Mits RPTV-Grey bars and burn-in (1 Viewer)

[James Herrod]

Greetings,
I just picked up a Mits WS-55411 wide HD monitor. Right off the bat I noticed about a dozen warnings in the manual about watching standard TV in Narrow mode with the grey bars. I tried some of the other modes (stretch is really horrible) and just want to stick with the accurate picture geometry. I calibrated my set with Avia and lowered the contrast and sharpness settings accordingly and I'm just wondering if I would be okay watching in this mode, say, 40-50% of the time with the lowered settings. We'll be watching DVDs a good percentage of the time. I know it's pretty subjective, but I just wanna get a general sense of what people think. Thanks Much. Jim

 

[Jim Can]

Jim, I bought the same tv about three weeks ago. I have grown very used to the stretch mode for 4:3. I really don't even notice anymore. I was watching football today and it looked great! Try to give it a little time, the picture gets much better the more you use the tv, not sure why but it does. If you must watch 4:3 in narrow mode I think 40-50% is to much, I wouldn't advice that. Give it a chance, I think you will find it much better in a couple days!

 

[Bill Slack]

I vary between zooming, and watching with grey or black bars.
It's been 2+ years, and I have no sign of burn in. For the record, it's been VE/Avia calibrated since day one, and ISFed a couple times.
I try to watch most things zoomed, but also all my upconverted HD NTSC sources have black/gray bars put in my the local affiliates. And things that look really bad zoomed I'll pillar box. A lot of what I watch is the History Channel which is just fine zoomed since it's mostly just still pictures they pan around. It's not optimal, but I try to play it a little safe...
As long as the contrast is nice and low and you're watching a majority not in 4:3 mode, you should be fine.

 

[Steve Krasnow]

I haven't had my WS-55411 more then a week and the stretch mode seems to work fine for me. It's not as good as the Toshiba I had but I'll give up some better stretch for a better picture.
I would stay away from gray bars. Not sure how long it would take until you got a burn in, maybe it would not happen with your 4:3 viewing habits. What if it did?? :frowning:

 

[James Herrod]

Yea, I figure we'll at least let the kids watch their stuff in stretched mode. Who cares if Spongebob Squarepants is a little distorted anyway. As for everything else, I'll give it another shot and see if I can get used to it. Thanks for the replies everyone. Jim

 

[RoyGBiv]

I have had a 46" Mitsubishi for almost 3 years. I keep the contrast and brightness at settings calibrated from AVIA, around 40%. I watch things that I don't care about stretched, but sporting events in particular I always watch in 4x3. Also, I watch the local channels via their digital stations, so I can't change their size (they're sent as 16x9 signals with black or gray bars added on the side when the materials is SD). Since I watch a lot of hockey, I am probably watching 40% with either black or gray bars on the sides. So far no sign of burn in.

SMK