MASTER BURN-IN THREAD: READ THIS FIRST! (And ask follow-ups here.) (1 Viewer)

[Ottis Fletcher]

I hear some of you talking about AVIA or Video Essentials. Would a THX optimizer disc be sufficient or should is one of the above the best way to go for RPHDTVs?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Generally, to "avoid" burn-in, you want to set your contrast/white level as low as you're willing to go, so even the THX optimizer should be good enough for that. You can use the white box pattern and just turn your contrast down until it no longer looks white to you and then bump it back up a little for it to look white enough again. Remember to do this w/ your lighting environment at your lowest desirable level since lighting is a factor in properly setting white level.

Unless your TV is of rather poor quality and blooms or distorts even w/ a properly set, low contrast setting, that's how you should do it w/out compromising picture quality much, if at all.

Of course, using a real setup disc would help optimize the various settings further w/ the aid of better, more complete patterns and such things as color filters.

_Man_

 

[Tre B]

Thanks for the info Man-Fai Wong. The Paanny is a great set for the money, and I love mine. No complaints at all.

I've got all those settings under the halfway point, just to be safe. It's a little dark, but that's better than having an image burned on there. Picture, sharpness, brightness, all of it is down to 28 out of a high of 63.

What do you use to clean your screen? When they delivered the set, one of the guys left a finger mark up in the corner. Not a scratch or anything, just a streak and I want to get it out.

Also, did you buy a screen protector for the set? Or at least know where I can get one? I don't have kids so I haven't worried about it much, but I figure one day my niece and nephew might be over and decide to touch the big people on TV. LOL. Or worse, one of my wife's friends with kids won't be paying attention, and their kid will run his Hot Wheels car across my screen and leave me a scratch.

And lastly, did you use one of the calibration DVDs? How did it work out for you? I am the tweaking type, but one of the things I made sure of when I got the warranty was that they would hire someone to come and calibrate the TV, not send one of their guys from the store. Actually, I was told they don't even have anyone there who could do it so they had to hire someone outside. But the cost is covered by them according to the warranty. But I'll check around and see who all does it in my area just in case.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Tre,
Sounds like you should definitely get an AVIA or maybe VE disc since you're the tweaking type. I use AVIA, and it's quite handy as an aid for tweaking the TV. Comes w/ color filters for setting your colors and tints. And probably has the best collection of test patterns for most things you'll want to do in the non-HD world. Also, seems like most people use AVIA (or its "little brother" S&V), including most of the ISF guys who frequent these forum sites, so you get plenty of references for AVIA usage. Unfortunately, none of these existing discs help for setting up the HD side of things.
Anyway, you might want to checkout the Keohi site (http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/index.htm) and do some reading there to get you up-to-speed on getting the most out of your TV (and then maybe also visit the dedicated Panny site/forum www.panny.tv). For stuff related to AVIA setup, Guy Kuo's tips on the Keohi site are especially useful, but the whole site is awesome in general and involves some of the same folks who frequent here.
And no, I did not buy any screen shield. Don't care for the inevitable loss in PQ. I do have 2 hyperactive kids, but we train them not to fool around near the big TV. We've also trained them into movie-lovers it seems.
I just use a soft dry cloth to clean the unprotected screen so far. Definitely don't use anything that will leave a residue or anything abrasive.
_Man_

 

[David Von Pein]

Anybody know what the TV manufacturers have to say about the burn-in issues of RPTVs?

I know the owner's manuals caution users to not display static images or black bars for "an extended period".

But I've yet to see any manual suggest what every single human on this board suggests .... and that is to SEVERELY cut back on the contrast/brightness settings.

Since the factory always has the TVs in "torch" mode, wouldn't it at least behoove the TV makers to make this high-contrast setting known to the uninitiated, novice TV buyer (who might just leave everything on pre-set settings)?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

As someone somewhere has pointed out, the TV makers probably don't want the "uninitiated, novice" to think his/her TV sucks at the proper contrast/brightness levels and then return it for a refund. Most "uninitiated, novice" would probably expect their brand new $2K+ TV to yield brilliant results, and plenty of them will probably find the proper levels unacceptable just as plenty of them find OAR to be unacceptable or at least undesirable if it means seeing any kind of framing bars.
To fair though, OAR isn't dependent on something like lighting environment...
_Man_

 

[Brae]

