So I'm testing this batch of HDTVs in the Lab and something is just wrong. As I'm looking at the content on screen, I noticed a chunk of the picture has disappeared off screen! This overscanning is totally ruining my viewing experience.
What is overscanning? When watching high-definition cable programming on an HDTV, you may notice that the set crops out text and station logos. This effect is called overscan, which many HDTV makers enable to eliminate the annoying flickering white bar of information that appears above HD programming. And this is happening on 6 out of the 7 sets I'm testing the lab right now!
The problem is, overscanning is enabled by default on many HDTVs, and adjusting your way out of it is not always easy.
This means that you're not getting the picture the way it was meant to be seen. Frankly, I find it ridiculously distracting to see half of the CBS logo swallowed up by my HDTVs bezel. Moreover, unless you turn off overscanning, you're not getting a true 1920 by 1080 progressive picture when using a Blu-ray player.
The reason manufacturers do this (and, in my opinion, hurt the viewing experience) is because most set-top boxes--cable and satellite alike--don't decode HD compression well enough to hide that flickering bar of digital info. HDTV makers are trying to "fix" that problem by hiding parts of the picture, but the result is that you?re not getting the full picture.
I want my HDTV, the way it was meant to be seen! Clearly, overscan bothers me plenty, but what I want to know is: Do you notice overscan on your HDTV? If so, does it annoy you as much as it does me?
Also, should we note how much an individual set overscans in our reviews? Or do you think I've been covering the HDTV beat way too much and PC World should send me on a vacation before I snap? Let us know in our poll and in the comments section below.
I can't stand the data line flickering at top of screen... but I also don't like cutting off the picture... there are many times there's something of interest in the cutoff sides... especially when I also use the HDTV as a computer monitor. I don't mind a side-to-side stretch... they -can- fill the display screen but they can't eliminate a few lines at the top? How lazy are they? I'm thinking -every- new electronic device needs to be firmware upgradable.
Overscan is an issue, but, I have a larger issue. I am sure I am not alone. I purchased a very expensive 56" DLP Samsung HD tv in May of the year that the PS3 was released. The set is clearly marked as 1060P the front of the screen and in the manual. My wife bought me a PS3 for christmas. I slapped in a BLue Ray disk. It came up in 1080 I ! I set the ps3 to output 1080P and was rewarded with a black screen. After some research I found that the TV is incapable of acepting a 1080P input signal.
Angrily I emailed the company. They tell me that the 1080I signal is upgraded to 1080p for the display. This is not true 1080P because it displays only every other frame. The end result is that I can buy a 1080P to replace my perfectly functional TV or just wait till it wears out. I would like to know your take on this!
The manual, brochures, and lterature don't talk of this.
OBTW I only lose the LOGO when I go to zoom
Overscan is an issue, but, I have a larger issue. I am sure I am not alone. I purchased a very expensive 56" DLP Samsung HD tv in May of the year that the PS3 was released. The set is clearly marked as 1060P the front of the screen and in the manual. My wife bought me a PS3 for christmas. I slapped in a BLue Ray disk. It came up in 1080 I ! I set the ps3 to output 1080P and was rewarded with a black screen. After some research I found that the TV is incapable of acepting a 1080P input signal.
Angrily I emailed the company. They tell me that the 1080I signal is upgraded to 1080p for the display. This is not true 1080P because it displays only every other frame. The end result is that I can buy a 1080P to replace my perfectly functional TV or just wait till it wears out. I would like to know your take on this!
The manual, brochures, and lterature don't talk of this.
OBTW I only lose the LOGO when I go to zoom