[mythtv-users] HD black bars on top and bottom of screen

[Kevin Ross]

On 11/9/2010 7:03 PM, Omari Norman wrote:
> I have a Motorola cable box and am pulling the content into Myth via
> Firewire. When I am in the MythTV menus and program guide, Myth
> completely fills up the screen. But when I am watching HD TV channels, I
> am getting black bands at the top and bottom of the screen. Apparently
> Myth is putting these bands in, because somewhere there is a setting
> that makes these bands turn grey, and now they are grey.
>
> I have a 16:9 HDTV.
>
> These same HD channels completely fill up the screen, without black
> bands, when I use the cable box's component outputs.
>
> I have tried adjusting the fill and the aspect ratio, but these either
> do nothing or end up distorting the video a lot. How can I get rid of
> these bands? Thanks. --Omari

Sounds like you have your PC set to the wrong output resolution, like 
maybe 1280x1024 or 1024x768.  Your TV will stretch the MythTV menu 
screen to fill the screen, but MythTV will add black bars at the top and 
bottom, since your resolution is set to a 4:3 ratio.  Try changing your 
resolution to 1280x720 or 1920x1080, or whatever the native resolution 
of your TV is.