Got my new TV.Is this normal?......

[Akira]

Bought my new TV on wednesday.25inch Phillip's,with a really nice quality screen.

Although......i've only connected my xbox to it so far,through a scart connection, but i've noticed this strange kinda warping effect on the left and right side of the screen.It's only noticable in light conditions like the on the first level of Ninja Gaiden.Yup i've turned the brightness down,but this strange effect is still present.Now i've got slight ghosting happening on the screen as well.Don't get me wrong,the picture is crystal clear but this stuff is kinda distracting.

So my question is.Since it's been a while since i've bought a new TV,is any of this stuff normal for new tv's? i mean this warping,ghosting is'nt present unless i'm running RGB and it dissapears when i set the screen to compressed 16:9 instead of 4:3.Surely i can't of done something wrong to it allready!

[sj33]

It it an official MS cable? Could be the cable.

If it is, try another RGB device, to see if it does actually happen because of the RGB.

[mcarocks2003]

It sounds to me like a problem with your cable.

Philips is a good, reliable brand. Your first move should be to purchase the Official Microsoft Advanced Scart.

Any problems after that and we know its a fault with the tv.

[charlesr]

Is it a CRT? You could have geometry problems.

[Akira]

no it's not the official scart cable.It's this one from logic3.It's so i can hook my sound system up to the xbox.

Ok i've got an official PS2 scart and an official gamecube one so i'll try those out and see what happens.

Charlesr: What is CRT!?

[davidcotton]

no it's not the official scart cable.It's this one from logic3.It's so i can hook my sound system up to the xbox.

Ok i've got an official PS2 scart and an official gamecube one so i'll try those out and see what happens.

Charlesr: What is CRT!?

Not Charlesr, but CRT is Cathode Ray Tube. Its the type of tv you have, instead of an lcd (the thin flat ones)or plasma.

[Crisp_Rapper]

my old philips crt has slight geometry issues, it IS 12/13 years old and only does it when running 60hz...

[anephric]

I've never seen a CRT without some sort of geometry issue, especially large ones (36"). I had to faff with mine for ages to get vaguely straight vertical lines at the edge of the screen etc.

[nekroxide]

Yep, I bought a 28" CRT recently and there's a slight hint of warping at each side of the screen. Maybe half a cm or so, so I can't be arsed messing about with it.

[Akira]

yea,it's not plasma or lcd,it's slightly rounded of at the sides,top and bottom of the screen.I take it that means it's a CRT.

So can these 'issues' be resolved? we were having a gaming sesh tonight and noticed one of my mates tv's had exactly the same problem.

Thanks for the replies people

[fahrenheit]

Excessive contrast (as opposed to brightness) will cause geometry problems. My folks have a 32" Philips which suffers this problem too.

Other than that, you can try removing all electromagnetic devices that are in close proximity to the set, remove them one by one if you have to.

[anephric]

You could also tart about in the service menu, but that's extremely not recommended if you don't know what you're doing...

That's the only real way to improve geometry, mind.

[Akira]

fahrenheit:I thought it might of been the brightness,so i turned that down and turned the contrast up slightly.So your saying it could be the contrast? but if i turn that down won't the picture be more dull?

anephric:Whats the service menu and how do i access it?

[fahrenheit]

Yes, contrast has a direct affect on picture geometry with CRTs. Choose a still image that has very defined black and white (something with vertical lines in it) and play with the contrast settings. Optimal setting will be just before the line starts to bend.

If this has no bearing on the edges of the screen, then I would suggest that something else is affecting it.

Also, keep in mind that (CRT) TV's aren't computer monitors and are not as vivid and should not be set with such high brightness and contrast. NTSC colour is comparatively duller than PAL also, so you should expect some dullness to the image.
And turn the sharpness setting to zero. Sharpness introduces all sorts of edge artifacting and has no place on a well calibrated display.

[Akira]

so it's just a case of fiddling with the settings to see what works? are you saying that high brightness or contrast could damage the tv?