Faint line problem with Sony 32XBR400 (1 Viewer)

[BrianBynum]

I have had this television set for about a year and have enjoyed it immensely. I recently upgraded to Sony's new 5 disc progressive player. While playing with the new dvd player, I was sitting very close to my TV and noticed a faint, thin, dark line that was stable, not moving, horizontal on my screen. It was about 3 inches below the halfway point on my screen.
It was obviously more apparent when seen with a lighter background like fleshtones. I happened to be watching Lord of the Rings, when I noticed it against Frodo's face.
Now I thought it might have been a player problem or a disc problem but I have tried playing other discs on my backup player, a PS2. It was still apparent on the different inputs. Now I can't see it while watching digital cable or playing video games, but it is very noticeable while watching dvd's. By very noticeable I mean that I know where it is and it bothers me, so I look for it all the time!
Does anybody know of this probem or is it natural. I know that wega's are notorious for their quirks.
By the way I did not buy an extended warranty from Dillards when I purchased the set, so any maintenance will come out of pocket. I live in the DFW area if any body knows a good service place I would appreciate it!

 

[David Norman]

I suspect what you are seeing is the normal Trinitron retaining 'wire' that runs behind the inner surface of the picture tube. Depending on the size monitor, there are usually 1 or 2 of these horizontal lines on every trinitron tube made. On my 19 in Computer monitor, I can see 2 of them and my 14 inch TV's I can see 1. It's about 1 pixel high and runs horizontally all the way across the tube -- correct?

You probably just noticed it b/c you were witting so close.
It's one of those things most people who use Sony tubes either forget about after a while or it bugs them so much they replace their Tv/Monitor with a non Trinitron tube set.

No cure for it however, but at least your set doesn't sound broken.

 

[David_Rivshin]

It sounds like you're noticing the retention wire. Aperture grill tubes (sometimes called Trinitron, DiamondTron, etc) are made up of many vertical wires to defined the vertical pixel columns. To keep the wires from warping too much from heat or other sources one or more horizontal retention wires are used to stabilize the vertical wires. On high brightness scenes this can generate a visible shadow of the retention wire across the screen, and is completely normal.
This is an issue that often annoys unsuspecting computer monitor users, where bright homogeneous backgrounds are much more common than on TV. Some people don't mind the retention wire and appreciate the greater brightness that aperture grill tubes provide. Other people can't stand them and get shadow mask tubes instead, which use a metal plate perforated evenly with holes and don't have retention wires.
Look for a FAQ on computer monitors for more information on the different CRT technologies, this issue is usually discussed there.
To ease your suffering you may want to turn down the brightness/contrast controls on your set. If you're noticing the retention wire often you may have your controls much too high (very common problem). Use something like Avia or Video Essentials to get proper results.
If getting a new TV is an option, I believe the Panasonic Tau's use invar shaddow mask tubes instead of aperture grill tubes. Other manufacturers may do the same. I'd suggest visiting your local store and checking out a couple of sets to see for yourself.
BTW, I currently have an old (like 10 year old) 27" Sony Trinitron TV, and I also noticed the retention wire while watching LOTR. It was about half way down the screen if I remember. That was the first time I had ever noticed it without my nose to the screen, it hasn't bothered me before or on any other material. Of course it's otherwise a pretty ugly set to look at these days, but I'll be fixing that soon
Hope this helps
-- Dave

 

[Jack Briggs]

It's normal, Brian--and the explanations here are correct.

 

[BrianBynum]

Thanks everyone. I thought I was going nuts until my friend saw it too. I was sitting pretty close and hopefully will forget about it now that my fears are eased. The whole "spending $2000 bucks for one year routine" didn't sound fun!

 

[Jack Briggs]

Brian: Do lower that contrast level, seriously. You are likely overdriving the XBR. You will be amazed at the level of detail and the more accurate colors that are achieved that way, as well as appreciate the longer picture-tube life. JB

 

[BrianBynum]

Yeah I understand. I will calibrate my set soon. Does anyone know which disc, if any, can calibrate both for DVD and Cable settings?

 

[David_Rivshin]

No DVD will be able to calibrate your cable/antenna/DBS signal, however if you calibrate for your DVD player it's likely to be pretty darned close on all the other signals as well. If your set can have different calibration settings for each input then what you might want to do is find a station which has color bars and calibrate against that. Many times less popular cable channels will display color bars at the late hours of the night, like say 4am. This obviously isn't as great as having a full set of test patterns, but it's a heck of alot cheaper than buying an NTSC signal generator, and you'll probably get results a heck of alot better than your neighbor who doesn't calibrate anything
Happy viewing
-- Dave