make that '16:9'?
I realise I'm not recording freeview, as that's impossible to do with inbuilt freeview. I'm recording analogue channels.

Any help appreciated - it's driving me around the bend. I'm sure I'm missing something obvious.

Regards,
CM

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sbiddle

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#304335 4-Mar-2010 11:30

All analogue channels are only 4:3 - it's impossible to record these in 16:9

Do to this you would need an external Freeview STB that can output a 16:9 signal so it can be recorded.

ZollyMonsta

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#304336 4-Mar-2010 11:31

When you are playing back house, and switch your TV to 4:3... Is the picture full screen
(ie: not stretched and with no black bars?)

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CM

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#304340 4-Mar-2010 11:49

Thanks for the fast replies.

sbiddle - Ah, I didn't realise that. Other than buying an external STB I guess the only other way to record House in 16:9 is put Sky on TV3 and record Sky........what a pain.

ZollyMonsta - When i do that i get the 4:3 box in the middle of the screen, with wide black bars each side.

So the difference between watching House live and watching it recorded is significant. Watching it live it's widescreen and HD, whereas recorded it's neither. Crap.

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#304343 4-Mar-2010 11:58

I assumed you were using a Sky box or similar to record to the DVD recorder.. Silly me.. Yes, sounds like your DVD recorder is recording the analogue broadcast, in which case as Sbiddle says, is only 4:3 format.

You can't record off the inbuilt freeview on the Samsung, you need an external set top box to do this.

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ilovemusic

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#304344 4-Mar-2010 12:00

I realise I'm not recording freeview, as that's impossible to do with inbuilt freeview. I'm recording analogue channels.

Does your Tv have audio/video outputs ?

If so, you should be able to connect your recorder and record TV, albeit you have to have your TV on and can only record the channel you are watching.

minimoke

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#304354 4-Mar-2010 12:20

CWatching it live it's widescreen and HD,

Sorry to disappoint but House on TV3 Freeview isn't HD. Its just a SD broadcast - but you do have it in widescreen!

And yours is a lesson on the vagaries of marketing. Here we have manufacturers producing such an array of goodies the end consumer has no idea what it is they are getting.

I've seen people buying 1080p TV's thinking they are going to get HD content on the telly. I've seen them sit 5 metres away so a 780p would have been fine. They've bought them without freeview and expanded the 4:3 picture to fill the 16:9 screen. And now you can't record off your telly because it has no HDMI / Component "Outs". But they give you 4 HDMI "ins" - how many does a consumer need for petes sake. You got to give them credit - they'll get that hard earned loot out of our pockets one way or another.

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#304359 4-Mar-2010 12:28

If your recording from a 16x9 source then some DVD recorders record this as 4x3. I know my Panasonic does so when I play it back I have to set the TV to Full mode otherwise the picture has anamorphic squeeze.. Either that or the recorder does not recognize the 16:9 flag and outputs in 4x3 it to the TV unlike what the Sky box does..

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#304364 4-Mar-2010 12:36

A quick google for the Sony RDR-HXD910 indicates that around 2006 it had a digital tuner in the UK - though that would have been no use here - and I guess if it dates back to 2006, it will have just had an analogue TV tuner in this market.

So it seems you are getting all you can out of it at the moment. If it can be set up to record from an external tuner you could try and do that -- would be tricky I think otherwise you might need to replace it or just use it as it is.

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CM

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#304410 4-Mar-2010 14:07

Thanks again....

ilovemusic - when you say 'audio/video outputs' do you mean composite? But yeah, not very convenient if the tv has to be on the right channel

minimoke - good point about House not being HD on freeview. And your other comments sound right on the money too. Literally.

robjg63 - yes 2006 is when I bought it, and no digital tuner (as you say, there would have been no point here)

Oh well, I guess I'm stuck with 4:3. No way am I forking out for an external stb.

Thanks, at least I know not to keep wondering what I'm missing....

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#304416 4-Mar-2010 14:22

ilovemusic:

I realise I'm not recording freeview, as that's impossible to do with inbuilt freeview. I'm recording analogue channels.

Does your Tv have audio/video outputs ?

If so, you should be able to connect your recorder and record TV, albeit you have to have your TV on and can only record the channel you are watching.

There is not a single big screen TV on the market that I'm aware of that has A/V outputs - they are pretty much obsolete for technical reasons these days.

ilovemusic

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#305272 7-Mar-2010 22:04

sbiddle:
ilovemusic:

I realise I'm not recording freeview, as that's impossible to do with inbuilt freeview. I'm recording analogue channels.

Does your Tv have audio/video outputs ?

If so, you should be able to connect your recorder and record TV, albeit you have to have your TV on and can only record the channel you are watching.

There is not a single big screen TV on the market that I'm aware of that has A/V outputs - they are pretty much obsolete for technical reasons these days.

I was looking at new Tv's at Harvey Norman (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung etc) and almost all of them had a monitor out and audio out.

Freeview models even had an optical digital output.

Granted the audio outputs are probably variable, but if the audio output was fixed, couldn't you hook up a recorder ?

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#305292 8-Mar-2010 06:21

The main problem with that is that they only work when the TV is on and then only on the channel it is tuned to.

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#305304 8-Mar-2010 08:46

minimoke:
CWatching it live it's widescreen and HD,

Sorry to disappoint but House on TV3 Freeview isn't HD. Its just a SD broadcast - but you do have it in widescreen!

And yours is a lesson on the vagaries of marketing. Here we have manufacturers producing such an array of goodies the end consumer has no idea what it is they are getting.

I've seen people buying 1080p TV's thinking they are going to get HD content on the telly. I've seen them sit 5 metres away so a 780p would have been fine. They've bought them without freeview and expanded the 4:3 picture to fill the 16:9 screen. And now you can't record off your telly because it has no HDMI / Component "Outs". But they give you 4 HDMI "ins" - how many does a consumer need for petes sake. You got to give them credit - they'll get that hard earned loot out of our pockets one way or another.

4 HDMI inputs is pretty normal and not that difficult to use 3 in many places if you have a DVD/Blu Ray player, MySky and a PS3 or Xbox 360.

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#305306 8-Mar-2010 08:59

ilovemusic:
I was looking at new Tv's at Harvey Norman (Panasonic, Sony, Samsung etc) and almost all of them had a monitor out and audio out.

Freeview models even had an optical digital output.

Granted the audio outputs are probably variable, but if the audio output was fixed, couldn't you hook up a recorder ?

Untrue, why convert an H.264 transport stream to analog composite, yuck, not in my house. Samsung DVB-T tuner TVs certainly have no monitor output and that follows with other brands. Your observations are referring to OBSOLETE analog PAL tuner TVs.

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#305308 8-Mar-2010 09:07

Nety: The main problem with that is that they only work when the TV is on and then only on the channel it is tuned to.

Noted earlier.