Ive had this HD ready TV for a while…but not until today did I finally get and HD box for it. After hooking it up I notice that for tv shows it knocks the size of the actual image down considerably but thats no big deal the problem is instead of the black bars it gives me gray ones. They gray is terribly distracting. I’m sure I’ll get used to it but does anyone know if this is just something that Hitachi put in to their televisions or is it the cable box and can it be changed? Or should I just read the manual?
Ha! I thought this thread was asking about a bar where people weren’t sure if they were gay or straight…you know…in a ‘gray area’ in regards to their sexuality.
Clever idea, maybe.
Carry on then.
sicko
Hey big fella, I want some of this action.
Oh, gray bars. Sorry.
Peace,
mangeorge
Here’s a serious guess;
Black uses up bandwidth, grey doesn’t. ???
Go to your on-screen menu and see if there is are brightness and contrast adjustments.
Gray is less likely to cause ‘burn in’ over time. Black is going to cause burn in alot faster.
Gray is a compromise…a softer border to prevent bars from being burned into the screen after extensive watching.
Actually, it’s the opposite: the black areas would get no burn in whereas the area with the picture would (just from normal use). The grey bars are an attempt to prevent this from occurring by making the burn in more even.
I actually thought the OP might be about watering holes that catered to senior citizens (over 50). I hoped someone might know of some.
No, really! 
Thanks for clearing up what I said.
One of the most prominent warning in big screen TV manuals is about the use of letterbox formats and ‘black bars’. They usually explain that viewing should be mixed, and that black bars from TV, movies and games be limited to x % of total viewing time to allow the screen to age, more or less, at the same rate. The areas without picture will start to look different than areas that get random images.
The gray bars are a compromise. Black = no aging of the screen while bright white = excessive aging… (it’s all relative)
While gray isn’t the final answer, it keeps the contrast between frequently viewed areas of the screen and the bar area of the screen from having a stark contrast over time.
I thought he “Gray Bars” referred to a place that catered to aliens. 
I would suggest you read the manual. Sort of a requirement that you do your homework before tying up the boards.
Pfff! Real men don’t read manuals! We are natural tech-Gods!
although we may sneak a look when no women are looking
…damn Elder Gods…always beatin’ me to the punchline…<grumble>…