RPTV Burn-In (a specific question)

[adamh@iben.com]

Hello,
Apologies for the possible repetitiveness of this question, but, after reading the posts on this site, I'm not clear on if burn-in is a real issue for RPTV (I'm in the market to buy one). Maybe if I give my specific situation (ie how I plan to watch the TV) some of you can give me advice.

Thanks in advance for your input.

I'm looking to buy a high def TV. I'm leaning toward a RPTV as it seems to offer the best bang for the buck (looking at something around 55 inches). For at least the first year that I have it I plan to watch the TV primarily in 4:3 mode (as I'm waiting til DirecTV has more HDTV programming before getting that programming). Also, when I do watch TV I normally flip channels a lot so burn-in from a ticker (or any other permanent image) is not a problem.

As I plan to watch TV in 4:3 mode for the first 12-18 months I have the TV will I get burn-in from the borders that are present when watching in 4:3 mode? Obviously, I'd prefer not to have 2 vertical lines burned into the TV when I do start to watch things in 16:9. Again, the question is, will I get burn-in from the 4:3 borders on a RPTV if all I watch is 4:3 TV on the set? Any advice? Again, thanks in advance for any information. Feel free to em or pm me directly.

Adam

[Tryton]

Yes you will. you will need to use your tv's strech mode on all 4.3 channels

[labatt90]

Yes. You will get burn in if you watch it with the bars for a year. I would suggest checking out the wide and stretch modes on the tv's you are looking at to buy. You are going want to watch tv in one of those instead of regular. In my opinion you are crazy to wait for direct tv. Hi def is amazing. Many shows on networks are now in hi def. CSI and crossing jordan just to name two. Grey bars are better than black. Remember that. James

[57U]

Burn in from 4:3 images can happen in as little as 6 months on CRT-based RPTVs. I know from personal experience. If you haven't already, read the FAQ on "Burn in".

[mjones73]

Don't get a CRT if you plan to watch 4:3 with side bars that long, you might want to look into LCD, LCOS and DLP sets...

[labatt90]

Don't get a CRT if you plan to watch 4:3 with side bars that long, you might want to look into LCD, LCOS and DLP sets...


ok. I have been reading your posts for a while. Who is the monster? Cable companies?


James

[57U]

Mon$ter is not a cable company, it's a company that makes cables (and other things.).

Many people consider their products to be "overpriced", although they are typically good/high quality.

http://www.monstercable.com/

[akeener]

Monster is a brand of wires, cables, switches and such, that jack up their prices due to marketing cost. At least that one reason to hate them...

[mjones73]

I'm boycotting them over the whole suing everyone under the sun who has the name Monster personally...

[tonelocdog]

Every rp crt i've owned gets vertical burn lines on top of the screen after a couple of months from watching movies or any tv station. It practically come with every rp crt people buy. If you plan on watching 4:3 on a 16:9 rp widescreen crt set for more than 6months u will get burn in, and they will be noticable.

[venez68]

Hello,
Apologies for the possible repetitiveness of this question, but, after reading the posts on this site, I'm not clear on if burn-in is a real issue for RPTV (I'm in the market to buy one). Maybe if I give my specific situation (ie how I plan to watch the TV) some of you can give me advice.

Thanks in advance for your input.

I'm looking to buy a high def TV. I'm leaning toward a RPTV as it seems to offer the best bang for the buck (looking at something around 55 inches). For at least the first year that I have it I plan to watch the TV primarily in 4:3 mode (as I'm waiting til DirecTV has more HDTV programming before getting that programming). Also, when I do watch TV I normally flip channels a lot so burn-in from a ticker (or any other permanent image) is not a problem.

As I plan to watch TV in 4:3 mode for the first 12-18 months I have the TV will I get burn-in from the borders that are present when watching in 4:3 mode? Obviously, I'd prefer not to have 2 vertical lines burned into the TV when I do start to watch things in 16:9. Again, the question is, will I get burn-in from the 4:3 borders on a RPTV if all I watch is 4:3 TV on the set? Any advice? Again, thanks in advance for any information. Feel free to em or pm me directly.

Adam
Seeing as this is my first RPTV(sony kp51ws520) I can't tell you much about burn in. But anything i watch in 4:3 on my set is viewied in the stretch mode.
Some people say it distorts the picture and it may look like that at first but i found after watching something stretched for a few minutes your eyes will adjust and it looks perfectly normal. I never view anything in the zoom mode, unless you want to get rid of the bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
There's probably going to be some kind of fault with any type of tv you purchase. Nobody makes the "perfect tv" and if they did then we would never have to purchase new products from them!

[kevinw]

I have had my widescreen tv since Novenber 2001.
I have no burn scars at all. I'll watch in a variety of modes. Somtimes stretching, somtimes not. We play 2-3 hours of video games per day. 2-3 DVDs per week. Essentially the TV is on from 6:00 am till 11:30 pm everyday- News,Kids shows, HD primetime , SD primetime etc.
I used a HT setup disk from the first week and have calibrated the crap out of it on a regular basis. Keep the contrast down and vary the programming and all should be good.

[mcwheeler]

Ive only had my Hitachi 57F510 a few days, but I can tell you from what I have seen that 4:3 programming viewed in stetch mode looks better than with the bars, atleast to me. The bars are annoying, distracting and just plain look bad. When I watch 4:3 shows in stretch mode I really dont even notice any distortion, to me it looks esentially like it is being broadcast in 16:9.

Same with DVDs. I was watching Spiderman 2 last night( 2.40:1 anamorphic) and used stretch mode to fill the entire screen. It was a little distorted, but it wasnt too bad and probably less distracting than if I had the bars on the top and bottom. Ill thank myself down the road since I am minimizing my burn-in potential.

Contrast and brightness are also down around 40%, maybe a little too low.

[JetFlyGuy]

Some TVs seem to scale better than others: I used to have a sony CRT and the stretch mode looked terrible. I am now using a Toshiba DLP, and the stretch mode looks great. I don't know if that is a result of the scaler, or the different technologies.

[57U]

Toshiba has been talked about as having one of the better non-linear stretches. The linear stretchs shouldn't really be any different from TV to TV.

[gorbycody]

Perhaps you could wait to get your set, at least until you are going to pull the trigger on getting HD reception. Standard NTSC broadcasts typically look better on a CRT set, and they can be found for 1/2 the cost or less.

I agree with the earlier post telling you not to wait for Dave to add more programming to their HD lineup. The majority of primetime broadcasts from CBS, NBC and ABC are in HD. A hi-def RPTV will only shine when showing the HD programs. And in HD there are no side bars to worry about. Of course, progressive scan DVD over component or DVI cables will look awesome while you are waiting for HD, which will again look that much better than DVD.

The price is falling at a steady rate on the new technology of RPTv's and you will get much more for your buck if you buy your set in a year (or 3 if you are waiting for Dave to beef up the HD lineup) since you are waiting to watch HD anyway.