Why are there black bars around my television picture?

If the aspect ratio of the program you’re watching isn’t the same as the aspect ratio of your TV, you might see black bars at the top and bottom or at the sides of the picture to fill the rest of the screen. See below for tips to adjust your picture size.

Bars on the top and bottom

If you see black bars on the top and bottom of the picture, you’re watching an HD program on an SDTV. This might be preferred so you can see the full picture, but you can also switch to the SD version of that channel to have it fill your screen.

Note: Sometimes SD channels will intentionally show programs in widescreen format to keep the original image.

Bars on the sides

If you see black bars on the sides of the picture, you’re watching an SD program on an HDTV. You’ll need to switch to the HD version of that channel to see the full picture.

Note: Sometimes HD channels will show older programs that are only available in SD.

Picture size setting

If there are black bars on all sides of the picture, or if you just want to zoom in without changing the channel, some TVs have a setting to change the size of the picture. Check for an aspect ratio button on your TV remote or an option in the TV settings (not supported by Cogeco).

If you use Cogeco Digital TV with an HD receiver or DVR, you can also try changing the picture with these buttons on your Cogeco remote:

• With an Atlas remote, try the # button.
  
  
  
• With a Polaris remote, try the Swap button.