Why Tata Sky Showing MTunes SD in 16:9 Ratio?

[DTH Fan]

Tata Sky is showing all downgraded SD feeds of HD channels such as Movies NOW, History TV18, Baby TV in 4:3 aspect ration which doesnt look good on LCD/LED TVs.

But I wonder why TS is showing MTunes SD feed in 16:9 ratio since the launching day? Why TS is not showing it in 4:3 ration similar to other downgraded SD feeds?

Is there any specific reason behind this step of TS? It would have been better if TS was showing all downgraded SD feeds in 16:9 ration similar to Dish TV.

 

[Anirudha]

T(S having History TV 18 HD and BABY TV HD in a Downgrade Version :huh

 

[DTH Fan]

^^ Yes.

 

[Anirudha]

Experts please shed some light on this ?
Thread is Confusing !!!

 

[techmania]

I think its up to the broadcaster. Watch ZCafe. Its now showing most programmes in 16:9.
However, since not everyone in India is watching TV on 16:9 LCD types, all broadcasters may not be comfortable with switching to this format for SD as its mostly unwatchable on CRT.
I don't think Baby TV is 4:3 in SD. But yes, Movies Now and History are.

 

[DTH Fan]

^^ I'm talking here downgraded SD feeds of HD channels. Those SD feeds are not from broadcaster end. Its DTH services who are downgrading those HD channels to SD and its upto them whether to show channel in 4:3 ratio or 16:9 ratio.

Dish TV is showing all such downgraded HD channels in 16:9 ratio on the other hand TS and ADTV are showing them in 4:3 ratio.

I started this thread because MTunes is the only downgraded HD channel on TS which is shown in 16:9 ratio. So I want to know why TS is doing partially with this channel only?

 

[intrinsicreality]

^^ I'm talking here downgraded SD feeds of HD channels. Those SD feeds are not from broadcaster end. Its DTH services who are downgrading those HD channels to SD and its upto them whether to show channel in 4:3 ratio or 16:9 ratio.

Dish TV is showing all such downgraded HD channels in 16:9 ratio on the other hand TS and ADTV are showing them in 4:3 ratio.

I started this thread because MTunes is the only downgraded HD channel on TS which is shown in 16:9 ratio. So I want to know why TS is doing partially with this channel only?

It is the broadcaster's decision on whether they want the downgraded SD feed to be shown in 4:3 or 16:9. Broadcasters know what kind of people watch their channel and if they are more likely to have a flat screen TV. I guess M Tunes believes that its target audience watch their channel more on flat screen TVs. That is why Airtel also shows MTunes SD in 16:9 while it shows other downgraded SD channels in 4:3. Also to note, Mtunes' competitor 9XM has also switched to 16:9 so that could be related as well.

 

[M.J.Sadiq]

Case 1:
What do you mean by 16:9? Whether you are seeing black bars when viewing the channel on 4:3 CRT TV and not seeing black bars when watching on 16:9 LCD TV?

If the answer is yes, then it is in perfect ratio only. M Tunes is not having a separate SD feed and their HD feed is always 16:9 ratio from the channel itself.

So, DTH operators need to downscale it into SD and they need to do this kind of ratio conversion to satisfy both CRT TV and LCD TV consumers.



Case 2:
Or, if you are not seeing black bars on both CRT and LCD TVs, then it is the case in D2H as well.




Case 3:
Or, if you are seeing black bars on both CRT and LCD TVs, then it is like Movies Now SD version which is quite normal since the DTH operators are considering only CRT customers when downscaling the 16:9 TV transmission.



What is your case bro?

 

[DTH Fan]

Case 1:
What do you mean by 16:9? Whether you are seeing black bars when viewing the channel on 4:3 CRT TV and not seeing black bars when watching on 16:9 LCD TV?

If the answer is yes, then it is in perfect ratio only. M Tunes is not having a separate SD feed and their HD feed is always 16:9 ratio from the channel itself.

So, DTH operators need to downscale it into SD and they need to do this kind of ratio conversion to satisfy both CRT TV and LCD TV consumers.

No black bars on MTunes SD feed in LCD TV but black bars are visible on other downgraded SD feeds such as Movies NOW, History TV 18, Baby TV, etc.

Thats why I asked this question. Why black bars on all downgraded HD channels but not on MTunes as its also downgraded SD feed.

 

[M.J.Sadiq]

No black bars on MTunes SD feed in LCD TV but black bars are visible on other downgraded SD feeds such as Movies NOW, History TV 18, Baby TV, etc.

Thats why I asked this question. Why black bars on all downgraded HD channels but not on MTunes as its also downgraded SD feed.

If you are not getting black bars on LCD then you are getting the picture in perfect and actual aspect ratio given by the broadcaster. But I am not sure about CRT TV and you also didn't mention. So for you, it is perfect.

Regarding other channels, as I mentioned, the DTH operators will go with either of the three cases that I mentioned. So, it is up to DTH operator to decide on this.

Case 1 is the correct method where all users are supposed to see the the picture as it is. It is nothing but to broadcast the channel in original aspect ratio as received from the broadcaster. Also, the set top box should have the option to change the aspect ratio with respect to the TV you are using to achieve Case 1.


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