Discoloration, geometry, and overscan issues (Sony KD-34XBR9

[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

[bobrocks95]

A good number of geometry problems, which you were in fact describing, are indeed fixable in the service menu. Overscan too. All the setting should be in the first section of the service menu, called something like VID-1 if I recall. It's the first group of settings as you advance from the initial screen.

For overscan you've got setting like VSIZ and HSIZ, plus VPOS and HPOS. Geometry has a lot more settings, but they're all in that first section. Some stuff like UPIN, LPIN for upper and lower pincushion, TRAP for trapezoidal manipulation, LIN for linearity, etc. It's honestly easier to throw up a grid pattern from some source and fiddle with each one to see if it does. Just make sure you stay in that first group of settings, as you can mess things up in later ones. In the event that does happen, just unplug the TV and leave it unplugged for maybe 10 minutes and any settings you changed will be switched back to their previous values.

The discolored blotches, though, are a purity problem. Not fixable in the service menu and needs some advanced degaussing methods to fix, something like a wand degausser may do the trick. It's likely that you'll never be able to fully fix it though. I'll let someone else who may have seen purity problems before or attempted to fix them step in there.

[Windfish]

bobrocks95,

Thank you for your reply! You wrote:

A good number of geometry problems, which you were in fact describing, are indeed fixable in the service menu. Overscan too. All the setting should be in the first section of the service menu, called something like VID-1 if I recall. It's the first group of settings as you advance from the initial screen.

Is it true that merely adjusting some of the settings in the service menu can hose the entire set? I am worried about this. The service menu is not exactly readable to anyone other than a Sony technician, so the only way to know what each setting adjusts is to experiment. Is that a no-no?

Is there a helpful guide or resource that will help me to find and adjust only those settings that I need to adjust?

The discolored blotches, though, are a purity problem. Not fixable in the service menu and needs some advanced degaussing methods to fix, something like a wand degausser may do the trick. It's likely that you'll never be able to fully fix it though. I'll let someone else who may have seen purity problems before or attempted to fix them step in there.

Yeah, I feared that the visual flaw might be permanent. I will continue to hope for the best, though!

Best,
Windfish

[Xyga]

Maybe you've read it already but here's a interesting topic: http://www.highdefforum.com/direct-view ... -bent.html

Just write down ALL default settings values before changing any and you should be safe.

[bobrocks95]

Another option is to find the service manual for your model. If you can't find it, I can upload the service manual for my model when I get home, it will have similar if not identical settings for geometry (and has a brief description of each setting).

I've never damaged anything by fiddling, since you can unplug the TV to reset any changes. I've never messed anything up from the first menu section. One time in other sections I changed a setting that made the TV turn off, but again I just unplugged the set and it was fine.

[Windfish]

Xyga,

You wrote:

Maybe you've read it already but here's a interesting topic: http://www.highdefforum.com/direct-view ... -bent.html

Just write down ALL default settings values before changing any and you should be safe.

Haha, I think I have read every related forum post by now! Thanks, though!

Best,
Windfish

[Windfish]

bobrocks95,

Thank you for you reply! You wrote:

Another option is to find the service manual for your model. If you can't find it, I can upload the service manual for my model when I get home, it will have similar if not identical settings for geometry (and has a brief description of each setting).

I've never damaged anything by fiddling, since you can unplug the TV to reset any changes. I've never messed anything up from the first menu section. One time in other sections I changed a setting that made the TV turn off, but again I just unplugged the set and it was fine.

I am glad to read that changes can be reset without any permanent damage! And I would appreciate it if you uploaded your service manual, thanks!

I am going to continue to look into this and report back here with news. More advice is also welcome!

