SD channels now have black bars top and bottom....

[irbrenda]

and no matter what I try to set, they remain so.  I have tried so many changes to the settings as suggested by the FIOS tech support and nothing works.  I do not want to resort to using the # on the remote.  Never had to. An example is the OWN channel #161.  Always came in full screen.  Since the upgrade, it will not work.  There are several others in the 140-210 range that were always full screen.  I cannot seem to change them, short of switching to the HD channel.  And OWN is not in HD so there is nothing to change.  Any suggestions?  My STB is the 7216.

[tns]

There are various version of this problem.

One the actual channel is sent/broadcast by the provider in this mode.  In that case there really is nothing Verizon can do.  You may be able to set your TV to zoom such pictures, lower picture quality but will then fill your screen.

Two the channel is no longer supplied in HD, but is converted to SD by Verizon. Often following guidelines from the channel provider.  In some case its Verizon fault, and other the recommendation of the provider. Best solution is to watch the HD version of the channel.

The channel is broadcast in 16x9 SD.  This would work better if the STB/DVR handled it better.  Switching off the SD override (and turning off native mode) can get the channel to correctly display in 16x9 mode (without loss of picture quality).  This, in my opinion, is a Verizon bug, that I hope they are aware of.

[BDSou812]

We just got 1.9 last week and noticed there are new options to control the black bars for SD channels.

Select options Menu/Settings/Video Settings/SD Override and you will have several options! Hope this helps!!

[bobk777]

Can you please explain what "1.9" is?

[tns2]

1.9 was a release of the STB "IMG"  (i.e. software) released several years ago.  I thing they are up to 1.9.7 with 1.9.8 about to rollout. 

THIS IS AN OLD THREAD, not that things have changed much in recent years about the SD channels with black bars.

[ElizabethS]

As this thread is now over two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.