Shoot me!...new tv...different issue...

[seccho]

Well, after tinkering around in the service menu and being unable to fix the letterboxing irregularity, I finally decided to just take my set back to Wal Mart. Anyway, my new tv possesses none of the flaws of my old tv, but has presented a new one. I'm absolutely not taking this one back. Not only is my lower back unwilling, but my best friend would likely punch me in the gut if I suggested he help again in such an endeavor. And, it's not that big an issue, really, but the picture is otherwise gorgeous...and so this one thing is just a sore point. True mockage. And I'm anal.

OK, I guess it would be more accurate to say that my first tv hinted at having the same problem. When the image was a solid color...like from the DVD player screen, there was a noticeable "darkish" vertical line that ran about an inch from the edge of the screen on the right side. The thing is, after initially noticing it, I was never really able to see it while actually watching tv or movies. Under practical circumstances, it was virtually unnoticeable...even when looking for it.

With my new set, though, there's actually a "zone" that consists of about 3 or 4 vertical "darkish" lines clustered close together in roughly the same splot as on my old tele. Unfortunately, these do tend to be noticeable. They're not always noticeable...when the image is "busy", for instance, with a lot of details on screen, and the image is static, then you don't see it. But, if it's anything close to more solid colors and/or there's movement(camera lens moving around), then it's there.

Basically, I'd like to know what might be the culprite, and if there's anything I can possibly do about it.

As always, any and all input/advice is welcome.

[seccho]

Stupid ice storm kept me out of my home for the better part of a week. Finally had some more time with my television. Anyway, there's really not much new to report. The lines are still there...but...what I had previously taken to be dark lines are really light "ghost" lines...about 4 or 5 of them. Since I've gotten back into my house I've watched several DVD's, and was rarely able to see the lines...they're still there...but DVD's are just grainy enough to hide the flaw. HiDef broadcasts are another matter. Further investigation on the net leads me to believe this is an issue that can only be resolved via a return. Since I'm probably not gonna do that, any other thoughts/input welcome.

[SC_Sixx]

This may be a silly question and was already asked when u got the problem with the first TV but here goes...

What kind of cables are u using? Are they high grade components or DVI/HDMI? A low grade cable could easily cause this problem.

[seccho]

Well, I don't have Monster cables or anything, but I do have the component cables that came with my digital box, and the component cables I bought at Circuit City. I switched them both out in various signal chain configurations. Regardless of cable...and regardless of whether the signal was going directly to the tv via the cable box, or through my receiver, the phenomenon was still there. I guess I might try the box downstairs and see if that's it. But...I doubt...it's seeming more and more like a physical issue with the tube...damn if I wish it weren't.

Poo!!!

[SC_Sixx]

Well, I don't have Monster cables or anything, but I do have the component cables that came with my digital box, and the component cables I bought at Circuit City. I switched them both out in various signal chain configurations. Regardless of cable...and regardless of whether the signal was going directly to the tv via the cable box, or through my receiver, the phenomenon was still there. I guess I might try the box downstairs and see if that's it. But...I doubt...it's seeming more and more like a physical issue with the tube...damn if I wish it weren't.

Poo!!!

What kind of digital STB? I took back my first one (SA 8000HD) because of similar problems and other issues. The new box (SA8300HD) has no such problems. :) Maybe it's your digital box?

[seccho]

Well, the digital box downstairs is the same as upstairs, except it's not hooked up to a HDTV, and so sadly, was not enabled for HDTV broadcasts, which is where my issue is most apparent. But, as of late, if I look really hard, I do believe I can detect the lines in DVD's, only it's very very faint. And, my old tv only had one line on the right side that couldn't be seen at all with any broadcast...and it was dark...not "ghostly". It was only visible at all in one of the DVD player screens where the pic was all blue. I'm pretty sure, ultimately, it's the tv...I sure wish it wasn't...'cause I'm really not in the mood to return this one. Even if I wanted to, my only friend with a truck may want to kill me if I told him we're doing it all over again.

The thing is, I've been debating dropping the digital cable altogether, and just going almost pure DVD's(and with DVD's the lines are almost entirely invisible), in terms of home theater and all, since there aren't many HDTV channels here and in general, there just isn't much on tv. And I"ve recently resubscribed to NetFlix. But, with HD-DVD's and Blue discs on the horizon...

Just for the record, my digital box is the Motorola DCT6412.

[D.Russell]

Just throwing something else out there.......

You don't have a Speaker sitting near that end of the TV , do you?

[seccho]

If only it were that easy...

My front speakers are all magnetically shielded Onkyo's. Proximity to the tv changes not a thing...sadly.

My relatively new Maxtor harddrive was giving me grief the other day, and I had just put in an XP disc to reformat, when I gave it one last chance to boot, and sure enough it worked, and has been fine since. What is the television equivalent? :D

[SC_Sixx]

If only it were that easy...

My front speakers are all magnetically shielded Onkyo's. Proximity to the tv changes not a thing...sadly.

My relatively new Maxtor harddrive was giving me grief the other day, and I had just put in an XP disc to reformat, when I gave it one last chance to boot, and sure enough it worked, and has been fine since. What is the television equivalent? :D

If you mean what kind of HDD is in the STB, I'm pretter sure most set top boxes use standard 160Gb IDE or SATA hard drives (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong), vary similar if not identical to your computers hard drive. Maxtor even sells add on drives specifically for set top boxes for additional video storage.

