Double Pillarbox on Old Content on PC Streaming

I enjoy watching reruns of old TV shows, either on TV or on the Xfinity Stream app on my computer. We're talking Andy Griffith, M*A*S*H, etc., primarily on MeTV. These older shows were created in 640x480 aspect ratio. When I watch on my TV, I see the expected pillarbox format with vertical black bars on the side son my wide TV. When I watch the same show on the Stream site on my PC, I get the black bars, but then the whole broadcast is compressed further -- as if it is converting the format twice. The video in the stream is compressed and squeezed. Is there any way to avoid the second conversion so that the aspect ratio is preserved?

Responses

XfinityRoberto

Official Employee

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1.4K Messages

1 year ago

Hello and welcome to Comcast. Thank you so much for reaching out to us about your Aspect ratio issues with our Xfinity streaming app. Have you made sure that on your settings are on the playback preference is set to ON in the section where it says Play Best Available?

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requa

Contributor

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141 Messages

1 year ago

Thanks for responding, @XfinityRoberto . On my PC (Windows 11 running MS Edge browser, but with the same results on other browsers), my options for Video Playback Quality are Low, High, and Auto. I typically leave it on auto in case of buffering, but have tried the other settings as well. I get the same image. regardless. I tried to grab a screenshot but the Windows snipping tool won't include the content for copyright protection. The black box below is presumably the 640*480 view, but the content is then flattened into that space leaving the edges of the black visible.

Dan

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XfinityRoberto

Official Employee

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1.4K Messages

Thank you so much for this information. I am happy to do some troubleshooting on our end.

Could you please send our team a direct message with your full name and full address? Our team can most definitely take a further look at this issue. To send a "Direct Message" ("Private") message:

Click "Sign In" if necessary
Click the "Direct Message” icon (upper right corner of this page)
Click the "New message" (pencil and paper) icon
Type "Xfinity Support" in the to line and select "Xfinity Support" from the drop-down list
Type your message in the text area near the bottom of the window
Press Enter to send your message

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1 year ago

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U

user_973db4

4 Messages

It really drives me nuts. Makes old shows unwatchable on PC. Basically most if not all shows that are 4:3 have this issue when they are playing live or recorded.

Here is an example of it

(edited)

1 year ago

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XfinityAmandaB

Official Employee

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1.4K Messages

@user_973db4 Thank you so much for letting us know you are also having issues with the format for some programs. Are you by chance on an SD channel when seeing this format? You can check your filter option in your guide to select HD channels. If there is an HD option for the channel you are looking for I recommend using that one as it should have the appropriate size to fill the screen.

I am an Official Xfinity Employee.
Official Employees are from multiple teams within Xfinity: CARE, Product, Leadership.
We ask that you post publicly so people with similar questions may benefit from the conversation.
Was your question answered? Please, mark a reply as the Accepted Answer. tick

1 year ago

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MNtundraRET

Gold Problem Solver

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5.9K Messages

1 year ago

Have you checked the aspect ratio your PC is set to?

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Xfinity Stream App

requa

Double Pillarbox on Old Content on PC Streaming

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