Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
black_hound
Enthusiast - Level 3

Hi Lawrence,

I can't post in that Private Support Thread. The 'reply' button is grayed out.

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
black_hound
Enthusiast - Level 3

I've been trying since the beginning of May for some resolution of my technical problem. 

I posted in the Private Support thread on June 1st and June 3rd and I have not gotten a response from a representative.

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
ElizabethS
Moderator Emeritus

We have alerted the agents that you are awaiting a reply, black_hound. Please keep all correspondence on that thread or notify a moderator when you do not get a response.

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
black_hound
Enthusiast - Level 3

Since this is peer to peer I am updating to hopefully help someone else with the same issue:

There is no solution to the problem outside of purchasing a new television which ain't happening. Because I have a non-HD television the HDSTB box cannot control the aspect ratio and I cannot access the SD override. This is particularly frustrating because this is the same equipment I have had for approximately 2 years and it worked perfectly well with all programming displaying as 4:3.

Disconnecting the HDSTB was the fatal mistake. The SDSTB I was sent by Verizon didn't work and when the HDSTB was reconnected all control I had previously was lost. Possibly new firmware was pushed but that seems to be impossible to check. 

So if you have an SD television and everything is working? Don't ever disconnect that box!

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
ZOH1
Newbie
I realize this is an old thread. But, did you ever get a resolution to this? I have a similar issue minus the contract renewal part. It is like all of a suddden in 1 day all my SD STB's started not working properly to fit the pictures to my SD TV screens. I was told the broadcasters are at fault, but I contacted many of them and they deny having done anything differently. Not only am I now getting widescreen pictures on many shows and channels that takes up 4-5 inches less on my screens and black bars on top and bottom of each screen, but now even some commercials that used to be full screen are now widescreen. However, it does seem random sometimes. I was thinking of getting an HD box and hooking it up to my SD TV so I could fool around with the aspect ratio. But, after reading this thread, I am thinking that might not work. It seemed logical a firmware upgrade or some change may have been made that screwed up the STB's and how they format the pictures somehow, but Verizon denies any such thing happened or any such upgrade was made. If this is the case, then there is no hope things will ever get changed back. I cannot afford a bunch of new HD TV's and several HD boxes for each of those TV's just so I can watch HD channels and "hope" things get better. I know this is an old thread, but was anything resolved?
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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
black_hound
Enthusiast - Level 3

Hi ZOH,

Nothing was every resolved. The SD override does not work and the settings that alledgedly enable you to globally change your aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3 also do not work on an SDTV. I wouldn't even bother to try an HDSTB. We have one and it doesn't do a thing. This couldn't just spontaneously happen all over the place. These are electronic devices that respond to firmware and software builds. They just do what someone tells them to do or not do.

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
ZOH1
Newbie

Apparently, Verizon has better things to do than help users who cannot afford to upgrade to HD and have problems with their SD channels. It is a huge shame. All in 1 day, it seems Verizon may have stopped center-cutting the HD images they get from the broadcasters so they can keep giving customers viewing the SD channels the same service they had before. We paid for SD channels because we made a choice that the brigher colors and wider screen HD resolutions were not worth the extra expenses involved with upgrading to HD (i.e. rent more expensive HD boxes, get more expensive HD TV's, and pay for a more expensive TV plan with HD channels). What we got with SD was pretty good enough for us to enjoy. Who cares that we did not get the true widescreen experience because we were still able to enjoy good TV for years in SD. From what I have gathered, many broadcasters send 1 HD signal and have done so for many years now and then Verizon creates their own SD channel from it. In my case, many shows, commercials, and movie trailers on mostly every, if not all, SD channels are no longer center-cut to fill an SD screen and so, now black borders on top and bottom are inserted by the cable box to fill up the rest of the screen. Some movies and commercials are letterboxed so much that the black bars take up most of the screen and the picture itself takes up only a small percentage. I think just based on how they are acting when someone like us complains about this very same problem, they know what is going on and why but they just want to pretend they do not so they can give all their attention to customers who paid for HD channels and an HD box instead of just SD.

Even if you have an HD TV, you still get letterboxed pictures unless you upgrade and pay them more money for HD boxes and channels. Then, they will care to help you, at least that has been my experience. Years ago, this same thing happened to me with letterboxed pictures on different channels and they gave me the same run-around for weeks saying it was not their fault at all, until weeks later someone finally admitted that yes, somebody did make a mistake. If broadcastes are involved somehow in all this, then it seems cable companies and broadcasters may be somehow conspiring with each other against customers to take choice away and "force" them to go HD entirely, yet at the same time, not lower prices at all and if you do decide to upgrade to HD, there is no way to do so without upgrading everything else in your Verizon bundle. You either change and have to upgrade everything or do not change anything at all.

I really hate to be that cynical.  But, after trying so hard to be the nice guy who just wants answers and help for my problem so I can continue enjoying the great service I was enjoying from FIOS SD TV until 8 weeks ago when everything across all my SD channels was letterboxed (at least for me) and no longer center-cut to fill the screen, but getting nothing from them in return but simply "we cannot do anything, it's not our problem", I cannot help but be even just a little bit suspicious of their behavior, even just a little curiosity shown would be nice.  It is not right we just have to live with this and get used to it.  But, I guess unless we upgrade to HD and with it, upgrade everything else in our bundle with it, then there really seems to be no other recourse of appeal. 

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
mfizzy
Specialist - Level 1

It seem like people are misinformed about the SD overide option on a HD stb. If you are using a HD connection to a HD TV the SD overider allows you to strech the SD channels to fill the screen of you HD TV. The option does not work under any other option.  This is an option becaue of the differnt sizes of the HD or SD picture (aspect ratio) The STB does not change you aspect ratio. The aspect ratio is set by the type of TV you have SD 4:3 or HD 16:9. There isnt any software you can run on a STB to change the amount of pixels your TV has.

I used a 7100 on a SD TV for years with no issues. Coax from STB to the TV. Pic fits the screen.

A SD STB cannot produce a 16:9 ratio! If you SD STB pic is to big for the screen make sure the zoom feature on the TV is not on!

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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
ZOH1
Newbie
I cannot speak for the others, but my comments/questions had nothing to do with the stretch feature. I understand how that works. My problem had nothing to do with that.
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Re: Aspect ratio issues with SD box and no help from Verizon
ZOH1
Newbie
According to 1 broadcaster, Verizon changed their equipment to specifically letterbox the SD network programming content specifically at the request of the broadcaster based on complaints the broadcaster got from users not liking a center-cut image. It seems from my perspective, that if all this were coming from the broadcasters, then everybody would be seeing the same letterbox change all over the country at the same time. But, from what I have gathered, it seems to differ from region to region, state to state, month to month and year to year, which would make sense if the provider was making changes from their different local offices. I saw other tv's in my area from another provider showing the same SD channel and show still in full screen, whereas some other tv's with Verizon are letterboxed. It seems to me the changes are due to gradual changes made by different providers according to region.
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