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Chapter 6
Messages and Setup
TV Aspect Ratio
This screen lets you choose one of two settings, the default Standard Screen–4:3 or Wide
Screen–16:9. If you have a normal television, you should leave this setting at the default.
If you have a wide screen set, select “Wide Screen–16:9.” Doing this allows programs
transmitted in a wide screen format to fill the wider screen. If you are unsure of the correct
setting, leave it at the default Standard Screen–4:3. If this is the wrong setting for your
television, programs in wide screen format may appear 'squashed' horizontally—people
would seem very tall and thin.
Movies are generally made in a wider format than standard television images. Movie
images on television deal with the difference in one of the following three ways:
Standard or “Pan-and-Scan”. The edges of the movie are carefully edited to make it fit
the television format. This format is unaffected by the TV Aspect Ratio setting.
Letterbox. The full width of the movie image is displayed. On standard TVs, this leaves a
black margin on the top and bottom of the image. Some wide screen TVs can eliminate the
margins and make Letterbox fill the screen. (See the owner's manual for your wide screen
TV.) This format is unaffected by the TV Aspect Ratio setting.
Anamorphic. This method allows the DVR to choose how to display the image. If TV
Aspect Ratio is set to Wide Screen, the DVR displays a wide screen image. If TV Aspect
Ratio is set to Standard, the DVR displays a Letterbox image.
4:3
Standard Screen Wide Screen
16:9
DIRECTV Central Messages and Setup My Preferences TV Aspect Ratio