Hey everyone,
I just recently shot some footage at 24p 2:3:3:2 on 16:9, but when I hook it up to my TV to play it back it's showing it at 4:3. When I look in the viewfinder I can see the full 16:9 image, but on the TV it's chopping it down. I'm sure there's a simple solution to this, but I haven't been able to figure out why. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Joe,

That's annoying, isn't it? Unfortunately the answer might not be off much help to you. See the XL2 owner's manual under "playing back on a TV screen" (page 87). In order for a 16:9 recording to be automatically displayed in letterboxed widescreen on a 4:3 monitor or television, that television needs to have a "Video ID-1" system, and it sounds like your set doesn't have it.

If you have a 16x9 TV or one that is 4x3, but collapses the raster for a hi-rez "letterbox" image, you may have to manually switch to the Full or 16x9 mode. DVDs carry a flag in the Y/C and component video signal (somewhere in the vertical interval) that will trigger auto switching sets. I believe most 16 x 9 camcorders (the XL2 included) do not insert this flag.

More likely it's the TV and not the camcorder. Only the newest TV's in the US seem able to do this, and even most widescreen TV's require you to manually change the aspect ratio settings with the remote control.

Like Chris says, there isn't a lot you can do unfortunately. If you burn your work to a properly made anamorphic DVD then the DVD player will provide the letterbox on a 4:3 screen. The Sony cameras (Z1 and FX1) are the only ones I know that offer an option to display output as letterboxed for 4:3.

Thanks for your help everyone. I'll need to burn the finished project to a DVD anyway, so thanks for the tip Boyd; I'll just make sure it's anamorphic.

If you have a 16x9 TV or one that is 4x3, but collapses the raster for a hi-rez "letterbox" image, you may have to manually switch to the Full or 16x9 mode. DVDs carry a flag in the Y/C and component video signal (somewhere in the vertical interval) that will trigger auto switching sets. I believe most 16 x 9 camcorders (the XL2 included) do not insert this flag.

As an aside, some sets that DO automatically switch picture mode between 4:3 and 16:9 only do so when presented with interlaced signals.