X Box- Can it Damage a TV (1 Viewer)

[Tim Bishop]

I have heard a rumour that an X Box (or similar game) can damage a rear projection TV. I was planning to purchase a Sony XBR do I have anything to worry about with it.

Hope everyone received all the electronic gifts they asked for.

 

[chella]

I think you are referring to CRT burn-in due to extended viewing of 4:3 program on a wide screen or wide screen program on a 4:3 screen.

Simply stated many TVs provide a zoom or stretch mode to avoid this problem if you do not care much about the slight distorted aspect ratio of the picture.

Check on the Display Devices area for burn-in related posts.

 

[Matt Weldy]

My xbox is on widescreen mode set on the dashboard. I havent had a problem and have had it for a year. The only problem I have heard about are games that have something like a health meter. Where the outline of the meter stays in one corner of the screen and never changes. However I have had some major halo allnight parties and I havent experineced any problem. However everytime I pause something like a game or even a dvd I just turn the screen off. Better safe then sorry with a 3K plus investment.

 

[Eric_R_C]

If you throw the X-box at the TV, it will definitely cause some damage

 

[Allan Jayne]

As a tradeoff between TV set lifespan and your enjoyment from it, I venture to guess that, if the TV contrast setting is lowered below a quarter of the range, you can play all the video games you want without noticeable added wear and tear. It is any bright stationary pattern including station logos and stock tickers during TV shows that cause wear on the picture tube phosphors uneven enough to leave indelible afterimages.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Jack Briggs]

Perhaps if I were into games I'd try to offer different advice, but, seriously, I'd never use one of these devices on my primary display. They do shorten the lifespan of a monitor or TV, and one should take all precautions to gaurd against the damage.

The best solution in my view is to use another display for gaming purposes, and let your RPTV handle the chores for which it was designed: home theater applications.

 

[Gary Mui]

Like Matt referred to, the primary concern is with the Static Images displayed by most video game systems (i.e. health meter, time, maps, etc). But it's really no different from the sports or stock ticker graphics on some channels. If a static graphic is constantly displayed on the RPTV screen, then of course that portion of the screen will get more wear.
Only thing you can really do is to:
1) Properly calibrate your TV (make sure the Contrast is turned down)
2) Don't display static graphics on your RPTV for extended periods of time (MAX, probably an hour?). Change the display or turn it off to give it some rest. Definitely don't *pause* your game and leave the display on, while you go make yourself some lunch.

 

[Jeremy-J]

I receintly noticed a little burn in on my rear projection tv from the xbox (namely halo). I think the tv has seen 100+ hrs of the game in multiplayer mode.

The burn in is very faint. There is a light brown bar on the top left and half way down on the left. They can only be seen if the image is white or very light in the affected area.

But needless to say no more halo on this tv. Halo is no going to my crt tv.

 

[Jeremy-J]

One other thing. When playing halo we played for several hours at a time 3-8.

 

[Kurt_U]

While this isn't very much of a problem with today's PTVs as mentioned by some above, several of the PTV manufacturers have found ways to minimize the risk even further.

"Automatic Phosphor Aging Compensation — APAC Non-moving images can be bad for a television screen. If a video
image remains stationary, it can eventually leave a permanent after-image on the screen.Video games and the stationary black bars which outline standard 4:3 programming on a widescreen TV compound this problem. Now, Philips has found a way to combat this problem through APAC technology. Periodically, APAC automatically shifts your television picture in very small increments, but increments large enough to blur image retention. Coupled with the Philips Auto Format feature, you have excellent protection from the dreaded screen burn.Think of it as a screen saver for your TV."
Source: Philips consumer site