A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question...

Question:

I've had a Toshiba big screen hdtv for about 10 months and lately the picture has been flashing white for a second then goes back to normal. This is a rear projection T.V. that seems to already have burn in from the closed captions (two rows of little squares across bottom of screen)....Is my tv about to die on me?

-submitted by darwin

Answer:

There is not enough information to conclude that the TV is going to die on you, but I'll agree that the behavior is erratic enough to warrant a service call. It's not unusual for any TV to need a few adjustments within the first year of ownership. You should be covered by the manufacturers warranty if it's only 10 months old, so take advantage of free service while you still can.

As far as the burn-in goes, it's not uncommon for heavy users of closed captioning to get uneven wear in the CC area at the bottom of the screen. My advice to you is to limit your use of CC when not required, and turn down the contrast on the TV to a lower level. You should review the article How to use your televisions video controls, which talks about this under the contrast heading.

Matt Whitlock -Editor, TechLore.com