KDL32WD756 aspect ratio insanity

[janhitch]

I have a very irritating problem with our Bravia KDL32WD756 TV - I hope it's an elusive setting somewhere.

We watch the TV via Freeview, preferably in HD. We have a Humax Fox T2 for recording/playback with its HD tuners. The Humax is connected via a HDMI cable to HDMI2 on the TV.

The TV Picture settings are Screen Format Full and 4:3 Default Wide Zoom. When we watch the TV all is fine. We watch Talking Pictures TV quite a lot and when transmitted in 4:3 and other aspect ratios the TV converts this to Wide Zoom, which is what we want.

All that follows deals with watching through the Humax (which we mainly do due to the terrible Sony EPG and the pause/rewind capability).

When we watch a TPTV film originally shot in 4:3, the Screen Format setting changes to Normal and the picture is shown in 4:3 aspect ratio, despite the 4:3 Default remaining as Wide Zoom.

The TPTV adverts switch to 16:9 and the Screen Format reverts to Full. When the film restarts the Screen Format goes back to Normal and the film shows as 4:3.

If I change channels to BBC News HD from TPTV in 4:3 mode, the aspect ratio is carried over to the BBC and remains like that, and the Screen Format remains as Normal. This also happens if I change to BBC 4 HD, for instance, and if I view the Humax EPG.

If I change channels to Channel 5 HD from TPTV in 4:3 mode, the aspect ratio reverts correctly to 16:9.

If I change the Screen Format to Full when watching a TPTV 4:3 film it shows correctly as Wide Zoom 16:9, and switching to BBC News HD is fine. However this setting is lost when TPTV goes to the adverts and then back to the film.

There appears to be two problems: 1, TPTV films in 4:3 aspect ratios are ignoring the Screen Full setting, and indeed changing it to Normal, which is mildy annoying, and 2, the 4:3 aspect ratio is carried over to BBC News HD, which is really, really annoying.

I know I could alter the picture back to 16:9 with the remote, but that has to be done every quarter of an hour when the adverts are shown.

I suppose I could live with watching TPTV films in their original aspect ratio, although I prefer to watch full screen, but retaining the 4:3 aspect ratio when I switch to another channel is driving me insane. I note that there have been similar threads regarding aspect ratio funnies before, but no resolution, so hope is fading.

[rooobb]

A long story ...trying to make it short: when you use the TV tuner it is all ok when you use the humax it doesn't work. Why do you look to the TV for a solution? Via hdmi the TV do not know which format the tuner is getting . It is up to the decoder to adapt it.

[janhitch]

I look to the TV because our previous Bravia, a 20" model from 2006/7, has for many years quite happily been showing the HDMI input from the Humax in the desired 16:9 aspect ratio. This humble set managed to convert the 4:3 input to 16:9, the new set doesn't. It's the same signal from the Humax, different results on the TV.

Secondly the 4:3 display is retained when I switch to (some) other 16:9 channels, and when I use the EPG. The TV does not recognise the 16:9 format.

Thirdly why aren't the screen default settings retained when I watch a 4:3 signal. It says default to 16:9 but it doesn't. The setting is altered dynamically.

Fourthly there are no settings in the Humax except to output a 16:9 signal, which is what it is set at.

I am more than happy to be shown that these symptoms are not related to the TV and then I'll try a Humax forum.

[rooobb]

You wrote the humax set to send 16:9 to the TV. So the TV get this whatever source or channel your are looking at whether it has black bar on the side or not. How do you think the TV can recognize what the humax is sending?

[janhitch]

I've really no idea how the TV manipulates the input signal. The essence is that I unplugged the HDMI lead from the 20" Bravia and plugged it into the 32" Bravia and the way the pictue is displayed is different.

If I change the screen format from Normal to Full then the picture is displayed as I want it to be. So the TV is quite capable of showing the desired aspect ratio, it's just that it won't keep that setting. I get 15 minutes, the adverts come on, and it's back to 4:3.