dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
42

jerry k
@verizon.net

jerry k to jerry k

Anon

to jerry k

Re: The "other" hidden menu in your STB - Diagnostic

GeekGirl1 and Keyboards, your advice was great and it worked

Am now trying, without sucess, to acess the USER SETTINGS
I tried both methods, pushing the buttons in quick sequence
Using remote control, Power -OK - Menue
Using STB front panel, Power - Select -Menu
The TV did not display a white screen with black test
It did display what appearaead to be some kind of Sharp menu
What I am trying todo is change TV type to 16.9 and move the 4.3 Override to "Off"

Does it make any difference that I receive a digital but not HD signal

Thank you again for your help
Jerry K in Tewksbury MA
sneskid
join:2008-01-10
Arlington, VA

sneskid

Member

I don't think this applies, as the QIP2500 is not an HD STB. It also doesn't have HDMI anyway.

GeekGirl1
Premium Member
join:2007-01-28
Morrisville, PA

4 edits

GeekGirl1 to jerry k

Premium Member

to jerry k
said by jerry k :

Using remote control, Power -OK - Menu
Using STB front panel, Power - Select -Menu
It did display what appeared to be some kind of Sharp menu
sneskid hit the nail on the head. I flat out missed that your QIP2500 is an SD box, meaning that all output is 4:3. You don't have an HDMI output.

The Motorola product info, with datasheet: »broadband.motorola.com/c ··· ctID=445

You shouldn't be seeing anything related to your TV menu. Do you have your remote setup to turn on/off the STB together with the TV? I do. When you need to go into the STB setup menu, you should do it from the STB directly (no remote). That keeps things separate.

Never blame age! It's just a complicated subject.
sneskid
join:2008-01-10
Arlington, VA

sneskid

Member

said by GeekGirl1:

said by jerry k :

Using remote control, Power -OK - Menu
Using STB front panel, Power - Select -Menu
It did display what appeared to be some kind of Sharp menu
sneskid hit the nail on the head. I flat out missed that your QIP2500 is an SD box, meaning that all output is 4:3. You don't have an HDMI output.

The Motorola product info, with datasheet: »broadband.motorola.com/c ··· ctID=445

You shouldn't be seeing anything related to your TV menu. Do you have your remote setup to turn on/off the STB together with the TV? I do. When you need to go into the STB setup menu, you should do it from the STB directly (no remote). That keeps things separate.

Never blame age! It's just a complicated subject.
Heh.. the only reason I know about the QIP 2500 is because that is the only STB I have. I still have yet to upgrade to HD, but I sure better do so soon while I can still get a good used Sony HD CRT. Sony doesn't make HD CRTs anymore, and I'm not really a big fan of LCD or Plasma...

jerry k
@verizon.net

jerry k

Anon

My thanks again to sneskid and GeekGirl 1
Wish I read the note which came with the TV,
"You need validate these settings only if you are connecting your new Sharp 19" TV to a HD Verizon STB"

May I please ask one last question concerning the View mode
The TV came in "stretch mode" which I didn't like. I tried 4:3, and the picture was shortened. I tried zoom at 2.35.5 but lost top and bottom of the picture. Stretch at 1.78.1 seems to work best. Is this the best choice?
My thanks again
Jerry K
Tewksbury MA
sneskid
join:2008-01-10
Arlington, VA

sneskid

Member

said by jerry k :

My thanks again to sneskid and GeekGirl 1
Wish I read the note which came with the TV,
"You need validate these settings only if you are connecting your new Sharp 19" TV to a HD Verizon STB"

May I please ask one last question concerning the View mode
The TV came in "stretch mode" which I didn't like. I tried 4:3, and the picture was shortened. I tried zoom at 2.35.5 but lost top and bottom of the picture. Stretch at 1.78.1 seems to work best. Is this the best choice?
My thanks again
Jerry K
Tewksbury MA
That depends on who you ask. Me, I personally prefer to watch everything in its original aspect ratio. The bars that result from this don't bother me one bit. What DOES bother me is an image that is either cropped, distorted, or otherwise modified in some way. So to answer your question, when you are watching something on FIOS, I would say that the "correct" way is to leave your TV on 4:3, since that is the only aspect ratio that your box outputs.
There is an exception, however. Let's say that for example you are watching a movie on Turner Classic Movies, and it is in letterbox format (which occurs a lot, since TCM usually is pretty good about film preservation). Sometimes this means that you can use the zoom mode without cutting anything off the top and bottom. I say SOMETIMES of course, because different movies are shot in all different aspect ratios.

That said, it is understandable that people want to "fill the screen" on their TVs. However again, if filling the screen means that the image is cropped or distorted in some way, I object to this completely.

To quote someone in the alt.tv.tech.hdtv usenet discussion group:
"Just say NO to Stretch-O-Vision."

Now since you don't have an HD box, there is a work around to this if you want to at least be able to watch SOME HD programming. Your TV does have a QAM tuner, which means that for some channels, you can bypass the set top box and use the tuner in your TV instead. When you reprogram the TV's tuner, it should pick up some of the HD channels that Verizon offers.
Also, if your TV has a cable card slot, your other option is to call Verizon and tell them that instead of the cable box, you want a cable card instead. The drawback is that you will not have the on screen guide that the box offers, and you won't have Video On Demand either.

jerry k
@verizon.net

jerry k

Anon

Outstanding response; more and much better that I had hoped
I am now a more "enlightened" viewer, although I may disappoint you with that view.
I like full screen; am willing to suffer with minor distortion., but (at least) am making a decision based on both knowledge and mypersonal preference
Mrs K and I thank you

Jerry K
Tewksbury MA
sneskid
join:2008-01-10
Arlington, VA

sneskid

Member

said by jerry k :

Outstanding response; more and much better that I had hoped
I am now a more "enlightened" viewer, although I may disappoint you with that view.
I like full screen; am willing to suffer with minor distortion., but (at least) am making a decision based on both knowledge and mypersonal preference
Mrs K and I thank you

Jerry K
Tewksbury MA
Have you checked out what the TV can get without the box?