HDTV Forum

I have a 47" Panny Rear Projection that is 3 years old now. About two weeks ago my wife and I noticed that the side bars are lighter than the middle. I would think burn in would be the opposite.

My question is:

Is this something that a calibration can fix or is it time for a new DLP?

Thanks,

Jesse

Sorry to hear about the side bars. The phosphers at the edges have recieved more use, therefore you have a "burned phospher condition" that causes them to appear lighter.

A calibration at this point will not fix the problem. If a calibration would have occured earlier in the displays lifetime, the chances for burn in would have been reduced.

There are two remedies.

#1. Replace the crts. This will absolutely do the job.

#2. A potential fix is to run the display for 24 to 48 hours with nothing but snow showing while the display is set to full mode. The chances of it actually fixing your display are minimal but by burning the whole raster with bright snow it may minimize the condition somewhat.

This is just the reason why calibrators and the information these forums provide are useful. Hopefully others will not suffer your displays fate.

Again, sorry you are dealing with this. A new digital display less conducive to burn in might serve you well. Light engine devices such as lcd and dlp displays do not suffer from your issue and they are getting a lot better with some of their own setbacks.

Once you get it, have it calibrated as most will benefit from the procedure.

Good Viewing,

Doug k

OAR, Original Aspect Ratio - Black Bars and Burn-in
viewtopic.php?t=3182

ISF and HAA - The Expression of Art using Science
viewtopic.php?t=4450

thanks for the replies. I will give it a try.

by full power do you mean have the HDTV settings Brightness and Picture to Full Max?

Also, just a real quick question, where would I replace the CRT's and approx how much? Or if you answer the Where, I can find out the How Much.

thanks again guys.

Jesse

Not full power, but full mode. As in, make sure the picure is full 16x9, no black bars.

And for the other question, you would not replace your CRT's. You'd have to call a Panasonic service center so a technician can do it. The how much varies, but expect at least $500.

From the panny parts site...

TXFCRT14FSER ASSY, CRT (B) 192.10
TXFCRT15FSER ASSY, CRT (G) 194.65
TXFCRT16FSER ASSY, CRT (R) 194.65

Labor? Richard?

Looks kinda steep until you put up 2 to 4 thousand for a new dlp.

Try the full mode snow only first. If your user settings are still at factory specs., then reduce the picture control to #50 and the brightness to the same. About 3/4 throttle.

Good Viewing,

Doug k

The retail prices published by most manufacturers do not have enough mark up for a service facility to even mess with them. You can figure an easy additional $25-50 more per tube. Due to the environment you are not supposed to just throw them away so additional shipping to a tube grave yard or rebuilder.

A rebuilt tube could save you money. I have not used them in decades. Don't know what could go wrong with performance these days but they will obviously work.

I do not recommend you order them even though this saves you money. What if there is something wrong with one? What if there is a failure or problem with one down the line? You will be charged additional labor and that will more than likely wipe out anything you saved.

For Mastertech we would charge $500-600 to replace the tubes and do a factory spec calibration. ISF calibration would be additional.

On top of that you may not need all three tubes; an inspection is recommended.

Considering this is a 47" the most cost effective route might be as a secondary TV as is. A new one would give you DVI/HDMI. Some might say wait. Some might say fix it and get it ISF calibrated for roughly the same price as new. But then there is that pesky DVI/HDMI...

I appreciate the help. I used to post on here a couple years ago when bought the HDTV and everyone is so helpful. My cousin has a great Samsung DLP so I will wait until Sept when I buy a house to get the DLP.

I had this exact problem about a year after buying my 1999 Toshiba. Fortunately for me, they had not warned anyone in the manual or literature at that time, and I got a free gun replacement that totally cured the problem. I have not used the gray side pillar bars very much since, out of fear of it happening again.