# Netflix aspect ratio-what's going on here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 27, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542 "2011-07-27T21:18:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542/1 "2011-07-27T21:18:05Z")
I recently bought a internet capable Blueray player for the sole purpose of using Netflix, which I recently subscribed to. The problem is that it displays all Netflix content in Squeeze-O-Vision-where the image is compressed left to right. Every single thing I’ve played looks like this, regardless of it’s original aspect ratio and definition. What’s even weirder is that some movies are letterboxed or have black bars on all four sides, but still squeezed. I have tried every picture option and all the inputs on the TV and the player, to no avail. The distorted picture is so irritating that I’m going to cancel the subscription. The TV is a standard definition, non-widescreen, CRT and has several input options: red/white/yellow, red/green/blue, s-video, and coaxial. The Blueray player has outputs for all of those except coaxial and also has HDMI and DVI. Both are Samsungs, if that matters. Anybody able to explain what’s going on or how to fix it? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542/2 "2011-07-27T21:25:40Z")
There _must_ be an aspect ratio setting on the player. You will just have to try all the options until you find it. Maybe it’s buried in an illogical place, but it’s there. Call Samsung or check their online tech support if you have to. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542/3 "2011-07-27T21:33:35Z")
Netflix is not the culprit here. It is common for DVD / BD players to have a “system settings” that is somewhat annoying to get to. Like you can only access it when you start up with no disc in the player. Check your manual. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542/4 "2011-07-27T21:37:51Z")
I’ll take a look. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542/5 "2011-07-27T21:40:51Z")
My brother had the same problem, he had to talk to whomever made his bluray player. It was some stupidly simple adjustment that is not intuitive apparently :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/netflix-aspect-ratio-whats-going-on-here/590542/6 "2011-07-27T21:48:35Z")
This might help… [From the comments:](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhiN_2s4hmE) > [@](#): > > You may have to set the Samsung to 16:9 to have any Netflix streams show in the letterbox aspect ratio even though you’re watching on a 4:3 tv. > > \ > > The aspect ratio setting is supposed to match the physical aspect ratio of your TV set. This problem only occurred after Samsung released a firmware upgrade on Nov. 5, 2010.