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

[fahrenheit]

Absolutely could damage it if you found your way into the service menu, but the worst you will do on the main controls is prematurely age the phospers by burning them excessively bright.

Best thing to do would be to get a calibration DVD like Joe Kane's Video Essentials which takes you through the setup step by step and gives you the correct test patterns to work with. You'll probably be shocked with how far out you have it. Most displays come with poorly set colour/gamma etc so that they standout in the store.

Some games can have the experience made or broken by how well calibrated the display is. Think of a survival horror with lots of dark shadowy areas. If the display is too dark, you'll never be able to navigate around and will find yourself bumping into walls. If the settings are too bright, all of the surprises that lurk in the shadows will be exposed before you are meant to see them.

However, I'm not so sure that this is the real problem with your set (based on what I have seen with my folks model). Its more likely to be attributed by poor geometry of the set, which is something that you can't fix. But if the contrast/brightness settings are way out, then they will be making the situation worse.

[Akira]

anephric mentioned this service menu.What is it and how do i access it? i can;t believe you have to be this careful with a new tv.I mean surely most would **** their tv's up without even knowing it.

Also what kinda of things can cause magnetic distortion/picture problems?

Thanks for the detailed replies,much appreciated

[fahrenheit]

Having the Xbox within two feet of the set could cause distortion believe it or not. DVD players and VCRs, and especially unshielded speakers. I assume the set is made for the northern hemisphere also? the magnets used are different for the hemispheres, so if you plan on migrating downunder, leave your set behind. There could also be wiring in the wall, so pull the set out from the wall a bit and see if there is any difference.

Service mode can be accessed via a remote control access code that will be unique to your model of set, but as you have been warned, its not a good idea to mess with anything in there unless you know what it will do. It can be a good way to compensate for geometry problems, but you need to have suitable calibration patterns and a willingness to void your warranty (not that they would know unless you really stuff up). The codes will have to be googled for your make and model.

[Akira]

HA,i don't think i'll be messing with the service menu then.

Ok i'll give all those things a try and see if i can fix it.Nice of phillip's to give a user manual with this kinda info Manual consisted of "Put plug in wall,push big button to turn on"

It seems if i turn the brightness down and put the contrast up slightly the warping almost dissapears,or at least is less obvious.Hmmmmm.

[fallenangle]

I've yet to come across a widescreen CRT TV which doesn't warp bright areas near the L/R edges of the image into the black border areas when being used at less than full screen size. And many std. 4:3 CRTs do it too you just don't see it as often because 4:3 TVs usually employ the full width of the screen even in pseudo (letterbox) or real widescreen.

There's also the RGB Scart left shift problem which hasn't been mentioned. Some TVs have auto or manual adjustment re-centering options but many don't. This will mean you may have to suffer a narrow right side black border when using RGB Scart connections. Any adjacent bright areas to this can show the distortion effect.

The actual TV frame surround may just obscure this border but the warping distortion may still intrude.

[Akira]

yea i had the border problem on my previous tv.Was'nt as distracting as this though.

Well i fiddled through the settings last night and turning the contrast down did'nt help the situation as the warping was still there even on 0.Whacking the sharpness down did'nt help either.

I'm gonna have to see if something magnetic is causing this.It's weird 'cause the clarity of the picture is fantastic.

[Akira]

ok,so it's gone from bad to worse! the warpin is still present but now i have a REALLY annoying flickering going on in the bottom left corner of the screen,that just won't budge.So i'm gonna take it back on saturday and try and get a replacment unit or a new CRT

[anephric]

Get the retailer to send an engineer round - it might be a problem correctable through service/engineer menus and then you can also stand behind him whilst he does it and go "fix that wobbly line", "give me less overscan" etc.

[Akira]

Get the retailer to send an engineer round - it might be a problem correctable through service/engineer menus and then you can also stand behind him whilst he does it and go "fix that wobbly line", "give me less overscan" etc.

"DO IT NOW!" man why do tv's have to be hassle?