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KV-34XBR800 Is this burn-in???? (1 Viewer)

Aaron Cohen

Second Unit
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Jul 25, 2002
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468
I've had this television since August and had nothing but trouble with wierd hazy lines on the side of the frame, warping in the corners, and what seems to be magnetic interference but have decided not to worry about these things until I move out of my college dorm in a few days because I called service techs twice and both times they got lost finding my place......

Recently though, especially when watching hockey games (bright white background of the ice) I am noticing lines going all the way down the screen on the very right and very left of the image. I am watching it in wide zoom mode so it is filling the screen. These lines are right where the black bars are when the tv is in 4:3 mode. Is this burn-in? If so I will be very angry at my roommates. I never watch tv in 4:3 mode, I always wide-zoom it but they hate that and always watch it in 4:3 mode when I am gone. I have come back from class several times only to find that the tv was left on in that mode when I begged them not to. I came back one weekend to find that the television had been left on in this mode all day. Is this the signs of burn-in and am I screwed? Is there nothing I can to do to fix it?

Please let me know anything you can tell me about this. It's constantly irritating me now. I feel like I have dumped money in the drain. Thank goodness I'm not with these jerks next year though.
 

Allan Jayne

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Nov 1, 1998
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These lines at the 4:3 boundary are not squiggly and not moving in any direction?

Looks like burn in to me.

The only way to fix it is to replace the picture tube(s).

You should have turnedt he contrast way down and kept it that way. (Less than a third for a projection TV) Also, if your roommates don't operate the TV the way you tell them to you should have put it off limits to them and they go buy their own TV.

There is lots of expert testimony on this forum that may help if you want to try to hold your ex-roommates civilly liable for the damage.

Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm
 

Aaron Cohen

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
468
Damn! When I talked to the service person back in September or so about the problems with the marks on the corners of the screen and the hazy line on the 4:3 frame he said that it sounded like a faulty CRT and they would most likely need to replace my set. Would the fact that I now have burn in change that since burn-in is not included under warranty? But since I've had all these other problems since the beginning that I was told most likely were the work of a faulty CRT do I still have hope of getting the tv replaced? I have a 5 year warranty with Circuit City.
 

Bryan X

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I would be surprised if it is burn-in. The TV is not a rear projection, but a direct view and direct views are much harder to burn-in.
 

Allan Jayne

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Nov 1, 1998
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Much harder, but not impossible to burn in. I recommend keeping the contrast for direct-views under one half.

Especially when watching hockey or other bright programs, burn in can happen faster.

If the other problems with the TV are still there, don't talk about the burn in and maybe the set will be replaced under the service contract and the problem is solved.
 

Bryan X

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Yes, it's definately possible, albeit difficult under normal use, to burn-in a direct view but it seems unusual that it would be in such a short time. He's only had the TV for 6 months.

I've left many static images on the direct views I've owned for hours on end and played video games endlessly with no hint of burn-in after years of (ab)use. (the kind of abuse I'd never subject my RP HDTV to)

I agree with you Allan, that he should just try to get the TV replaced based on the other issues. Don't worry about whether there's burn-in or not.
 

Aaron Cohen

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
468
Thanks for all the help Bryan and Allan. I will see about getting the tv replaced based on the other problems and not even mention the possibility that it might be burn-in. Are widescreen direct-view sets easier to burn in though? I recall reading something along those lines a while back... These lines are just where the bars on the sides of the screen would be in 4:3 mode so that's why I'm thinking leaving it in that mode may have burned it in. I'm surprised as well though, I don't think my roommates left it on in that mode for say, days on end or anything! I only used it a couple times, watching seven samurai, casablanca, and playing zelda.
 

Stephen Tu

Screenwriter
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Apr 26, 1999
Messages
1,572
This doesn't sound like burn-in to me, or at least what most people call burn-in. With burn-in the entire black bar area would be lighter than the 4:3 area when displaying a full screen image (and shouldn't happen on a direct-view). If it's just lines along the boundary between the areas, I think something was wrong with your set for it to happen so soon on a direct-view.

What kind of lines are these, how wide, what color, are they just straight lines down the set? If you go into the service mode of the set and change the HPOS, do the lines move? Maybe something's wrong with the electronics, rather than actual wear of the phosphors on the tube face.
 

Aaron Cohen

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 25, 2002
Messages
468
Thanks for the help Stephen. These lines are blue when a white background (such as a hockey video game or televised hockey game) is on the screen. There look to be a few of them going down the far left and far right of the screen where the black bars would be in 4:3 mode. I'd say they are possibly a little more than an inch wide though I have not measured them. I've got no clue about how to do things in the service menu. When the set started giving me crazy problems almost immediately (about a month after purchase) I found the button press combination to access the service menu on this set but was too intimidated by the menu itself.

I did a bit of research on widescreen tv burn-in yesterday online and one site mentioned that with RPTV's burn in of the black bars on the 4:3 frame would like like 2 lines in each of the bars when viewing stuff that takes up the whole screen.... that is specifically what got me scared. It seems almost absurd to me that if it is burn-in it has occured this fast. When I called the service person several months ago he said my problem sounded like a faulty CRT and it may get worse. Like I said the service people never made it out to my place so could this just be the CRT getting worse? I'm skeptical though because these lines seem to be right where the bars would be.....
 

Stephen Tu

Screenwriter
Joined
Apr 26, 1999
Messages
1,572
This sounds like a bad CRT. Burn-in would be the entire bar area being lighter/tinted, & possibly some effect right along the boundary line. It's not lines within the bar area; something else is going on.

Get the set fixed under your warranty, and ease up on your roommates. There really shouldn't be any problem using 4:3 mode on a direct-view.
 

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