[mythtv-users] HDPVR HD Recordings are in 4:3 format

[Joe Henley]

Hi,

I am having a similar problem with my MythTV system.  I have favorite 
series recorded on an HD-PVR in HD which are normally full screen 16:9 
1920x1080, but sometimes an episode will play back in 4:3 720x480 or 
16:9 1280x720.  I'm running MythTV 0.25.2 on Fedora Core 16.  This 
thread has been very helpful to me in searching for the source of the 
problem(s).

I've used mediainfo (thanks for the tip on that one) to determine that 
if an episode plays back in 720x480 or 1280x720, then it was recorded 
that way (mediainfo says the file is 720x480 or 1280x720) even though 
most episodes of the series are 16:9 1920x1080.

I went thru my playback settings and they seem OK (video aspect override 
is off).

What I can't figure out is if the cable provider (Time Warner) is 
causing the problem or if something I'm doing is the issue.  I have a 
separate cable box dedicated to, and connected only to, the HD-PVR. I 
use a firewire connection from the MythTV backend machine to the cable 
box to change channels.  It all runs pretty well -- except for this problem.

Can anyone suggest a method to determine what the root problem is? Does 
Time Warner sometimes send a normally 1920x1080 show out at 720x480?  Is 
there something I'm missing?

Thanks.

Joe Henley