And yet, no federal level agency has dared to step in and protect the consumer. One could make a case of unfair and misleading business practices against both the manufacturers and the broadcasters. First, OAR is simply watching content the way it was made and intended to be watched. Secondly, broadcasters are by their own vanity handcuffing viewers into either watching in harm or not watching at all. Manufacturers would rather waste money in lost sales than in development around this condition.
Both of these conditions are due to the weakness of the offered technology, and I have yet to see materials where it shows these manufacturers are actively trying to formulate a better phosphor with a pseudo-phosphor. At the same time, the broadcast vanity is at an all-time high. Its not enough they adulterate the content we pay for but some are doing this to an unnecessary level of brightness.
So, it would be wise to either sign a petition and seek class-action status in the eyes of both the FCC and FTC then sitting around here be-bopping about how we are being taken advantage of. The numbers of victims will continue to grow as the pricing for introductory RPTV's based on this technology gets more and more inexpensive to buy-in, but the repair costs remain static and expensive.
If you have a concern regarding the issues at hand (i.e. the two points above) then you should be at least writing a couple of letters (one to the FCC, one to the FTC, and maybe one to the manufacturer of your RPTV). As with the local news reporting and the daily news paper, I am more than willing to give up on the broadcasters. And if the CRT-manufacturers continue their present course many will find their products not worth buying.
Additionally, I am surprised, but not totally, that no federal agency requires the retailers to educate customers when making purchases of this magnitude. Part of this problem is that of the classification of non-durable goods. What the government considers non-durable may ultimately be the deciding factor in the duping of the American consumers.
Trust No one!

 

[David Von Pein]

the TV makers probably don't want the "uninitiated, novice" to think his/her TV sucks at the proper contrast/brightness levels and then return it for a refund. Most "uninitiated, novice" would probably expect their brand new $2K+ TV to yield brilliant results,

My new RPTV looks MUCH worse (IMO) with 100% contrast.
I really thought I'd hate the "dark/darker" picture that a 35-to-40-notch setting on Contrast would provide on a RPTV. But, to my pleasant surprise, I like it much better with contrast at 40, plus sharpness just above Zero.

 

[Bryan X]

This may be a stupid question. But why are RPTVs so suceptible to burn-in but tube TVs aren't?

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Mainly because the small tubes or guns have to burn so much more brightly to project the image to the mirror. With direct-view you don't have this problem.

 

[Perry Jonkheer]

Can AVIA or VE be rented from anywhere? Since I'm only going to use it once, I'd rather not make the purchase.

Thank You.

 

[Cameron Wright]

why would you only use it once?

 

[Perry Jonkheer]

Well, I don't plan on using it again until I buy another set which will be a good 5 years. At this point, a new version of Avia/VE will be available.

 

[Ottis Fletcher]

I just bought Avia a few weeks ago, and I plan on checking the settings for my TV every 2 months, the audio shouldn't change much unless I decide to re-arrange my HT room. I calibrated two of my friends TVs and surround sounds one gave me $75 and another gave me $50. I was going to do it for free (I like doing that stuff), but they insisted.

 

[Clark F]

I got my first RPTV, a Sony KP-46WT500, about a month ago. Having read a good part of this thread prior to delivery, I immediately turned down the picture and brightness settings to well below 50%. I then calibrated the normal user controls using AVIA. Contrast and picture are still well below 50%.
Right now, I am watching about 50% cable and 50% DVD.
I mostly watch cable content in Wide Zoom mode. When watching sports or news, which usually have scroll bars or time clock/scoreboards, I switch between normal mode and wide zoom every 15 min or so, to change where the fixed images are on the screen. I can often get the scroll bar out of the picture by using the Wide Screen menu option to adjust the image vertically.
My question is, given all these precautions, do I need to worry about burn in?
TIA

 

[HalRoth]

Static image from a video game, tiny amount of burn in. I can really only notice it when looking at a white screen. Almost impossible to notice while watching TV.

Seems to have come from, multiple hours, 5+ per day. Multiple days, 90+.

What are you experiences?

 

[Qui-Gon John]

As I mentioned in other threads, I have a slight bit of bur-in from watching 2.35:1 Anamorphic in Cinema-Wide on my 16x9 Pioneer. That combination left a very thin black bar, but I used to use it b/c I wanted to mostfly fill my screen but figured I was trimming less off the sides than Zoom mode, (which will fill the screen from top to bottom). However, now I am trying to keep it from getting any worse so I always watch content so the screen is filled with picture, (unless the source won't allow it), like 2.35:1 non-anamorphic, (which I try to view the least amount of as possible).

 

[Earl Simpson]

I have sears coming out. I will keep you posted!

 

[Ron_L]

ok,

last night...brand spanking new Toshiba 42H82, contrast 38
brightness 40

I fell asleep watching Shallow Hal special features.

I guess the special ended, and I was left with a menu that didn't move, or animated, I'm guessing this went on for maybe 1 hour/hour and a 1/2.


Could I have screwed up my BRAND NEW tv already? I didn't see anything, may I should go watch a bit of tv to check it out.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

If you have AVIA, just use the 100 IRE (white) field to verify for possible burn-in. But I seriously doubt just 1-1/2 hour of a particular DVD menu will be a problem. Now, if you did that very often w/ the exact same menu, then that would be a different story.

_Man_