FIOS cable doesn't fill the entire TV screen

[markf11]

Verison is my cable provider.  I recently purchased a 4K Samsung Smart TV.  The problem that I was having is that there were black bands (about 2 inches) below and above the picture when I looked at FIOS cable channels and also when I looked at a movie from a blu-ray player.  Samsung was able to fix the blu-ray problem by adding a MOVIE option to the TV.  But, I still can't get the cable channels to completely fill the TV screen.  I am wondering if this is due to the fact that Verizon doesn't provide 4K signals.  Anyone else have this problem?

[jonjones1]

There are settings on your tv. Wide, cinema, etc. that can stretch the picture. It is not Fios tv or cable it is the way the programs are transmitted.

we have huge 4K UHD Smart TV’s and many shows and movies just are a center box surrounded by black borders. Other times it’s full screen. Again nothing to do with Fios or cable or over the air. 

[markf11]

The 4K Samsung TV does not have the option of changing the picture size (wide, cinema, etc.).  It does have an option of Fill The Screen, but it is grayed out and not available.  The Samsung people claim that the Verison cable box does not support this option which is why it is grayed out.  I find this explanation to not be very believable.

I am pretty unhappy with the cable channel pictures on the TV.  Besides the 2 inch black bars on the top and bottom, the picture itself is not as sharp as one would expect.

[jonjones1 · Accepted solution]

The best way to test it is to go on a over the air momentarily and see if the picture can be expanded. Or you can just use an online service like Netflix or Hulu and put shows on the screen and see if the picture settings are still grayed out. On my tv there are some movies and programs that don’t fill the screen and others that do.

worth a try.

[CRobGauth]

There are a number of options in Verizon STB about picture size.

Have you tried them?

[jonjones1]

---

@CRobGauth wrote:

There are a number of options in Verizon STB about picture size.

Have you tried them?

---

There are simular settings on the cable set top boxes. However it normally reverts to the tv screen/picture settings. On the cable (not known about Fios boxes) it gives the option to view in 1080p or 780 etc. normally this also changes the picture quality but our tv 4K UHD depends on using the tv settings.

[joypebble]

So, what's the solution for a default full screen always?

[LawrenceC]

As this thread is now over two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.