HD200 "Source" Aspect Ratio

[srothwell]

There still is a problem with playing back DVDs that are 4:3 formatted on the HD200 extender.

I have my HD200 set to default to "Source" but every time I playback a 4:3 DVD, it stretches it horizontally until I cycle through all the aspect ratios to end back up at Source again.

the HD100 does not have this issue.

Stacy

[reggie14]

What firmware are you running?

[srothwell]

Sorry..... currently I am on the latest beta from 4/28. However it's been this way on every FW release since the HD200 came out.

Stacy

[reggie14]

Well, I just tried it out and I'm using Sage v6.5.9 with the latest release version of firmware (20081230 0, I believe). In my case, I noticed my 4:3 DVDs start horizontally stretched and cycling through the AR modes doesn't fix it. Oddly enough, I noticed cycling through the AR modes for widescreen DVDs screws it up.

I don't have my HD100 (I sent it in for repair), but I'm pretty sure the 4:3 DVDs worked fine with the current release firmware. But, I do recall having various AR related problems earlier on. I think most of them were fixed in various firmware releases. However, I know I had some DVD menus that never worked correctly on the HD100. After going back and forth with SageTV support many times, it seemed like an isolated issue, possibility caused by how the DVD was created. But, we never really found out anything for sure.

As I said, I'm running the latest HD200 release firmware. I'll try the newest beta from the 29th. I was running the previous beta very briefly, but all 4:3 material played back stretched out in that material, including TV recordings. Hopefully yesterday's beta doesn't have that issue.

[cat6man]

same here on 4:3 DVDs............video files do aspect ratio correctly but not 4:3 dvds

dvd menu comes up stretched............if i cycle to source aspect ratio, it goes back to stretched when movie/show starts, and i have to cycle through yet again

works great on video files, not apparently persistent for DVDs though

also running latest beta

[reggie14]

Maybe you guys can help me out. When I run the beta firmware (both the previous and the April 29 firmware) I always get horizontally stretched 4:3 playback, and vertically compressed 16:9 playback. So, basically, I think the HD200 thinks I have a 4:3 TV when I'm playing video back. But, the AR display mode is correctly set to 16:9, and the Sage menus look OK (that is, they're not stretched), and the properties file for the extender indicates its using the 1.77778 AR display mode.

Now, I am running SageMC. So, I'm not sure if that's causing problems here. Also, I'm connected via component cables.

Any ideas? In the meantime I'm going back to the release firmware. Luckily firmware updates are pretty quick on the Hd200.

[adamwh]

Originally Posted by srothwell

There still is a problem with playing back DVDs that are 4:3 formatted on the HD200 extender.

I have my HD200 set to default to "Source" but every time I playback a 4:3 DVD, it stretches it horizontally until I cycle through all the aspect ratios to end back up at Source again.

the HD100 does not have this issue.

Stacy

Have this problem as well. I've checked a few of the previous firmware versions and it's the same. Haven't checked the newest one. The same dvds play back fine in the software on the server (which is also set to 16x9 display with Source as the default).

[reggie14]

Is anyone running the April 29th firmware with SageMC without running into AR problems on recorded TV files?

[reggie14]

Well, this isn't a SageMC issue. I tried switching back to the stock UI and I still have issues where the HD200 plays video back like I have 4:3 TV, despite the fact that it is correctly configured for a 16:9 TV.

[cat6man]

i created a bug report so it is officially reported now

[reggie14]

I did too. But, it sounds like I'm the only one experiencing issues with 4:3 formatted recorded TV files.

[cat6man]

yes, we're different.........i'm running hd200 as a standalone media player

[adamwh]

The problem is just dvds for me as well. It's the same issue in both standalone mode and in extender mode with default interface. Recordings are fine.

[cat6man]

Originally Posted by adamwh

The problem is just dvds for me as well. It's the same issue in both standalone mode and in extender mode with default interface. Recordings are fine.

please file a bug report and help them track this down

[reggie14]

OK, so I resolved my initial problem with playing back TV recordings. I'm not sure why it fixed it, but deleting the properties file associated with my extender fixed that AR issue.

