Problems with Sony WEGA picture

[luvs2jam60]

I have a Sony WEGA 24in TV set. Its not the best, but its not the worst either. However, I have a problem with the picture. On colors that blend together or gradually become lighter or darker, its not a smooth transition. It seems that there are squares or blocks of colors. Its quite distracting. Anyways, I have heard that Sony does not have the greatest factory settings when it comes to their TVs and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on the subject. I've messed around with it and still have no luck fixing the problem. Possibly a specific adjustment in the brightness/color/hue/sharpness settings could do the trick, I'm not really sure. I've tried different DVD players and its the same. Plus, I have a satellite connected to it as well, and it seems to get the same problem, but not as severe. Also, and I think this is unique on the Sony TVs, there is a picture option for a gradual adjustment along with the other 4. It seems like a similar adjustment to the brightness. My friends have much more lousy TVs then I, and then don't seem to have it. Please help!!!!!

[edtyct]

You don't say what kind of TV it is--the analog CRT FS120, or the digital LCD flat panel, which is 23'. If you had a plasma or a microdisplay of some sort, the description of your problem would suggest false contouring or dithering, both of which would be exacerbated by a poor signal source. If it's a CRT, the problem would be more elusive. An incredibly cheap DVD player (an Apex, perhaps) might explain it, as would a lousy analog cable box or satellite receiver, with poor MPEG 2 decoding. You should be using the best connection that your equipment offers, hopefully component. S-video is probably the next best thing and composite the last resort. Make sure that your contrast is reduced, in conjunction with brightness, and bring sharpess down to the point at which edging loses any extra thickness. Don't oversaturate the color. Use a good setup disk to finetune the picture along these lines if you can. None of these recommendations, however, really get to the root of what you appear to be describing. We may need a little more information.

Ed

[luvs2jam60]

You don't say what kind of TV it is--the analog CRT FS120, or the digital LCD flat panel, which is 23'. If you had a plasma or a microdisplay of some sort, the description of your problem would suggest false contouring or dithering, both of which would be exacerbated by a poor signal source. If it's a CRT, the problem would be more elusive. An incredibly cheap DVD player (an Apex, perhaps) might explain it, as would a lousy analog cable box or satellite receiver, with poor MPEG 2 decoding. You should be using the best connection that your equipment offers, hopefully component. S-video is probably the next best thing and composite the last resort. Make sure that your contrast is reduced, in conjunction with brightness, and bring sharpess down to the point at which edging loses any extra thickness. Don't oversaturate the color. Use a good setup disk to finetune the picture along these lines if you can. None of these recommendations, however, really get to the root of what you appear to be describing. We may need a little more information.

Ed

Sorry 'bout that. The TV is a FD Trinitron, model KV-24FS100. Its not an LCD flat panel, its a CRT. I purchased my DVD player shortly after I got the TV. Granted, its not an APEX or anything of the sort, just a bottom of the line player from Sony, model DVP-NS315. I've researched the player and found that no reviews commented poorly on the picture, and I am connected through component connections. It could possibly be the DVD player, only I don't wanna spend the money on a new one if its not that, ya know? However, if it is just the DVD player I would definitely replace it if the picture changed dramatically.

[edtyct]

The DVD player is good enough not to be the limiting factor. Check your cables first, maybe try to insert a fresh one into each component slot. Back off the picture parameters one at a time to see if you get any relief from the blocking. You can also engage the DVD player's blocking noise button, though I don't imagine that it will have much effect. CRTs don't generally have a problem resolving gradations of color in themselves, though the decoding of the signal before it gets to the screen could theoretically, though not intrinsically with this DVD player, be at fault. But since you're having the problem with both DVDs and to a certain extent satellite transmissions, something about the TV would appear to be the culprit. In the absence of anything obviously wrong, settings and cables deserve some attention. Let's see what happens.

I checked around a bit about this model, and the more I read, the more I'm convinced that the TV is at fault, in a way that you can't correct without a calibration that would cost much more than the TV, assuming that it would even show much benefit. The set's excessive light output refuses to allow contrast/brightness to be set correctly. You either get a dim picture that crushes detail or an overly bright one that risks destroying the tube as well as your eyes. It also appears to oversaturate red to an alarming degree, as well as to push it toward orange. I don't want to rain on your parade, but it may well be that what you've noticed on this set is an uncharacteristically poor job of quality control.

Ed