Best,
Windfish

[Windfish]

With respect to the overscan problem, the overscanning is only occuring in Wii Mode, not in Wii U Mode. If I adjust the picture settings in the service menu to correct the overscan in Wii Mode, I will be affecting the position and scaling of the picture in Wii U mode, and what might be the rights settings for Wii games may not be the right settings for Wii U games. I will, it seems, be perpetually adjusting settings when I want to play games! :O

Best,
Windfish

[bobrocks95]

Here's a link to my service manual: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxPPOH ... sp=sharing

With respect to the overscan problem, the overscanning is only occuring in Wii Mode, not in Wii U Mode. If I adjust the picture settings in the service menu to correct the overscan in Wii Mode, I will be affecting the position and scaling of the picture in Wii U mode, and what might be the rights settings for Wii games may not be the right settings for Wii U games. I will, it seems, be perpetually adjusting settings when I want to play games! :O

Best,
Windfish

I believe this is because the Wii outputs in 720x640, which is somewhere between a 4:3 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. It really baffles me but I think it's a standard of some sort. Again I'll have to defer to someone who understand the intricacies of non-square pixels and odd resolutions, because it's been confusing me lately. I thought the Wii U would be the best way to play Wii games (being all digital), but it not filling the 16:9 screen I would be playing on (can't scale the image on it with a digital input) would bother me. Don't have a Wii U to see how it looks though.

[Windfish]

Here is a question: would an external scaler or other kind of device help to minimize overscan?

[Xan]

I believe this is because the Wii outputs in 720x640, which is somewhere between a 4:3 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. It really baffles me but I think it's a standard of some sort. Again I'll have to defer to someone who understand the intricacies of non-square pixels and odd resolutions, because it's been confusing me lately.

640x480 AFAIK. Anamorphic widescreen just means that it outputs the image in that same resolution and lets the TV stretch it. This of course means that 16:9 isn't as sharp as 4:3.

[bobrocks95]

640x480 AFAIK. Anamorphic widescreen just means that it outputs the image in that same resolution and lets the TV stretch it. This of course means that 16:9 isn't as sharp as 4:3.

Maybe just the vWii mode on the Wii U outputs 720x480? I know I've heard it somewhere, but I don't have a Wii U to confirm or anything.

[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?

[22point8]

http://techpreservation.com/dvddl/testdisc.htm this one

[Windfish]

http://techpreservation.com/dvddl/testdisc.htm this one

That's fantastic, but are there accompanying explanations for each of the test patterns?

[bobrocks95]

Use Artemio's 240p test suite. It may not have as many patterns, but a ton of those looked really redundant. Artemio's program has detailed explanations for each test pattern and is really easy to use. It's got versions for Dreamcast, Gamecube/Wii, Genesis, Nomad, and I think Sega CD, which you surely have at least one of which can run it.

[Windfish]

Use Artemio's 240p test suite. It may not have as many patterns, but a ton of those looked really redundant. Artemio's program has detailed explanations for each test pattern and is really easy to use. It's got versions for Dreamcast, Gamecube/Wii, Genesis, Nomad, and I think Sega CD, which you surely have at least one of which can run it.

Question about the test suite: presumably, it is meant to optimize a set for 240p content, so does that mean it will adversely affect content on other resolutions? My set is going to handle everything from NES to WiiU, so I want to be calibrated to handle everything! Am I just not getting something (I probably am)?

[bobrocks95]

Question about the test suite: presumably, it is meant to optimize a set for 240p content, so does that mean it will adversely affect content on other resolutions? My set is going to handle everything from NES to WiiU, so I want to be calibrated to handle everything! Am I just not getting something (I probably am)?

In my experience nothing changed between resolutions, but I've only used it to calibrate a CRT and an EDTV, so the resolution range is limited. I can't imagine anything picture-wise changing between resolutions, just the algorithm for scaling (assuming your set scales lower-res stuff).

[Xan]

The thing is that signals vary a fair bit between consoles, so I don't think it's possible to have a perfect calibration for all systems. As an example, the native Wii version of the 240p suite gives me quite different results when compared to the MD version running on an emulator on the Wii.

[Windfish]

Thanks for the advice guys. In keeping my options open, I talked to a few professionals. They are all expensive. And at least one thought that the power supply might be bad, so calibrating it would only delay further deterioration. That would be greatest fear, and I wonder if there is any to test the theory out.

[Ed Oscuro]

Of course a professional would want to open it just to have a look (at your expense). See what you can do first. The XBR970s aren't THAT old.