But, I'm definitely noticing the aspect ratio on 4:3 DVDs even in today's 20090505-0 firmware. I actually think this is the same, or at least a very similar, issue that I ran into with the HD100 a bit more than a year ago. I think Sage sort of had (what sounded to me) like a goofy fix. I think they made it so you couldn't change the aspect ratio mode when you were in DVD menus. That made it so you couldn't cycle through the AR settings in DVD menus, getting back to source with black bars on the side. That was bad for DVD menus because then the menu highlighting didn't match up with the menu items. I'm not sure if that somehow fixed the AR issue in video playback or not.

[reggie14]

It looks like this issue might be fixed in Sage 6.5.15. I think Sage determined that 4:3 menus were suppose to start out zoomed/stretched. So, I think that the menus will still take up the whole screen, but the 4:3 video should play back unstretched.

I haven't tried it yet. I upgraded to the May 5th firmware, and I'm trying to decide if I'm going to downgrade the firmware to the release version, or upgrade SageTV server to the beta (6.5.15) to try to resolve the stuttering issue. I've been avoiding beta software for a while because I didn't have good luck with them in the early SageTV v6 days. It is much easier to downgrade HD200 firmware than downgrade SageTV if I have problems with 6.5.15.

[adamwh]

Originally Posted by reggie14

It looks like this issue might be fixed in Sage 6.5.15. I think Sage determined that 4:3 menus were suppose to start out zoomed/stretched. So, I think that the menus will still take up the whole screen, but the 4:3 video should play back unstretched.

This is indeed how it is working now with the new beta. However, it seems to have broken the "play all" menu option on my daughter's favorite DVD which plays all the episodes on the disc in order. It pauses at the end of the first title (about 5 seconds from the end actually). Chapter forward moves it to the third title, and you can still return to the menu so it's not a complete lockup. Upon further testing it seems to be pausing at the end of each title, even when directly selected from the main menu (normal behavior is to return to the main menu at the end unless you're using the "play all" feature). This functions normally on the SageTV software on the computer itself, it's only the HD200 that isn't working right.

The Tudors season 2 discs (16x9) are still not behaving correctly with "source" aspect ratio. It is still adding extra black bars to the top and the bottom as if it were trying to letterbox it for a 4x3 TV (so you get a vertically squished image on a 16x9 display). The menu audio on those discs is also coming out as garbled noise (using optical out, I don't have analog outputs connected) although the episode audio is fine. Again no problems with either aspect ratio or menu audio in the SageTV software on the computer.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by adamwh

Upon further testing it seems to be pausing at the end of each title, even when directly selected from the main menu (normal behavior is to return to the main menu at the end unless you're using the "play all" feature). This functions normally on the SageTV software on the computer itself, it's only the HD200 that isn't working right.

Sounds like it could be a bug in the firmware. You should file a bug report.

The Tudors season 2 discs (16x9) are still not behaving correctly with "source" aspect ratio. It is still adding extra black bars to the top and the bottom as if it were trying to letterbox it for a 4x3 TV (so you get a vertically squished image on a 16x9 display).

Does that happen with 16:9 recorded TV shows too? For a while I had an issue where my HD200 seemed to think my widescreen TV was a 4:3 TV when it was playing back video, even though everything seemed properly configured for a 16:9 AR TV. Deleting the properties file for the extender fixed that problem.

[adamwh]

Originally Posted by reggie14

Sounds like it could be a bug in the firmware. You should file a bug report.

I rolled back the firmware to 4/03 (which is where I updated from, skipping over 4/29) and that freezing problem went away. I will file a report on that one.

Originally Posted by reggie14

Does that happen with 16:9 recorded TV shows too? For a while I had an issue where my HD200 seemed to think my widescreen TV was a 4:3 TV when it was playing back video, even though everything seemed properly configured for a 16:9 AR TV. Deleting the properties file for the extender fixed that problem.

The Tudors discs (season 2) are the only ones that I've seen that have the problem. Everything else looks fine. I would suspect the authoring of the discs themselves, but they do play back properly in the SageTV software. I will try the properties file though.

[reggie14]

Originally Posted by adamwh

The Tudors discs (season 2) are the only ones that I've seen that have the problem. Everything else looks fine. I would suspect the authoring of the discs themselves, but they do play back properly in the SageTV software. I will try the properties file though.

It doesn't sound like that is going to work for you.

I figured out last night that the only reason deleting the properties file did anything for me was because I failed to turn back on native resolution switching. When I turn that back on my weird aspect ratio problems come back.