Sunday, September 28, 2008

Adjectives That Describe My TV-Viewing Time


Every time I sit down to watch TV I feel some of the following:

Agony, anguish, bitterness, despair, disappointment, dissatisfaction, distress, grief, heartache, letdown, misery, pain, purgatory, ripped off, sorrow, suffering, torture, tribulation, as well as general unhappiness.

Want to know why? Take a closer look at the picture above . . . focus on the right side of the TV screen . . . do you see it????

Yep! Right there on the on the right side of my 40” LCD HDTV is a 4-inch wide column of green who-knows-what!!!!! Just appeared out of nowhere!

For 2 years this Sony Bravia has brought me nothing but heavenly HD precision! But all of a sudden - only 3 weeks into the Cowboys’ regular season – Satan has found himself a foothold within my HDTV!

Kelly first noticed it while watching Oprah. Hmmmm, I wonder if that had anything to do with it!

Demon be out!!!!

Nope, didn’t work – still there! (Both Oprah and the green interference, that is!)

I first tried finding a solution by chatting on-line with Sony’s technical support. Waste of time!

Then, I posted the problem on AVSForum.com to try to get an answer from people who actually know something about this stuff. Not much better.

I guess it’s time to lug this thing all the way to a certified Sony repair shop in Richardson. Or I could save money on gas and go down to my local Best Buy and just buy myself a brand new one – it’ll probably be a wash!

I’ll keep you posted.

In the meantime, anyone want to buy a 2-year old LCD HDTV?

7 comments:

Shannon said...

See Wade, there is something about not having cable and rabbit ears. All we have to do around here is a little adjusting, and voila! Crystal clear picture...everytime!

That was to be read VERY sarcastically. I have lost count how many times Brad has tried to win me over with a new tv...and cable for that matter. Sorry for your green bar. That is a bummer!

Hermes said...

You need a better exorcism. Try "Get thee behind me, thou foul spawn of the pit! I abjure thee! I banish thee back to the darkness from which thou have sprung! Begone and trouble my 40" screen NO MORE!" It worked on our photocopier.

Anonymous said...

Hey Wade, the Sgt in my office just told me he was having a service call on his 3yr 60" SONY this week. Sorry, I don't know if his is the same issue or not.....Just don't hex my SONY!!!!!

Aunt B

Anonymous said...

I feel you pain. I hate all of the extra stuff the networks feel they have to add when you are watching any TV show.

Anyway, I do feel your pain and I made it into a "wordle." Go to www.wordle.net and click on Gallery. Then enter Wade. It should come up and you will be able to see the problem clearly...

Suzie

Anonymous said...

Wade, on a serious note, that sucks. It is only two years old.

But, as for the exorcism, turn on Ernest Angley on Sunday, and perhaps the problem will fix itself.

Anonymous said...

Someone asked this:

"I noticed you posted a response to my problem on fixya. We have two bars side by side on the left side of the screen. They're each about 1" and about 2" in from the left. Originally just a green bar appeared and would disappear for periods of time. Then the red appeared and it also disappears from time to time. We contacted vizio and they attempted to help in emails. They recommend either the TCP connector or the XRBT board. I have no idea what either are. The tv is only about 2.5 years old. Does their solution sound right? And is it worth fixing? Thanks a bunch."

Two similar replies:

"I BELIEVE THE TCP CONNECTOR WILL BE THE RIBBON CABLE ATTACHED TO THE XRBT BOARD AND IM PRETTY SURE THEY ARE NOT REPLACEABLE (IF IM THINKING CORRECTLY. THE XRBT BOARD WILL BE THE THIN BOARD AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PANEL THERE WILL PROBOBLY BE 2-4 OF THEM THEY HANDLE THE VIRTICLE PIC. SO GO FOR THE BOARD DIRECTLY UNDER THE LINES. IT SHOULD BE PRETTY CHEAP UNDER $50."

