SBS and 16:9

Hi folks,

I live in Hobart and we get ABC, SBS, WIN and Southern Cross. I have
recently acquired an infocus X1 projector that has a 4:3 DLP panel but
is 16:9 capable. My screen is 16:9 and I've configured the X1 and
Thompson STB to 16:9.

On ABC, WIN and SC anything in widescreen is just great. Anything that
is 4:3 just chops the sides of the widescreen view and display nicely on
my screen.

However if SBS show a 4:3 show then it it fills the full 4:3 panel and
displays above and below my screen - even though everything is set to 16:9.

Can someone explain why this happens?

Jim

(Remove the obvious after my name to reply)

[Beardy]

Jim,

SBS does not currently transmit it's digital signal into Hobart in 16:9 (it does thru Austar, but that's another story). Therefore on some stb's it will show a 4:3 picture stretched to 16:9 requiring you to change the aspect ratio on your stb. This problem should fix itself soon as sbs have said they will be providing their full digital service (i.e 16:9, World News Channel, Radio and HD) by the end of this year.

Beardy