I’m getting black bars on my HD TV. What DPI is non-HD?

Even broadcast networks (i.e. NBC, CBS, ABC) that have HD capabilities are not always sending out an HD signal.

Also, most local programming or re-broadcasted programming that originates from your local affiliate (like reruns of ”Friends”) is most likely not in HD either. When not broadcasting in HD (1080i or 720p depending on what network you are watching) stations operate in what is referred to as Standard Definition (SD) mode. That is only 480i. This results in black bars on the side of the picture. The official term for the black bars on the sides of an SD image, is “pillars.”

An SD broadcast (4:3) on a 16:9 display in the “normal” mode will have pillars on the left and right sides. Otherwise the user, or the broadcaster, has the option to “stretch” the picture from 4:3 to 16:9 on their HD TV resulting in fat, wide people. If you see black bars on the sides, top, and bottom of a picture, that means you may be watching an HD program in non-HD mode. So if you have an HD TV, you need to make sure you have set up your TV properly if you know that you have the availability to watch that station in HD. There are situation where, for example Fox Movie Channel, program is shown in letterbox format but the channel is not in HD. This will cause the pillars on the side and on the top and bottom.