DirecTV HR22 - About High Definition

132
DIRECTV PLUS
®
DVR USER GUIDE
Appendix 3: About High-Denition
In addition to resolution and interlacing, a television picture is also dened by its aspect ratio—referring to the shape of the screen as
defined by the ratio of the screen’s width to its height.
For analog TV, the aspect ratio is 4 units wide by 3 units high (4:3). This is the familiar shape of conventional TVs—slightly wider than
they are tall. SDTV and EDTV pictures can be either 4:3 or 16:9. For HDTV broadcasts, the aspect ratio is 16:9—nearly twice as wide as it
is tall. This is, not coincidentally, more like the shape of movies shown in theaters, which makes HD an ideal format for viewing movies
on TV. You will be able to see much of what is captured on film, but lost on an SDTV display.
Pressing this key will cycle the resolutions that you’ve indicated in System Setup as being supported by your TV. In addition, it will cycle
the three available screen formats in conjunction with each individual resolution. Available screen formats are based on the TV Aspect
Ratio you set in System Setup. With each press, an on-screen message will let you know what the current resolution/format setting
is. For example, if you indicated that your TV supports only 1080i, 480i and 480p and it is a 16:9 television, and Native is turned off*, the
cycle of settings for the FORMAT key are as follows:
What if you’re watching a nearly square-shaped 4:3 broadcast on a 16:9 TV, or vice versa? The DIRECTV Plus
®
HD DVR lets you choose
from a variety of screen formats to deal with those scenarios. You can set up your preferences for format during Guided Setup and
change them at any time.
See the next pages for your options.
In order to optimize the display of programs on your television, you may occasionally need to change the resolution and/or screen
format. There are two keys that can be used to make changes: the FORMAT key on the remote control and the RES (Resolution) key on
the front panel of the DIRECTV Plus
®
HD DVR.
Aspect Ratio
Screen Formats
Options for Changing Video Output
FORMAT key on Your Remote
This section applies to HD receivers only.