Help needed from the geeks

Discussion in 'Gear' started by Carpy, Apr 13, 2007.

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  1. Carpy

    Carpy Disgruntled foreign veteran

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    I went and got DirecTV and got a HD box, a dtandard DVR box and a standard box. (3 kids need lots of alternatives). problem is I have 3 widescreen TVs and I can only get the HD box to give me a widescreen picture. The other two give me a 4:3 ratio picture, which I can stretch to be a 16:9 ratio by adjusting my TV, but doesn't automatically expand to 16:9 for shows that are in widescreen format.

    Surely even the standard DirecTV boxes give a digital signal that works on a widescreen TV right? Am I missing something?
     
    #11 Carpy, May 3, 2007
  4. Starkiller

    Starkiller 9

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    The DVR's signal only sends the 16:9 to the TV so you can't change it to 4:3 on the TV. But you can set the DVR to show the picture stretched across the whole screen. Assuming you have the same model as I do, just go to the menu, setup, and display. Under there, you can choose from pillar box (with bars on the sides), stretch, or crop.
     
    #12 Starkiller, May 3, 2007
  7. Carpy

    Carpy Disgruntled foreign veteran

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    I have a Standard Def DVR and a separate High Def box. The thing that I am struggling with is that the only channels that seem to broadcast in widescreen are the HD channels. The standard def channels don't broadcast in Widescreen at all (which I find very strange). Is this unique to DirecTV?
     
    #13 Carpy, May 5, 2007
  10. Starkiller

    Starkiller 9

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    I don't have a SD DVR on an HDTV so I can't really answer the question. I would think that the HDTV would let you adjust the video from the SD DVR. Could the cable you use to connect the HDTV and DVR make a difference? You might have to call DirecTV tech support to find out (assuming you haven't already). Either that or replace the DVR with an HR20 (their current HD DVR)
     
    #14 Starkiller, May 6, 2007
  13. Carpy

    Carpy Disgruntled foreign veteran

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    Alright, one more question (I nearly screamed trying to get telephone support from the DirecTV technician).

    If I subscribe to Sunday Ticket do I need my HD receiver (it's not a DVR) to be plugged into a phone line as well? I think I read this somewhere, but when the technician installed our DirecTV devices, none of them were plugged into phone lines.
     
    #15 Carpy, May 7, 2007
  16. Carpy

    Carpy Disgruntled foreign veteran

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    #16 Carpy, May 7, 2007
  19. Starkiller

    Starkiller 9

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    DirecTV receivers don't have to be plugged in to a phone line to receive info. They only have to be plugged in long enough to activate them. I don't believe you have to do anything over the phone to allow you to use Sunday Ticket, HBO, or any subscription content.

    If you buy movies on pay per view, you will have to connect them so they can report the charges. You could buy a few movies and never actually pay for them if you never plug it in, but eventually your receiver will cut you off until it reports the charges.

    There could be other exceptions to this, but none that I know of.
     
    #17 Starkiller, May 7, 2007
  22. Childress79

    Childress79 Loungefly ®

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    #18 Childress79, May 8, 2007
  25. Gunny

    Gunny Shoutbox Fuhrer

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    #19 Gunny, May 8, 2007
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