crt burn in qestion?

[illwill]

i purchased today a panasonic 34wx54 (34" widescreen, hd monitor, $999 open box at circuit city) and so far am extremely pleased with it.

i noticed, while looking through the manual, that it recommends watching 4:3 sources through one of the 3 full screen modes (zoom, full or just) and cautions that watching them in 4:3 ratio for extended periods of time could cause the black bars on the side to burn into the screen.

has anyone had problems with this with their crts? i don't watch an awful lot of tv (especially with classes starting again next week) but it's still probably on (with 4:3 source) 10 hours a week. Also a much of what i watch on tv is in widescreen anyhow (yay ifc) so i can watch that in "zoom" mode.

the "just" mode is surprisingly not bad (it keeps the aspect ratio correct in the center of the screen and just stretches at the edges), but i'd much rather watch it without any distortion.

thanks
-will

[thekid]

It can happen with a CRT but from what I have heard it is rare and (certainly more rare than the burn that can occur in other types of tv such as plasma) you would have to leave the tv on for an extended period of time. I would not be too concerned about it unless you are planning watching tv in the same mode non-stop for a week. based on your usage i would relax and enjoy your new tv.

[EdwardGein]

I totally recommend you have your cable or satellite box set up so that the a widescreen show is 16:9 & a 4:3 show is 4:3. Too me expanding the picture screws up the picture. On DVD's though, if something is old and filmed in 4:3, I'll usually expand it and don't notice much distortion. Make sure you put your TV picture size on the input your using back to stnadard or normal.

[edtyct]

I'm with the Kid on this one, but I'll add some detail. First of all, a direct view CRT like yours rarely suffers from uneven burn. Second of all, as the Kid says, the likelihood can be controlled. The manufacturers and experts who even dare to address the subject specify watching with black bars is okay anywhere from 15% to 30% of the time. But most don't say anything, either because their sets are almost immune, or because they don't want to give you a reason not to buy. Sometimes warranties expressly exclude screen burn. So, to be safe, don't overdrive the set. Cut down the contrast/brightness level to at least 50%, even if it is set high out of the box (it will look better when reduced, especially if you dim the lights). When you don't need the black bars on 4:3 material, fill the screen. What can happen if you space out forever is that because the black area gets no action, it will wear more slowly than the center area. Wear is perfectly normal on these sets, but if it happens unevenly, your full screen material will look weird. A bright, stationary image on the screen for hours at a time can also etch itself into the screen. It can take a long while, and may not be an issue with you, but be aware of the possibility when watching a station that persists in showing its logo all day or a news program that has inert info on screen continuously.

By the way, I just spent some time with a Panasonic HD direct view set (a 36" 4:3 with a compression setting for 16:9). It was beautiful. People don't know what they're missing if they've never seen direct view CRT do HD. You might get yourself a test disk like DVE or AVIA to set up yours. You won't be sorry.

Ed