Using an OTA antenna and a Hughe HTL-HD reciever, NBC is coming in slightly smaller then 16:9 on some shows. On my 65" TV there is an inch or so of black bar on either side.

The audio, using the digital audio output, seem to be off slightly too. If I use the regular left/right audio it's fine. And ideas?

HD programs will fill out your screen. SD programs will have bars on the sides in most cases.

For more info

!!! Original Aspect Ratio - Black Bars, OAR and Burn-in !!!
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Richard F. Fisher
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The bars are only about an inch wide on my 65 inch TV. Some scenes are like this and others are full screen. I've also noticed the sound on NBC seems to be slightly off from the picture, but other OTA channels seem fine.

Check your display and receiver for picture formatting features. It must be set for 16:9. It sounds as if you have it set for some sort of zoom or letterbox mode.

My set has a "PC mode" in which it underscans instead of overscans.

Sounds to me like your local station is doing some zooming or stretching. A couple of my local channels use something close to 14:9 for their standard definition. The excuse is they are trying to fill up the screen without too much distortion or missing info from the top and bottom. To me, this is just more annoying and confusing. I wish they'd leave 4:3 material in 4:3. Whenever you see anything that doesn't fill your widescreen set, its not true HD. HD from the networks will always be 16:9.

hope this helps.

When I tested the Comcast HD box for a month last year, I noticed the same anomoly on the cable box. Switching between D*, OTA, and cable, the aspect ratios were not always the same. D* and OTA usually had true 16x9, but the cable varied.

Plus, the OTA signals were ALWAYS the best. D* and Comcast were a "you pick 'em" situation, but OTA always ruled.