letterbox slant problem (1 Viewer)

[Paul Fa]

Hi all,

I recently bought a Toshiba D2705 DVD player and a JVC AV 32D502 TV. I am noticing that the letterboxes on DVD's are not perfectly horizontal across the screen - the letterbox 'slopes' slightly downward from left to right. Neither manual touches on any options or commands to tweak this. Is the DVD player the cause, or is it in the TV? I am assuming it itn't related to the actual DVD's I've tried because it happens on all the ones I've tried (Fight Club, Gladiator, etc.). Any ideas??? Would the Avia DVD on home theatre setup help with this - or do I take the component(s) back??

 

[Marcelo T]

The problem is probably with the TV. I called the TV tech to adjust this kind problem. The TVs have a service menu that have controls to minimize this kind of problems.

 

[Bruce Leonard]

Hi Paul:

I agree that it is your TV. I had this problem with an old 25" JVC that I never did get fixed. When I bought a new Toshiba 61", it had the same problem. I had to get the service rep out twice before he finally got it adjusted correctly. Some people didn't even notice the problem, but if you are like me and see it, it will bug you until fixed.

Regards,

Bruce.

 

[Darren McGruther]

Same problem with my 1.5yr old Zenith 50". I got the service rep out, problem solved. That was about 6 months in. About 8 months later the problem resurfaced, Of course my waranty is no longer. I just haven't had time to get someone else out yet. The origonal tech spent about 20 min fixing the problem. When I get a pro out, I'll make sure he is here a lot longer.
my homepage

 

[Russell _T]

I agree that it is probably the TV. I bought a 36" Panasonic HD ready set that was delivered with this problem. The Sears "Tech" was unable to fix it, so Sears replaced the set no questions asked.

Russ

 

[Rick_Brown]

I have the same problem too. What would be really neat is if a TV had controls similar to a PC monitor. Then we could not only fix the slope, but also move the total letterbox image up or down to wherever gives the most comfortable viewing angle. Oh, well...some day...

 

[Brett_H]

I have a similar problem on my set. The picture's tilt is very pronounced, and I'm certain that it's the set's fault. Unfortunately, my particular Sony doesn't provide a menu adjustment for rotation (not even the service menu) so I'm kind of stuck with taking it to a shop. (Click here for more info in another thread.)
On a related note: I saw in the Panny RP91 firmware update thread that it was possible to left or right shift the picture output from the player using a button combination. I wonder if there's also a way to rotate the picture output from the DVD player? Mine is an RV31, but maybe they're similar? The problem is most visible on letterboxed DVD's...
Thanks,
-Brett.

 

[KevinW]

The tubes in 32" or greater sets are subject to magnetic pull from the poles. Some sets have an adjustment in the menu that should correct this. If that's the problem, it should be slightly noticeable on any 4:3 image also, but especially on letterbox images. It's just easier to see with them because the image doesn't fill the screen. Try looking at a channel such as CNN or MSNBC that have tickers at the bottom of the screen. Chances are that it is slanted too.

 

[Brett_H]

Kevin,

Yep, it's there all the time. Like you said, it's most noticeable on material with defined horizontal lines. I was hoping I might be able to compensate for it using the DVD player's adjustments since a repair shop is out of the budget at this point.

-Brett.

 

[KevinW]

Brett and Paul, do a search on how to access the service menus for the dvd players . You might be able to compensate for the tv by adjusting the dvd image in the opposite direction. But this will only fix the dvd image. Everthing else will still be slanted, since it's the geometry on the tv that's out of whack. I used to have a link that listed how to get into the service menu of most major television brands. I'll see if I can find it. Once you get into the tv service menu, If you're armed with Avia or VE, you should be able to solve your problem. You'll just have to ask around on this site to find out which values in the service menu adjust geometry.

 

[KevinW]

Found it:
Link Removed
p.s. Welcome to the forum guys!

 

[Brett_H]

Kevin,

OK, I did my homework and searched (both here and Google) for the trick to access the service menu on a Panasonic RV31 DVD player. No luck. Any ideas where I could find that info? (I managed to hunt it down for my TV a while back, never thought it was even an option for the DVD player!)

Thanks!

-Brett.

 

[Paul Fa]

Hi all,
Thanks a million for all the great info. I have added the link to the website on how to calibrate a TV set to my A/V favorites! Armed with this info I'm going back to Circuit City (I have only had the set for 30 days, and have an extended warrantee that covers in house repairs and adjustments) and get the ball rolling.
You all are the best! Thanks for taking the time to answer my question.
PF

 

[JenaroM]

I was asking this same thing on another thread. I also have this letterbokx slanting problem, from left to right. I initially thought that it was my TV's problem (an XBR400) and, using the menus, I tried compensating using the tilt control. Still it wasn't really corrected because the slanting is there, but at another angle.

But when I changed my TV for a new XBR450 I noticed the exact same problem. So now I think that it's the DVD player's problem. Does anyone know how to get into the Sony DAVS300 (dream system) service menu?

 

[dpippel]

----

OK, I did my homework and searched (both here and Google) for the trick to access the service menu on a Panasonic RV31 DVD player. No luck. Any ideas where I could find that info? (I managed to hunt it down for my TV a while back, never thought it was even an option for the DVD player!)

----

Brett - The JVC D-series televisions have extensive service menus that are fairly easy to work with. If I'm not mistaken you can adjust the set's tilt (which is what's causing the problem) via the service menu. You can even squeeze down the raster area to view anamorphic DVDs without downconversion, although the D-Series squeeze is about 10% too tall. I'd search Google again for info on how to access the service menu. It's via a combination of keystrokes on the remote. I used to own one of these sets but have misplaced the info.

DP

 

[Brett_H]

Doug,

I've already explored the TV's service menu, but there was no option for this. Now I'm on the hunt for the service menu on my DVD player... sorry for any confusion.

-Brett.

 

[ThomasL]

Paul, you should use Avia or Video Essentials or other standard test pattern dvd disc and bring up some geometry patterns to determine what exactly the geometry on your set is doing. If the actual screen has a tilt to it then most likely it will require a physical adjustment to the yoke inside the tv. If the problem is simply that your geometry is "warped" then this may be fixable from within the tv's service menu using the various geometry controls.

The easiest way to tell if the dvd is innocent of causing problems is to watch CNN or other channel with a straight ticker across the screen. Get out your tape measure and see if it also slants.

Most tvs and computer monitors are not perfect when it comes to a slight tilt of the screen...a 1/8 tilt and perhaps even 1/4 inch probably falls within specs for manufacturers. My Toshiba 27 inch tv has a tilt from right to left downward of about 3/16 of an inch. I hardly notice it all now even on 2.35:1 movies.

good luck,

--tom