[mythtv-users] Is Wider better?

Rich West Rich.West at wesmo.com
Tue May 1 23:08:39 UTC 2007


Steve Hodge wrote:
> On 5/2/07, *Rich West* <Rich.West at wesmo.com 
> <mailto:Rich.West at wesmo.com>> wrote:
>
>     Peter A. Daly wrote:
>     > Will my PVR-350 record "wide format" content?
>     >
>     > I'd assumed I need an HD receiver.  Am I incorrect?  (I'm in the
>     US.)
>
>     Yup.. you need an HD Receiver.  The PVR-150, PVR-250, PVR-350,
>     PVR-500
>     are all SD-only.
>
>
> SD does not mean 4:3 only. It is perfectly possible to receive and 
> record widescreen SD. I don't know if widescreen SD is available in 
> the US, but it certainly is in other countries.

Unfortunately, here in the US, broadcast content is via NTSC, which  is 
only 480i 4:3 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDTV, 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NTSC).  TV shows recorded in widescreen 
format get crammed in to a 4:3 transmission, giving us the added joy of 
black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. :(

My bad, though.. Since Peter already has MythTV running and recording 
stuff, I took a guess that "wide format" meant an HD 16:9 signal, and, 
if that is the case, then that's where what I said previously comes in 
to play.  The PVR-350 won't record HD content unless it is "down 
converted" to the equivalent of SD content.

-Rich



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