I saw a thread pointing to this press release on their site if you are interested...

http://www.shareholder.com/maxtor/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=151856&reltype=Product&maxtor_section=press

As for using your nice new HDTV for only watching DVD's. :( Man, IMO that would be a real waste! I realize that you are going through a lot of grief with the digital cable but I believe you just need to stick it out. I can sympathize as I am beginning to realize myself that although I'm impressed with the HD signal I'm getting, it could be a lot better if some software problems were fixed on the Rogers Cable SA 8300 HD box and the bandwidth for the HD channels were increased (or compression turned down). These problems and others will eventually be corrected as more and more people move into the HD era and start to complain about the current issues.

Back to the original topic though... Seeing as you are getting these problems with both HD signals and DVD's (to a lesser extent) then logic would dictate the the problem lies with either your connection to your TV, the TV itself or an external problem such as unshielded speakers (which you've eliminated) or power (see below). Seeing as you have already gone out and replaced the TV once maybe you could 'borrow' a high end set of cables and try that?

One other thing comes to mind though. When I was looking around for my TV at BestBuy I noticed a demonstration for the Monster line of power bars/noise filters. They had a reference model power center, a cheap power bar and a box that let you hear how much noise was being generated/filtered on each. Obviously the Monster reference unit was silent but I was very surprised with how much noise was on the line without filtering (I'm pretty sure it was being amplified though). Now I'm not saying that you should go out and buy a $400+ power/noise filter unit but I am suggesting that maybe you are getting a great deal of noise over your power lines.

I know that in my condo I have a real problem with this and it caused me some grief trying to figure out why my cable internet service and analogue TV had such problems. Once I pinpointed the 'noise' problem that was coming over the ground wire I was able to buy a decent power bar/noise filter and everything cleaned right up (internet at almost max throughput/analogue cable signal much criper).

Yes, this is a long post, I'm almost done.

Anyway, long story short, I'd keep trying to isolate your problem and fix it. You've obviously spent a great deal of time, money and effort on this and I'd hate to see you purchase something else just to end up with a different problem with the cause being something simple like a noisy power source or bad cables.

Good luck and cheers mate! :cheers:

[seccho]

If you mean what kind of HDD is in the STB, I'm pretter sure most set top boxes use standard 160Gb IDE or SATA hard drives (somebody please correct me if I'm wrong), vary similar if not identical to your computers hard drive. Maxtor even sells add on drives specifically for set top boxes for additional video storage.

No, no, I meant the harddrive in my PC...I was just trying to make a funny...haha. Technology rules when works properly...but when it doesn't...

Anyway, no need to apologize for the long post, I'm all ears(or eyes actually in this case) to any ideas. I am trying to remain optimistic that the problem's source can be isolated and resolved...short of returning the set or investing a large sum of money. I suppose I would be more optimistic if my first set had had the exact same problem. It didn't. There was one darkish line, as opposed to several "ghost lines"...and it was entirely invisible during viewing. I suppose it's possible that this set is just more sensitive to something in the signal chain or more sensitive to the power line.

As for using your nice new HDTV for only watching DVD's. Man, IMO that would be a real waste!

I tend to agree...the picture is so beatifully awesome in HD...it's just that since the tv's main use, overall, will be the viewing of DVD's, I could probably learn to live with my issue if it weren't for the impending HD-DVD's which, with their clarity, will likely expose the cursed lines more clearly just as HD tv does.

But, since returning the tv is probably not going to happen(my only friend with a truck would probably literally kick me in the jewels if I asked him to help me return it again), I will continue to troubleshoot as budget allows.

And thanks SC_Sixx for your continued interest with my tv issue. :)

[SC_Sixx]

No, no, I meant the harddrive in my PC...I was just trying to make a funny...haha. Technology rules when works properly...but when it doesn't...

Anyway, no need to apologize for the long post, I'm all ears(or eyes actually in this case) to any ideas. I am trying to remain optimistic that the problem's source can be isolated and resolved...short of returning the set or investing a large sum of money. I suppose I would be more optimistic if my first set had had the exact same problem. It didn't. There was one darkish line, as opposed to several "ghost lines"...and it was entirely invisible during viewing. I suppose it's possible that this set is just more sensitive to something in the signal chain or more sensitive to the power line.



I tend to agree...the picture is so beatifully awesome in HD...it's just that since the tv's main use, overall, will be the viewing of DVD's, I could probably learn to live with my issue if it weren't for the impending HD-DVD's which, with their clarity, will likely expose the cursed lines more clearly just as HD tv does.

But, since returning the tv is probably not going to happen(my only friend with a truck would probably literally kick me in the jewels if I asked him to help me return it again), I will continue to troubleshoot as budget allows.

And thanks SC_Sixx for your continued interest with my tv issue. :)

Doh! to me missing the humor. I don't think I was awake when I replied...

I too am looking forward to the HD-DVD's, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The competition between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is still going on so it's probably going to be a few years before we see good consumer level equipment for either.

I sincerely hope you do figure out what is causing your problem with the TV. I had a similar issue with my STB for the first week and was very frustrated even for the short a period. Luckily it ended up being the box and was resolved with getting the newer model.

Again...good luck! :rockon: