What does “Normal” in the upper left-hand corner on my VIP722 mean?

[dneiding]

When you look at the info for the program you are watching (i.e. hitting the right arrow/browse button) there is a box in the upper left-hand corner that says "Normal". What does this mean?

Thanks in advance.

Derek

 

[Super Dave]

It means the picture you are looking at is normal, if you hit the star button you can stretch it, partial zoom it, zoom it, and grey bar it. Then you will see those words in the corner instead of normal. It's the button to the left of 0.

 

[mdwatt]

This notates the current aspect ratio (4:3 or 16:9) that your program is being viewed in. "Normal" as you noticed, means that the program is being viewed in it's normal aspect ratio, being 4:3 for SD, or 16:9 for HD. On the bottom of your dish remote you will see a button on the left that says "format". If you push this button while you watch your screen, you will see the receiver cycle through different viiewing modes: normal, stretch, wide zoom, gray bar, etc. You may select these different modes to fit your viewing tastes. What most people will typically do is watch an SD channel, then put the view mode on stretch. This will cause the picture to stretch to fill the screen and eliminate the black bars on either side of your TV. (You may notice a slight decrease in picture quality when you do this. That is normal.) An SD picture is made to be a "square" 4:3 format. So, when you watch it on a wide-screen tv, you get black bars on either side of the picture. The only remedy for this is to "stretch" the picture. Then when you switch to an HD channel, the viewing mode will automatically switch to "normal", but will also fill the screen, since HD channels are made to be viewed in a wide-screen (16:9) format.

 

[dneiding]

Very intersting. THANKS!!!

So lets see if I understand. If I a wide screen TV and I have the aspect ratio in my HD setup (in the Dish menu) set to 16:9 when I tune in a show and it says normal but takes up the entire screen is it safe to assume the program is HD? If I tune to a non-HD program it will have black bars on the right and left correct?

 

[jwfgeol]

Very intersting. THANKS!!!

So lets see if I understand. If I a wide screen TV and I have the aspect ratio in my HD setup (in the Dish menu) set to 16:9 when I tune in a show and it says normal but takes up the entire screen is it safe to assume the program is HD? If I tune to a non-HD program it will have black bars on the right and left correct?

Beware of stretch-o-vision. Just because you're watching an HD channel, and the picture fills up the screen on an HDTV (in normal mode), it doesn't mean the source is HD, it could be upconverted/stretched SD. This is not an issue with Dish. The networks are broadcasting this way (TBSHD is the worst).

Also, the receiver "remembers" your settings for both HD and SD. So if you have HD set to "normal" and SD set to "stretch", these settings will remain if you are flipping between HD and SD channels. If you have SD set to "normal", there will always be black bars on either side on SD channels.

Edit: I have the 622. I assume this is the same for the 722.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

When you look at the info for the program you are watching (i.e. hitting the right arrow/browse button) there is a box in the upper left-hand corner that says "Normal". What does this mean?

Thanks in advance.

Derek

It means it's time to read the manual.... who knows what other great features you're missing out on....

 

[lakebum431]

It means it's time to read the manual.... who knows what other great features you're missing out on....

Not really a necessary post and not something that we usually do here. No reason to tell someone to "RTFM" or "search" or anything else. No big deal, but just something to think about in the future.

 

[Ronnie-]

It means it's time to read the manual.... who knows what other great features you're missing out on....

Nice that you put a smiley, but how was that helpful?

 

[TNGTony]

The receiver is smart enough to remember the setting you last used on the SD channels and the HD channels separately. So most of the time you really don't have to fiddle with it after you set it up.

Remember that HD does not mean "it fills up my 16x9 screen".
HD=High Definition, nothing more.

Most new high definition programs are 16x9, but movies and other programs that are HD may be letter boxed or pillar boxed.

Some TV programs that are shot in 16x9 or anamorphic are NOT HD.

Take a look at THIS PAGE for a complete explanation.

See ya
Tony

 

[SignGuyDino]

ALL IS WELL!!!

 

[Hall]

It means it's time to read the manual.... who knows what other great features you're missing out on....

Tell me what page that explanation is on in your manual.

 

[Hall]

Also, the receiver "remembers" your settings for both HD and SD. So if you have HD set to "normal" and SD set to "stretch", these settings will remain if you are flipping between HD and SD channels. If you have SD set to "normal", there will always be black bars on either side on SD channels.

What I want is for the receiver to remember this setting on a per-channel basis. My SA 8000HD/8300HD did it.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

Tell me what page that explanation is on in your manual.

Hell if I know. I don't read manuals.

 

[JEFFinINDY]

Nice that you put a smiley, but how was that helpful?

I was pointing out the fact that the 622/722 is a complicated piece of electronics with a lot of great features. Some of them aren't obvious, so a read through the manual will often teach you new tricks.

I posted a similar experience a few weeks back about reading the manual for the remote control. I found out that I could control my receiver's volume without having to press AUX, something that my Dish installer told me was not possible.

In the future, I'll limit my posts to asking when we can watch SciFi in HD.

 

[JohnR]

When you look at the info for the program you are watching (i.e. hitting the right arrow/browse button) there is a box in the upper left-hand corner that says "Normal". What does this mean?

Thanks in advance.

Derek

Damn...I thought it was a comment regarding my mental condition.

 

[wonko]

I was pointing out the fact that the 622/722 is a complicated piece of electronics with a lot of great features. Some of them aren't obvious, so a read through the manual will often teach you new tricks.

The only problem is that the new Dish manuals leave a lot to be desired. (Including any information about the display formats). The older ones seemed much more informative. I guess Dish assumes that installers are going to tell customers everything they need to know.

 

[jerryez]

Tell me what page that explanation is on in your manual.

Chapter 2, page 18.

 

[wonko]

Chapter 2, page 18.

That page just (briefly) describes the format button on the remote. The OP's question was about the text on the screen. There's no explanation of that part, or what format modes are available for HD/SD on that page, or any other.

I realize that since so much functionality is determined by firmware that may vary over time, putting it in hardcopy may not be the best way to provide that information. But some more in-depth help, either online or through the DishHome stuff would be good. Having to sit through hours worth of stuff on Channel 101 and hope they talk about what you need to know also isn't really helpful.

 

[Hall]

Chapter 2, page 18.

Let's see....

"Format
Format the picture to the desired width to match the program you are viewing".

Try again chief....

 

[Fitzie]

JeffinIndy made the comment "read the manual."

This response is not what the person inquiring wants to hear, of course, and is not especially helpful if the answer is not actually in the manual.

Notwithstanding that, reading the manual really is a good idea and something I try to do if I can. I've tried 3 times to complete reading the manual for my Toshiba HD-Xa2, but I keep getting lost about page 34 because of the way the manual is structured (go here, go there, do this, do that, etc.). But I am going to try again.

My daughter recently asked me a really simple hook-up question about some electronic appliance she bought. I commented, "Didn't read the instructions, did you?" Her response was a cheery "nope." So I gave her the answer, and she went away happy. Pretty "normal," I suppose.

Regards,
Fitzie