My brother bought this tv and has run into a problem when viewing SD programs. When he throws in a dvd of 4:3 material he gets the usual pillars right and left of image. He's a-ok with that, as he understands that the program was originally meant to be 4:3, his problem is that the pillar bars are a bright gray, and very distracting. (not to mention a bad risk for burn-in) I'm pretty certain it can be changed to black, but cannot find out how online.

Anyone know the simple answer?

On my Panny, you go into Setup and scroll down to Side Bar Adjust. Yours should be something similar.

Actually the Grey bars are better at preventing burn-in than leaving them black on the side. This why there is an option on the tv.

- Nick