Discoloration, geometry, and overscan issues (Sony KD-34...)

[Windfish]

Hello, everyone! I have noticed several problems on my newly-bought Sony KD-34XBR970, especially when displaying HD devices such as my Wii U. The left and right edges of the picture appear to be warped, bulging inward and outward in some areas. I think these are geometry issues, but I am not sure. I also notice significant overscan while playing Wii games on the Wii U. Finally, a thin blob of discoloration appears on the right edge of the screen - it appears differently against different backgrounds (e.g., green against a white background). This problem is seen not just when displaying HD devices, but all the time!

To what extent can these problems be resolved in the set's service menu, and what are the settings that I should be looking at? Your help is appreciated!

Best,
Windfish

[Ziggy]

If it was newly purchased, I would take it back to the store!

[Anapan]

The discoloration is probably a speaker magnetic shielding problem. Beware stored energy in the tube if you plan to correct that. Successive degaussing might fix it without opening it up, otherwise consult a technician if you're unfamiliar with the danger (popped testicle).

The geometry can probably be fixed in the service menu.
Here's your service manual! (look for "get manual" under the preview)
I suggest printing the relevant pages

To get into the service menu, turn off the screen (standby), then press:
[Display], [5], [Vol +], [Power]
See page 61 for details - timing's important, so try again until you're there.

On page 55 it details the basic geometry adjustments.

To correct your problems, I usually use the "Fine adjustments" - Grid /dot pattern view / [VPNT] on the service menu. I don't see that in your service manual, (Maybe because it's HD?) so I expect you'll be using a lot of trial and error.

Keep in mind that a CRT cannot display all the overscan (like a NES background color would show) without totally screwing up the geometry to look like it's wrapped around a pillow. I usually calibrate my overscan to a PS2 on Component, then slightly adjust the zoom and horizontal/vertical slightly for the main console I'm going to play, or a happy medium between the bunch. On some games the score may need to be cut off to keep the geometry square, otherwise you'll have to live with a bit of pincushion - 16x9 displays are especially bad for that. There's bound to be some convergence issues in the extremities too unless you cut them off with zoom. That's the nature of a CRT display. Modern consoles expect that you're using a LCD and may not take the "safe area" into account.

You can mess with the settings all you want since nothing's permanent until you save your changes - I suggest you write down all the 4-letter adjustment values you plan to permanently change - defaults for geometry are in the service manual - page 73+
I've found that almost all of the other settings do very little, but you can make your screen unable to display a picture...

Once you have the settings adjusted to your liking, you can save them by pressing [Mute], [Enter]

The service manual suggests having an oscilloscope and a pattern generator to perfectly calibrate your screen; I recently got an oscilloscope, but have yet to use it on a CRT. I've been very successful with a very old laptop that has S-video output (ATI driver allows variable overscan) and a bunch of test pattern images. In particular, I have a selection of grid patterns (white on black, blue checker on black) and some concentric and distributed circles that I use to make sure the screen's got an even picture that's properly square. If you're meticulous, a yardstick can come in handy - you can make sure all squares are square, and all lines are straight.
I highly recommend the 240P test suite. There's a Wii version now!

Feel free to ask questions, I'm taking the summer off so I'm available. If you'd like I can make some test files available on FTP - DVD format, images, and others.

I gotta say, your service manual's totally awesome - I've never seen one that good - full color images and complete disclosure of multi-layer schematics. Contemplating getting a screen from that era now myself but I'll have to offload one of my other large CRTs first - they don't stack well. I'd be interested to know how the 240P test suite fares. I hope you give it a go and report the results.

[Windfish]

^Anapan, I need to properly thank you for finding the service manual and providing me with such helpful information, but I am in the middle of trying to resolve a big issue with the TV right now. Perhaps you can help, I made a thread about it.

[CRTGAMER]

You did not have to make any entirely new Thread.

Here I quoted it, maybe delete that other thread to keep all the discussion organized in just ONE THREAD.

I have a technician looking at the set right now. He is in the service menu, making adjustments. We have encountered a problem. He connected his Leader LCG-397 pattern generator to display a cross-hatch pattern, and now the TV seems locked on the pattern. Even when the generator is turned off and disconnected, the set is still stuck. When we power down the TV and power it back up, we see snow for a few moments before it returns to displaying this cross-hatch pattern. We have done everything to get out of this. Any help?

Try looking here, Sony TV Hidden Menu Service Codes. Have care if using this you can brick your WEGA!
http://www.avsforum.com/t/531494/the-so ... iscoveries

[Anapan]

Thanks for that CRTGamer - I'd previously used an earlier revision of that thread (years ago) and it's grown exponentially since then. I have tweaked many Sony TVs through the service menu, but most were older models and I still don't understand all of the service menu settings in any of them.

[Windfish]

I am looking into getting a professional to address these issues for me, but I wonder how many of these problems have no resolution. I have played around in the service menu for a long time and just couldn't get the edges of the picture to be a straight line. What do you guys think?

[Anapan]

Unless you cut the overscan off, you will not even be able to get the corner convergence fixed. Also, while showing a game screen, the geometry changes based on what's being displayed. A white screen will increase the zoom, and a videogame will bow the picture based on the image. The thing is, behind the flat screen, the tube is still curved, and the geometry adjustments can only do so much. If you use a PS2 to calibrate it, the full image is actually underscan a lot, and the geometry adjustments work better. The further you stray from overscan, the edges will be increasingly difficult to adjust. If you play a DVD with some calibration images on it through the PS2, you can find the best geometry and color. Once you play another console, the outside of the image will be cut off, but you can find a happy medium. Maybe someone who has more experience can help you but don't dump too much money into it. Unless you're running a 4x3 PVM you will not be able to achieve perfection. The main problem is you're running a widescreen CRT. I've bought and sold (at a loss) a few of them when I found out that they cannot be calibrated to my liking. I did get a good 4x3 image, but I was actually taping cardboard to the sides to get rid of the outer edges. It was not ideal, but I ran a couple of them side-by-side for a few years.

[Windfish]

What about DIY calibration - calibration discs and the like? I've seen ones that obsess over color, hue, etc., but my issues are all geometry-based. I need ones that help adjust center of screen, distortion, etc. Any good discs out there for me?

[CRTGAMER]

What about DIY calibration - calibration discs and the like? I've seen ones that obsess over color, hue, etc., but my issues are all geometry-based. I need ones that help adjust center of screen, distortion, etc. Any good discs out there for me?

Can you describe in detail how you reverted the TV from the Crosshatch pattern back to normal? This could be important for others who might have bricked their set selecting the wrong setting in the Service menu.