The program is broadcast in 16:9 widescreen format; even though I have a 16:9 television, my picture is vertically distorted and has black bars.

You have a television with a 4:3 screen format and receive DW-TV programs on a set-top box via satellite. If your set-top box is not optimally adjusted to the 16:9 widescreen format of your flat screen TV, then the 16:9 format picture will be anamorphically distorted; i.e. the picture is vertically distorted.

1. Solution
Flat screen TVs with a 16:9 widescreen format have the facility, in the navigation menu, to increase picture width to fill the screen.

Unfortunately, there is no standardization in flat screen menu navigation. Please refer to the user’s manual for detailed menu navigation.

2. Solution
Set-top boxes and flat screen TVs can be programmed (if they meet the technical requirements for automatic format adjustment) to automatically convert the broadcast picture format. The required settings for automatic format adjustment are described under the section automatic format adjustment.