Panny plasma Vs Comcast HDTV, HELP

Sorry, ive been gone for a bit, just got back.

I FOUND THE PROBLEM, and Edsilvia nailed it right on target. He even got the page right. LOL

The aspect controls for the TV only work with sub 1080i/720p signals.
The comcast box sends out a 1080i signal over the coax, regardless to the quality of the picture. So even SD will still be sent in an HD 1080I signal. That is why i couldnt use the aspect function. Apparently, my roomates CRT panny doesent seem to have this problem, might be beause he is using HDMI and not component....

I searched through that cable box 10 times and couldnt find any settings. Turns out, there is a special menu that is not normally available. you have to shut the cable box off, then hit "Menu" and it lets you into an entirly different menu system.

On that it was set to pass 1080I on all signals, basically, i set the box to only put out a 480p signal which is all my TV is really capable of doing.

So, now i CAN use the aspect controls, and my TV is still putting out the best pic it can.

Honestly, the panasonic ED plasma's are the best performance for the price as far as im concerned. I bought the TV at a Soundtrack/Audioking/Ultimateelectroncs store, it was sittin there next to many HD plasma's and LCD TVs... I still think the only flat panel TV in the store that looked as good was the HD version, and i could only tell when i was very close looking at lettering....
It was sure cheaper than the HD models, but that wasnt even really a selling point for me, i could have spend several grand more, i just couldnt fiure out why i would want to when this little EDTV is trashing the competition and it wasnt even HD.... I know not all things are equal in those stores, and i know they jack up the video of them to be bright and vivid as possible, but a lot of the other TV's just couldnt get the realizm that this one got.

I'm loving this TV, and will never look back.

Cinematic,

Ya know, i gotta say something, why does everyone feel the need to point out to me that this is an EDTV and not an HDTV? im pretty sure i made that abundantly clear in the post i put up. Same thing happened on some different forums, instead of helping me fogure the problem they decided they needed to sit there and point out the blatantly obvious.

You even quoted what i had said, as seen below, and where i said i am unable to get HD on coax and then quite clearly in parenthesis i stated "As expected" then decided to show me up by telling me resolution capabilitys of coax....
as that was ever in question....

"When watching the source through the COAX input, i am unable to get the HD (as expected)."

anyways, every single time i see you post on here you seem to have to try and show people up.... you feeling a bit insecure or something?
you miss the point in almost every single thread i have seen you write in.

Why dont you go ahead and analyze my system and tell me how horrible it is while yer at it? Take yer best shot, with what ive seen you post on here in the past, i hold nothing you say with any credit.

man. i dig the tv, i dig my stereo. and im happy with them to the point where i now spend a lot of my time and money pursuing other interests.

Good day.

Cinematic, im sure sooner or later even a bright guy like yourself will figure out why you have no friends.

I know it is ED. christ. that was never the point. I dont know what kind of psycholigical blind spot you have, but you are one irritating person.

Let me break this down so that even a 6 year old can understand....

My roomates CRT panasonic accepts a constant 1080i signal from comcast, -ALL- broadcasting is send over as 1080I. When he flips to an SD channel, it is still sent over a 1080I signal, even though it is only SD Quality. His TV can still stretch out 1080i, which gives him the ability to watch SD quality programs over 1080i, and while he CAN watch it with the bars, he can also zoom and stretch etc.

MY TV, set to the SAME type of box, ALSO accepts 1080I signals, but downconvers to 480p. When i recieve 1080i all the aspect controls are gone.

That is where the difference lies, because my buddys TV retains the aspect controls. probably just some type of logic processor or something that can figure it out, or maybe as the HD box sends it out over 1080i it sends a flag to mark it as SD so his tv enables the aspect controls. That is just a guess, i really dont care how his TV lets him watch SD quality over 1080i and allows him to use aspect.

this has nothing to do with filling where there is no information, this has to do with zoom/stretch features, basically, it expands the pixel from 1, to 2, or 3. thats it. Saying you cannot stretch or zoom a HD signal? that is absolutly retarded. Sure, mine cannot, but the concept of being able to is sound and solid, it works the same was as a digital zoom on a digital camera, it is just slightly more sophisticated. And THAT is the POINT of aspect controls, to fill the screen where no information is being sent.

Either way, the FIX was not in the tv, it was a HIDDEN menu on the COMCAST BOX that you cannot access while the comcast box is turned ON, it can only be access by hitting menu when the box is OFF, and it takes you to a menu that is not otherwise available. All i needed to know was where the hell that freakin menu was hidden, and presto i had it.

The problem here, is my set is not designed to stretch SD broadcast over 1080I, and his is. Plain and simple.

It had --nothing-- to do with an inability to correctly set up the TV, the TV was correctly set up, it is the fact that there was no literature with the comcast box that showed where the hidden menu was located. In FACT, i talked with 3 different Comcast service reps before one of them knew that there was a hidden menu.

So once again cinematic, you are unable to grasp the concept of the question, you run off some other unrelated concept and pat yourself on the back for being such a smart guy. The entire question was obviously over your head.
Well, enjoy it, i certainly dont see anybody else sitting here patting you on the back, if anything, i see people getting tired of your arrogance.

But let me just get this one thing straight, according to you, you cannot stretch/zoom an 1080i signal. So everyone with Comcast digital cable needs to use 2 seperate video inputs? They cannot watch HD then flip to an SD broadcast which is send over a 1080i singal and have aspect controls?
Because guess what? Comcast HDbox ONLY sends 1080i over component if you have 1080I setup, it will NOT send 1080i and later on send 720p or 480p or 480i. it simply sends the highest resolution, which is the resolution you select on the hidden menu, and it will send SD quality over 1080i

I verified this myself a few days back when i had my buddy put on an SD station and checked the TV's OSD which said it was recieving 1080i... even tho it was only sd quality... and guess what? HIS FREAKIN ASPECT CONTROLS WORKED>

So nice try, too bad, so sad. Why dont you go do some research before you start running your mouth.

moron.

Been away for a while.

Well, i really dont feel any need to say anything to cinematic, he has definatly done enough to make himself look like an idiot.
anyways.

Not sure about the 2900, i havent bought any fullscreen material in years because i knew one day i would have a widescreen tv. Really hasnt been an issue for me, ill play around with it later though.