Screen Televisions

40" Samsung widescreen television used to be widescreen but now has side bars, unless on cable?

I don't know what i did but I'm very good with tv's and i called comcast and they said it had to do with the tv. I played around but all the aspects are 4:3 or 16:9, it's not widescreen on HDMI1 like it used to be, but it is on DVD and cable. Has anyone had this problem before or know the solution? Will it just automatically be fixed when tv turns digital/ HD?

Public Comments

1. 16:9 IS considered widescreen and since you have comcast, nothing is going to change for you when off-the-air transmission becomes digital. There are two ways to control the aspect: from the TV's remote (using the aspect button) or from the Comcast's remote.
2. The above answer was correct. But you need to know that the picture will be different based on what you are watching: - Standard def shows/commercials are 4:3 - HDTV programs are all exactly 16:9 - Movies are 9-15 different ratios and almost always have some bars on the sides.