Picture format Sky vs Freeview on Panasonic

spfresh · 20-03-2008, 16:08

I have a Panasonic 37" Viera LCD TV which has a built-in freeview tuner. Is there any reason why pictures via freeview should look perfectly scaled and the same channel via Sky is wrongly scaled? Whichever format I choose from the menu (Auto, 16:9, 4:3 etc) I lose some of the Sky picture or it's stretched so that everyone looks fat!

It would be fine if I could watch everything on Freeview but, for instance, during Lost on Sky One we can never read the opening credits as they're cut off at the sides.

I've tried wandering through all of the TV settings but nothing seems to work. Have I connected this wrongly or missed something?

Very grateful if anyone can shed any light!

broadz · 20-03-2008, 16:14

You've checked the TV settings. Have you checked the Sky settings?

spfresh · 20-03-2008, 16:30

Just checked - the picture setting was 4:3. Have changed it to 16:9 which has helped a bit but it's still more 'stretched' than via Freeview.

broadz · 20-03-2008, 16:37

Something wrong with either your TV or your Sky box then. When an anamorphically compressed (16:9) picture is being output, the TV should autostretch to make it fill the screen widthways. When a 4:3 picture is being output, no automatic stretching should take place (but you could zoom into the picture manually if you wanted, eliminating black bars from left and right, and a little bit of picture from top and bottom, but aspect ratio should remain the same).

hardeep · 20-03-2008, 17:03

The issue is possibly due to incorrect settings on your Sky box. Go to Services and select System Setup. Choose Picture Settings and ensure that Picture Format is set to 16:9, Scart control is ON and Scart Video Output is set to RGB. Save the settings and exit.

Tune to a channel that broadcasts in 4:3 such Sky Sports News or one of the Discovery Channels. Now set the TV's aspect ratio to 4:3. Change to a 16:9 channel like BBC News 24 and the TV should automatically switch to 16:9. (You should also find if you put Sky into standby the TV should switch to 4:3.)

Also bear in mind it's not impossible that the Sky Digibox might have got itself locked in a certain aspect ratio - it's happened to me in the past. So you may have to do a reset with your digibox.

spfresh · 20-03-2008, 17:21

Wow. It worked! I knew someone on here would know.

Thanks!

20-03-2008, 16:08	#1
spfresh Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 16	Picture format Sky vs Freeview on Panasonic I have a Panasonic 37" Viera LCD TV which has a built-in freeview tuner. Is there any reason why pictures via freeview should look perfectly scaled and the same channel via Sky is wrongly scaled? Whichever format I choose from the menu (Auto, 16:9, 4:3 etc) I lose some of the Sky picture or it's stretched so that everyone looks fat! It would be fine if I could watch everything on Freeview but, for instance, during Lost on Sky One we can never read the opening credits as they're cut off at the sides. I've tried wandering through all of the TV settings but nothing seems to work. Have I connected this wrongly or missed something? Very grateful if anyone can shed any light!

20-03-2008, 16:14	#2
broadz Banned User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,313	You've checked the TV settings. Have you checked the Sky settings?

20-03-2008, 16:30	#3
spfresh Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 16	Just checked - the picture setting was 4:3. Have changed it to 16:9 which has helped a bit but it's still more 'stretched' than via Freeview.

20-03-2008, 16:37	#4
broadz Banned User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 2,313	Something wrong with either your TV or your Sky box then. When an anamorphically compressed (16:9) picture is being output, the TV should autostretch to make it fill the screen widthways. When a 4:3 picture is being output, no automatic stretching should take place (but you could zoom into the picture manually if you wanted, eliminating black bars from left and right, and a little bit of picture from top and bottom, but aspect ratio should remain the same).

20-03-2008, 17:03	#5
hardeep Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Derbyshire Posts: 2,163	The issue is possibly due to incorrect settings on your Sky box. Go to Services and select System Setup. Choose Picture Settings and ensure that Picture Format is set to 16:9, Scart control is ON and Scart Video Output is set to RGB. Save the settings and exit. Tune to a channel that broadcasts in 4:3 such Sky Sports News or one of the Discovery Channels. Now set the TV's aspect ratio to 4:3. Change to a 16:9 channel like BBC News 24 and the TV should automatically switch to 16:9. (You should also find if you put Sky into standby the TV should switch to 4:3.) Also bear in mind it's not impossible that the Sky Digibox might have got itself locked in a certain aspect ratio - it's happened to me in the past. So you may have to do a reset with your digibox.

20-03-2008, 17:21	#6
spfresh Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 16	Wow. It worked! I knew someone on here would know. Thanks!

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Picture format Sky vs Freeview on Panasonic