Vizio TVs come in different sizes. This ensures that all user’s needs are well catered to since some people prefer a large screen while others prefer a smaller one. Regardless of the size, Vizio TVs always have an excellent picture quality that keeps viewers immersed in whatever they are viewing. However, some videos may require you to change viewing settings so the picture can fit perfectly on the screen.
When the video seems overstretched or too grainy, it could be because the image is extremely zoomed in and requires you to zoom out. Read on to discover how you can zoom out on a Vizio TV and adjust other related settings.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Sometimes, your VIZIO TVs will zoom in on the picture for no apparent reason.
To zoom out on your VIZIO TV, you can try two things – disable Zoom Mode in Accessibility Settings or play with Aspect Ratio settings.
To zoom out using Accessibility settings, navigate to Menu > System > Zoom Mode > OFF.
To zoom out using Aspect Ratio settings, navigate to Menu > Picture > Picture Aspect > Normal. Alternatively, try playing with Zoom settings in Picture Aspect.
If your TV doesn’t apply the settings and the picture is still zoomed in, try restarting or resetting your TV.
Disable the Zoom Mode
Often a Vizio TV will enable the zoom mode without being prompted. This is very annoying since most of the video content on the TV cannot be seen on the screen.
The first option when trying to zoom out on a Vizio TV is to disable the Zoom mode, which enlarges the TV’s picture by 200%. You can disable it by following the steps below:
- Power on the TV and press the Menu key on the remote.
- Then go to System using the navigation keys on the remote and press OK.
- Scroll to the Accessibility option and click OK.
- Navigate to Zoom mode under Accessibility settings and click OK.
- Highlight the OFF option and click OK.
The TV should be zoomed out by now; if not, give it at least five minutes, then restart it and check whether the video display is back to normal.
To access the Accessibility Menu, you can also long-press the CC button on the remote. Then, go to Zoom Mode and disable it.
Suppose the TV is still zoomed in; you can try adjusting the Aspect ratio settings as illustrated below.
Adjust the Aspect Ratio Settings
Alternatively, you can revert the TV’s aspect ratio to normal to zoom out. Changing the TV’s aspect ratio can also cause images to seem as if they are zoomed in.
An Aspect ratio entails the relationship between the height and width of an image or screen/video display. For instance, most modern High-Definition TVs have a 16:9 ratio. That means that for every 16 horizontal (width) units the display has, there are nine vertical (length) units. You can also view it as; for every 16 horizontal pixels, there are nine vertical ones.
Therefore, whenever you change the aspect ratio on your TV from the original or default, the TV will stretch images on the screen, sometimes making them look zoomed in.
The different aspect ratio settings on the TV modify images on the screen in different ways i.e.
Panoramic
The TV uses an algorithm to stretch content recorded in a 4:3 aspect ratio to fit a 16:9 screen. It does this by stretching the image’s left and right edges without stretching the center of the image.
Wide
This option causes the TV to stretch the edges of a 4:3 aspect ratio image to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio screen. Therefore, it will stretch the picture to the screen’s edges; however, if the image is already fit for wide-screen viewing, there will be black bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
This option sometimes causes images on the screen to appear overly stretched by making them look short and fat.
Zoom
The zoom option under aspect ratio settings will evenly zoom in on the image by a certain percentage, usually 14 or 33 percent depending on the TV, to make it fill the screen. The option will remove the black bars on the top and bottom of the screen to achieve its purpose. However, it can be inconvenient when watching with subtitles or using closed captioning because the writing will be out of view or partially visible.
Stretch
Some Vizio TVs have a Stretch option that expands images from a 720p/1080i/1080p resolution source to fit the screen. The setting stretches the image to the top and bottom of the screen, then stretches the image half as much from left to right. Hence removing any black bars may make images look long and thin.
Normal
This default option does not tamper with the image’s aspect ratio. It lets videos or images be displayed in the aspect ratios they were shot in.
It should be your go-to option if the TV seems zoomed in and you are looking for alternative methods to solve the problem.
You can get to the Aspect ratio settings by following the steps below:
- Press the Menu key on the remote.
- Navigate to the Picture option and click OK.
- Then highlight the Picture aspect/Aspect ratio option and click OK.
- Use the navigation keys to select a preferable aspect ratio, the Normal/Default option.
Some Vizio TVs might not have the Picture aspect or Aspect ratio option under the picture settings, and this can make it difficult to adjust said settings.
Fortunately, there is a workaround. Some Vizio TVs have remotes that have a Wide button that takes you directly to the Aspect ratio settings.
The button is usually labeled with a rectangular icon or ‘Wide.’ On some remotes, the button is between the volume and channel control buttons, while on other remotes, it is the first button on the left bottom end of the remote.
You can press it and use the left/right navigation keys to toggle between the different aspect ratio settings and choose one that suits you or the default, then press OK.
Conclusion
Vizio TVs allow users to adjust multiple picture-related settings. This is meant to give users more control to get the most out of their TV. But this customization also comes with many challenges, like users not being able to zoom out when they accidentally zoom in.
The zooming problem is further enhanced by newer Vizio TV models that do not have a dedicated zoom button on the remote. Luckily you now have all the necessary information to adjust all zoom-related settings on your Vizio TV.
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How do I adjust the screen size on my Vizio TV?
Answer: You can adjust the screen size of your Vizio TV by adjusting the Aspect ratio settings or changing the zoom settings on the TV.
You can change the aspect ratio settings by pressing Menu and navigating to Picture > Picture aspect.
Alternatively, press the ‘Wide’ key on the remote and use the navigation keys to select a preferred aspect ratio option setting.
You can also adjust the zoom settings by pressing the Menu key on the remote and going to System > Accessibility > Zoom mode > toggle to off.
Question: Why won’t my TV zoom out?
Answer: Various aspects can cause the TV to be stuck in zoom mode even after you try adjusting the settings on the TV. Some of the reasons include the following:
- The settings are determined by the source device, i.e., a PlayStation or a DVD player. Try adjusting these settings from the source device.
- The TV might require a restart to implement the settings.
- The TV might be malfunctioning and needs a factory reset.
Question: How do I reset the image size on my Vizio TV?
Answer: You can reset the image size by changing the Aspect ratio settings to normal/default. You can do this by pressing the ‘Wide’ button on the remote to reveal the aspect ratio options and using the right/left navigation keys to select Normal.
