Can I break in a 4:3 rptv with a widescreen dvd? (1 Viewer)

[Rob White]

I just received my 43 in. 4:3 aspect Sony rptv. I'm very concerned about burn-in during the first 100 hours. I have it on the floor in the living room until the room I'm building is ready.
I had hoped to break it in with cable, but I don't have a coaxial cable long enough to meet it. Then I wanted to break it in by watching a few dvd's I have from netflix.com but they are all widescreen format and I'm assuming that it would be a BIG mistake to use black bars during the first 100 hours. So I'm stuck with using the VCR.
I already set the contrast and brightness around 30%. Do you think I can use a widescreen dvd to break-in my tv or should I stick to the VCR or spring for a $10 longer coax cable?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Rob
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Receiver: Onkyo 595
Speakers: Energy Encores
TV: TBA
DVD/CD: Panasonic RV-31

 

[Jeff D.]

Rob:
Do NOT use a widescreen DVD for this purpose. You want to run-in your new TV gently and evenly - filling the entire screen with no static images. A widescreen DVD is NOT the way to do this.
A couple of options:
Rent a 4:3 DVD, if you do not already have one, and play it on repeat for the run-in time. Make sure the DVD can repeat and won't just go back to the Main Menu after playing - some DVDs can actually lock out certain player functions.
Watch a 1.85:1 or lower ratio DVD. For this to work, it has to be an anamorphic DVD. Now, switch your DVD player's controls to 16:9 - the resulting signal should fill the entire screen. Again, repeat as above.
These would be the best ways to run-in your screen.
____
Jeff
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"You're a walking stick! It's funny! Now GO!"

 

[MickeS]

Why do you need to break in the TV? I've never heard of that before. It doesn't really make sense to me.
/Mike

 

[Brian Harnish]

This Friday, I'll be picking up my Sony WEGA 32FV27 (at long last!!) Question on burning in the TV: Is it hazardous to use a widescreen DVD for the 100 hour burn-in period on a direct-view set? Or is this warning only for RPTVs?
And micke, burning in the set, from what I've read on these forums, is a procedure used to make sure that there are no problems whatsoever. The reasoning behind this being that any problems the set may exhibit will happen within the first 100 hours of use.
- Brian

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings
Gees guys ... why don't you just break in your sets with regular TV viewing ... cable/satellite/VHS ... an odd sprinkling of DVD ...
You'll be fine.
Regards
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Michael @ The Laser Video Experience

 

[Brian Harnish]

Michael- I hate broadcast TV and VHS with a passion. There's never anything good on broadcast TV, except for the very few shows I do watch religiously (Married With Children, Sliders seasons 1-2, Stargate SG-1 on DVD, Sex and the City...on DVD). In fact, what they did to Sliders (such an incredible show in the first couple seasons) turned me off of broadcast TV for all time (except for several choice shows as mentioned above). The only way to get quality viewing is to watch either movies, or those few shows that are actually good.
And, as for VHS, you probably know the reason for that already. The format is dead as far as I'm concerned -- and I can't stand watching it for more than a few minutes without its lack of quality presentation REALLY bothering me. And how about an answer to my question regarding burning in a direct view TV?
- Brian

 

[MickeS]

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I don't understand why the term "burn-in" or "break-in" is used in this way. If it's like Brian says, that it's to check that everything is OK with the TV, then wouldn't 100 hrs of widescreen be fine (or 100 hrs of whatever, which is like 20 days of watching TV for most people I think)?
If it's something else, akin to breaking in speakers, then I've never heard of TV's having to be broken in before. What are the benefits of it?
/Mike

 

[Rob White]

Mike-
My understanding is that you need to be careful breaking in an rptv because the CRT's are more likely to burn-in early on in their lives. That's why I didn't want to have the bars on the screen in the beginning.
Rob
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Receiver: Onkyo 595
Speakers: Energy Encores
TV: Sony 43T75 rptv
DVD/CD: Panasonic RV-31