side bars with 6131

[tliner]

i may end up looking stupid for asking but here goes. i just switched to a 6131 hd reciever from a 3100. i have a samsung 1080 p tv and when i hooked the reciever up i have large side bars on the screen with non hd programming. when a picture comes on that uses the top bars i end up with about half the normal screen size sitting inside a black square. is this normal? i knew about the top and bottom bars but not the side. to fix this i have went to wide mode on the screen. is this all i can do to watch most of the picture?thanks for any help

[scrooloose]

Standard definition channels are mainly formatted 4x3, so unless you zoom or stretch the image, that's how they appear on wide screen (16x9) televisions. You can use the Bell remote format button (*) to change the formatting. You might like the partial zoom mode rather than the full stretch.

-Mike

[ScaryBob]

is this normal?

Yes. This has been asked and answered many times. The black bars can be eliminated by pressing the * key on the 6131 remote. Please read the section entitled "4:3 Programming Upconverted for HD Channels" here: FAQ - Black Bars - Why Do I Still Have These?

[tliner]

thanks guys. that works good for me