16X9 480i upconverted to 1080i

[gb4fan92]

This forum has been great for me because I know of no one personally who has HDTV.  My question is this. In searching other HDTV forums on the net I have heard of the following comment: "16X9 480i upconverted to 1080i". One particular post stated that their CBS channel did this for Survivor and it look great. Is this something that is done in the Milwaukee area?  I have TWC and when I turned on Survivor last night on 505 it wasn't upconverted that I could tell. I was expecting it to fill my screen (I have a 16 x 9 projection TV) but it didn't. So I switched back to analog. Such a choice! Great digital sound and 4:3 letterbox on channel 505 or wide screen with regular stereo on channel 5.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Yeah, the Milwaukee area stations pump out the non-HD programming in 1080i or 720p.  It comes out as 16:9 with built in sidebars.  You have to crop off the sidebars with your set top box to have the picture fill the screen.  As far as image quality, it seems to vary, but it is not as nice as true HD material of course.

You may not be able to crop the image with TWC's set top box, so you will have to watch the analog channel if you don't want sidebars.

Good luck,

Starving

[gb4fan92]

I contacted TWC thru their website and they said that they have 3 HDTV Boxes available SA2000, SA3100,and Pioneer Voyager 3511HD. I told them to get the the Pioneer. Searching the web I found out this is one of the newest ones out and it allows me to adjust aspect ratio. I will advise when I get it how it works.

[ugyvel]

I have a Samsung 150.  When there is a broadcast on the digital with the sidebars, I change the screen format on the samsung to tell it I have a 4:3 set (I don't) and select zoom mode.  It fills the 16:9 screen and appears to be a decent stretch (less in the middle, more in the sides, whatever you call that).  Watched the Illinois Ohio State game yesterday in that fashion and was much better than the local channel over satellite version.

[gyoung]

I just called Time Warner Cable and asked if they have a new set top converter in for HD reception.  They said no, the only one they have available is the Scientific Atlanta 3100HD.

Let us know if you find out differently and get the new 3511HD box.

[kermtfrg]

I called the local TW office and they only have the SA boxes available.

[gyoung]

I think all TWC boxes are just Pioneer boxes or Pioneer software in the Scientific Atlanta brand name.  So when you call TWC ask what model they have.  The model 3100HD is the same for Pioneer and Scientific Atlanta.  Scientific Atlanta is just a reseller (I think).

For instance, when I reset my Scientific Atlanta box the Pioneer logo shows up during reset.

So the real question we should be asking TWC is if they have the Scientific Atlanta 3511HD cable box in stock.

[gb4fan92]

Actually there is a Pioneer brand cable box. I've been to the web site to verify this. Most likely though is that one or two manufactors make all the cable boxes and sell them to all the companies to distribute them.
 My most recent contact with TWC said they haven't located a different box locally so they have emailed the national warehouse to see if any are available. I have read that other TWC HDTV viewers have received different boxes in different cities, but right now I'm not to hopeful.:mad: