V+ Picture problem

squealy · 20-10-2012, 09:55

This problem is difficult to describe.

It appears, at least to me, that my tv isn't displaying pictures properly in their 16:9 format. When I watched Sky Sports last night for Sheff Weds v Leeds the bit that displays the teams, scores and times said W v Leeds. presumably it actually said Sheff W or something like that. My widescreen tv (CRT) will take pictures and fill the screen with them by default, whatever the format. Is it possible that the V+ box is giving out a 4:3 format picture, despite being set to widescreen? Or do I need a new telly? I have unplugged both V+ and telly, and have checked all connections and settings.

Sorry if that seemed a bit confused, but I'm not very technically minded. Thanks in advance for any help.

spiderplant · 20-10-2012, 10:26

Sky have recently changed the positioning of the Sky Sports logos and scores to move them closer to the edges. CRT TVs "overscan" (crop a stripe off each side of the picture), so you are now losing a bit of the graphics.

Some things to try:
1) Make sure you are using the "TV" SCART socket on the back of the V+, not the "VCR" one
2) See if your TV has a setting for adjusting the overscan.
3) Try changing the V+ display settings between RGB and composite to see if that makes a difference.
4) Ask Santa for a new telly.

squealy · 20-10-2012, 13:49

Thanks for that. Not realised I wasn't seeing the full picture on a CRT.

Why do CRT's "overscan"? The screen is the same shape as an LCD/Plasma?

nodrogd · 20-10-2012, 14:14

Modern LCD & Plasma panels are precision instruments compared to their CRT predecessors.

There is quite a good explanation of Overscan on Wikipedia. It's a bit techy, but it's about the easiest explanation I've seen.

squealy · 20-10-2012, 16:35

That was so confusing.

I'll stick with watching R v B'POOL.

Thanks for trying to explain though. It's just a bit beyond me.

spiderplant · 20-10-2012, 17:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by squealy

Thanks for trying to explain though. It's just a bit beyond me.

Imagine you are putting a tatty-edged photo in a frame. By choosing a slightly smaller frame, you can avoid seeing the edges. However, if someone important is near the edge of the picture, you may not be able to see them properly.

CRT TVs are much the same. You can't guarantee exactly where the picture edges will be, so all the "interesting" content should be placed well away from the edges. Sky are not doing this.

DaMac · 20-10-2012, 17:27

You can turn off overscan on some plasma / lcd's but it can leave you with visible 'timecode' sometimes on some shoddy stations (ITV Granada), if you don't need pixel perfect leave it on.

squealy · 20-10-2012, 20:39

Depor are fighting back against Barca, whatever the picture ratio.

Thanks guys. I think I need to speak to Santa.