KD-65x81j letterboxing streaming movies and series

[JimmyAD]

Hi all. Just got a replacement for my bravia KD-65sd8505. A KD-65x81j.

both tv are Android, 65inches and 3840x2160px

The new tv is running Android 9 and Google TV the old one was android 7 and Android tv.

On the new tv all series and movies are letterboxed and it is really annoying. But not when using flow tv.

when in streaming mode I cannot even change the display to full, zoom etc. It is disabled. The remot does not have a ratio button (the old tv did)

How do I get rid of those annoying and frankly old fashion black top and bottom bars (letterbox) ?

[Elodin]

Hi Jimmy, you can access the aspect ratio through the settings by pressing the HOME button on the remote control, select settings, from the settings screen, select display, Select Screen and you can select your desired picture size. This link also has a lot of info regarding it. I hope this helps

[LightFoot]

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@JimmyAD wrote:

How do I get rid of those annoying and frankly old fashion black top and bottom bars (letterbox) ?

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Hi @JimmyAD   My apologies, but I found that quite amusing 😀. It is of course the complete opposite. Most modern viewers would find it quite unacceptable to trim or distort pictures. I personally respect the format that the directors produced. I am a very old pensioner and I stopped distorting the pictures decades ago. However I do respect your point of view.

[SkyNet404]

Sadly buddy I don't think you can change the interface, whether it's for the home page, streaming, or settings. 

[JimmyAD]

Thx for the replys so far.

I'm not sure if I was unclear, so just to be sure.

I only have letterboxing when using streaming channels and all of them.

The apps themselves are full screen, but all movies and series are in letterbox. Including new ones. That is what I cannot understand, as on the other tv I never had this, even without changing the picture format.

[LightFoot]

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@JimmyAD wrote:

I only have letterboxing when using streaming channels and all of them.

The apps themselves are full screen, but all movies and series are in letterbox. Including new ones. That is what I cannot understand, as on the other tv I never had this, even without changing the picture format.

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Hi @JimmyAD   Sorry, are you saying the pictures have been distorted (squashed) into a letterbox format? If a letterboxed film is on Netflix, is it possible to provide the title so we can compare.

[royabrown2]

@JimmyAD 

Like @SkyNet404 , I’d like examples; I’d like to see screenshots, one of a screen with the issue, and one of your Aspect Ratio settings.

Many modern series are now made in 22:9, a sort of super widescreen, which will display in 16:6.54 recurring, with ~16:1.23 black bars above and below, and I wonder if this is perhaps what you are seeing?