lots of ghosting on new panny 53x54 (1 Viewer)

[chrisLoehr]

just got the panny today. dont know if its just because im watching SD but whenever there is white letters on a black background, i am getting substantial ghosting of the letters to the right. ive done the auto convergence and tried the manual one. im going to have to try a dvd and see if it still does it, but im thinking maybe its just the SD. anybody have any ideas on what is causing this and if there is a way to make it any better. ive searched but most of the threads about this unit are like 50+ pages.

thanks guys
chris

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Ghosting/streaking can be caused by a number of things. The most common is probably the cabling. Usually this is painfully obvious on cable TV, etc, where the runs are very long, and reflections in the wiring will cause very visible ghosting on certain channels, etc. I would try different sources, and different cables/inputs to see if you can narrow things down to a specific video cable, or source.

Another thing that can cause streaking to the right on CRT displays is faults within the display itself. If you can't narrow things down to specific inputs, sources, or cables, it may be a problem of your actual TV. I would also try to view some internal patterns, menus, etc, to see if it is global to everything displayed on the screen, or a problem earlier in the video chain.

 

[chrisLoehr]

thanks for your reply. the tvs own menus are displaying perfectly and espn seems to be displaying without this issue. i think it may be due to the fact that i only have digital cable at this point. the digital box doesnt even have component inputs, just the regular red white yellows. still havent tried a dvd cause im watching the game, but i have a feeling its probably just crappy tv stations on digital. it was mostly the locals i was getting the ghosting pretty bad with. does this sound about normal? also, ive heard about the break in, can you really tell the difference between a brand new tv and a broken in one?

 

[ChrisWiggles]

Well, then yes it sounds like your problem is not on your end, but rather the cable/sat feed. Not uncommon.

as for wearing a set in, no not really something that people would notice, but a new phosphor based display will wear significantly when brand new if the tubes are not pre-worn (probably not), so it's probably the time to be more concious of burn-in issues, run a low contrast, watch for logos, etc. It is usually best to do a more thorough calibration after a bit of use, as the wear will slow, components will settle in, etc, and the television will be more stable. but this is from a very technical/measurable standpoint, probably nothing that you'd really notice, and is unrelated to any ghosting/streaking issues.

 

[chrisLoehr]

yep, as i suspected, dvd playback is outstanding on this tv even through my old ass pioneer dv-525 dvd player. it is obvious that the problem is just my shitty digital cable box. now i i need to grab DTV or at least or at least an HD TV box from Time Warner for the moment being. sorry to get crazy right away guys but i was slightly worried for a second. thanks for all the responses. they have been very helpful.

chris

 

[Tim Jin]

Try using an s video cable for your SD stuff. SD channels always looks horrible, even on digital.

Get the HD box from Time Warner. You won't be disappointed!!!

As for the break in period, the picture actually looks better as the CRT's gets some hours.

The first 100 hours are usually the break in period.

Please be sure to reduce the contrast to prevent damage to the CRT's.

It is highly suggested that you get a calibration disc like Avia.

Calibration disc make a big improvement on your picture. Unless you have a train eye, its nearly impossible to set your colors, hue, contrast, correctly.

You will probably need to use the calibration disc more than once after your CRT's settles.

Depending how much you like the picture as is, after user calibration, you might want to invest in professional calibration (ISF). Proper ISF Calibration will bring balance to the image and its worth every penny, if you have the extra $500 or so to spend.

Enjoy your new set.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

No such thing as a trained eye that can set things that correctly with normal material. Test patterns are far more effective and easy to use, and accurate. The goal is not to approach a 'good' picture to the eye, but one that matches the standards used and seen by the film director, mastering engineers, etc. To do this best requires patterns of known characteristics. After this point there may be some user preference in setting things using patterns in different ways, or using slightly different patterns, etc, but this is not a "trained eye" thing, but rather a trained mind in knowing the characteristics and behavior of your display in displaying a particular pattern, then adjusting certain things to taste. A big one here would be attaining a very dark black level, which may be a tradeoff of shadow detail on low-ANSI CR displays like CRTs. Using different test patterns may yield slightly different settings, and which you choose is a preference thing, but this has less to do with having a "trained eye" and setting things without test patterns.

 

[Tim Jin]

I understand yoour point, but as a user, how do you know that the test pattern is correct or not? Most people just plug it their new TV with the factory settings and watch it as is. Most people don't do any homework. Most of sets (outside of this forum) are not calibrated at all.

I think when it comes to PQ, it is very subjective to the user. One may say that its a great picture and the other person may totally dislike it.

We are so use to of watching displays at stores that aren't correctly calibrated, that most consumers see it as a perfect picture.

I agree with you and you need a test pattern to have some kind of reference of what the picture should look like, but many people have trouble seeing any difference because they are use to with the bright picture, since the black and white days of TV.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

But the point is this: When correctly calibrated, you can say that this is the CORRECT picture. This is what the film looked like. This is what the director intended. This is what I'm seeing. Not a botched version of it.

 

[Tim Jin]

I agree with you 100% and more . People here, including you and myself, wants the best picture as possible, as the director intended.

I am just saying, on how many people outside of this forum, don't have a clue on PQ. Many times, I go to somebody house, that has a beautiful home theater setup with all of the gadgets and toys, but when it comes to watching something of their display, that it makes my eyes hurt. To them, they are use to of the bad picture, that they can't recognize how far off the PQ is really is. Many of them have yet to see what the director had intended. Most of the them has no idea what is a calibration disc is.

Again, I agree with you all the way.

 

[chrisLoehr]

great info here guys....thanks for the detailed info. i will be ordering probably the AVIA calibration disk, i think it was like 50 bucks off there site.

And i know i need an HD box but i am considering switching from stupid TW to DTV, and i just havent made up my mind on either yet.