Buying a used Rear Projection - how to test, examine, etc. before I buy....

[Matt*B]

Hey all,

I was looking for a Big Screen to tide me over for a while until i get a new WS HD, and I have a friend who is gonna sell me an 8 year old 55 inch 4:3 Rear projection TV for under $300. He wants to get rid of it so he can upgrade his system. . Now, I know that this tv has componnent in, so it is more than capable than producing an excellent picture from DVD....that's why I am interested. It's a name brand, but I was so excited that he was selling it, I forgot the name... I will be going to check it out this week.

Now, my question is, what are some things i should look for, signs of burnin, bad color, problems, etc.? I figured i shoudl make a DVD with screenshots of different full screen colors to test for burn in, etc. He mentioned that it works great, and that he also plays playstation on it

Please share any ideas. I am looking fo ideas so that 1) i don't buy a faulty TV and 2) if there are minor problems I can talk him down in price...

Thanks for your help - you can email me at [email protected] or reply here...

Thanks again,

Matt

 

[Allan Jayne]

With the set unplugged, open the back and look inside using a flashlight. See if there are discolored stains on the CRT's in the outline of video frames of different aspect ratios. Because of the red, green, and blue cellophanes over each tube, this can be difficult to see.

Bring a DVD player and the AVIA or Video Essentials disk. You can play the various patterns to check convergence, geometry, overscan, etc. Holding convergence is something to watch out for.

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

 

[ChrisWiggles]

YEah, I'd do what allen suggests, look for wear by inspecting the tube faces if possible. Also test it with test patterns, and look for burn. And also see what kind of settings he has it on, and if he is a friend, you may know already what kind of use he puts on it. The less the better. With a set that old you'll need to have it reconverged most likely, if he hasn't kept that up. Should be easy to do.

 

[Allan Jayne]

Something worth trying:

Don't say anything about the contrast when discussing the purchase. When you go over to see the set, just observe what the contrast happens to be. If the contrast is more than 2/3 of the way up, make a mental note of that. I would stop there and drop all interest in the set, most likely the set has played all this time with the contrast that high and uneven screen wear has occurred.

If you are still interested in the set, still don't say anything about the contrast but look for signs of uneven screen wear using all of the solid color test screens in AVIA as well as inspect the CRT's.

Replacing CRT's is one of the major repairs.