and

"it sounds like the problem is with the xrbt board or its ribbon connector. most of the time its the connector which is not replaceable it is part of the panel which probably costs as much as the tv did. so the question is do you want to spend the money to try something that may not work?"
-----------------------------------

From another source:

"Green Bar on Plasma TV with H21nc 100 Receiver

I just received a new HD receiver H21NC-100 to replace a faulty receiver. Once it was installed I now have a vertical green bar on the right side of my 720p 42 inch Phillips Plasma TV. I did not have this green bar with my prior receiver. I can get rid of it by cycling the tv format from 480 to 720 to 1080 but it comes right back when the channel changes from hd channels to non hd channels and visa versa. There was an update within 1/2 hour after the receiver was setup. Any thoughts???
Receiver Manufacturer: DIRECTV
Receiver Model: H21nc-100
Receiver Software Version: 0x407E
Date/Time/Duration of problem: constant
Channel(s) where problem is occurring: all"

Reply:

"Hi,

You may have to set the screen to "stretch" if it's not already set that way. Make sure you have pen and paper with you when you try these suggestions to write down what it's set at now. If you don't like the way it is, you have the original setting written down so you won't have to guess what it was.

Hit: Menu | Scroll to "Parental, Fav's & Setup | Scroll to System Setup | Scroll to HDTV. You'll see 3 tabs on top: Video, TV Ratio, TV Resolution.

The first screen has 3 listings: 1) Native; 2) Screen Format; 3) Bar Color.

Try setting "Native" to "OFF". Set Screen Format to "Stretch" and Bar Color to "Black" and see if that helps. Stretch really s***s on SD programs, but with Plasma TVs the pillars on the side of the picture may "burn" into the screen and eventually the sides of the picture will be off, color and picture-wise.

Also, try different settings on the other tabs at the top and see if anything helps satisfy you. Have you tried to set the resolution to 1080 and leaving it that way?

And, also check your TV setup for screen format.

And, I repeat: stretch on SD programs really s***s because everyone is fat and circles are ovals.

I hope at least one of my suggestions helps."
-------------------------------------

Another source:

"That's taken from elsewhere, but it's the same problem - except it's on the right. Only noticeable during sporting events (due to the constant panning & green background).

Anyone know what it's all about/what's causing it? I'm not sure I want to pay £100 for an engineer, as it doesn't effect most viewing. I'd rather put the money towards a new TV down the road."

Reply 1:
"Most likely cause is the screen."

Reply 2:
"had same problem with my Sony 32" and thought its problem with TV but then my sky+ PVR2 had recording problem and it was replaced with brand new one PVR3, since then i don't have this problem anymore, so maybe its same with you so try checking different sky box if you can and see if problem is still there."

Reply 3:
"I have a similar fault on my 32 Samsung. It is a green fluorescent vertical bar about 4" wide that runs the length of the screen. It is only really visible when a 'dark' or black scene is showing. I have a sneaking suspicion that my Sky+ box may have something to do with it but haven't tested this yet."

Reply 4:
"This is a problem I made a post about a couple months back but can't seem to find it now. My vertical line was on the right side too but later noticed a line on the left side. Apparently its the LCD equivalent of screen burn, called Image Retention. Its caused by viewing 4:3 programs a lot on a screen designed for wide screen.
The good news is this, since I found out what was causing it I've been using the zoom screen mode when watching 4:3 stuff. I've noticed that over the last few weeks the line has started to fade and is now only slightly visible in certain conditions.
Hopefully the line will totally disappear soon.
Hope this helps..."

Reply 5:
"my 40" samsung had a line of pixels that would go pink, had the entire screen replaced and haven't had the problem since."

Reply 6:
"Have you a different source you could connect to the set?

I'm wondering if it isn't crosstalk from another device or channel. i.e. what you're seeing is the sync pulse from something bleeding through. Does it shift position at all?"

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