My RCA Projection Television has a picture that looks like I should wear 3-D glasses. The picture itself bows inward toward the center from the top and bottom. You can see all three colors around people and objects. If someone knows anything about how to fix this or if it even can be fixed,please post ASAP. I've also had this TV. since 1999, if that has any effect.
have exact same problem with a samsung just started 2 days ago any info will help!
The word for it is PINCUSHIONING. I'll let you look it up for yourselves as the explanation is rather lengthy. It happens with computer monitors often.
The geometric properties of television products are set at the factory. These factory adjustments are usually stored in some form of non-volatile memory, that way unplugging the TV doesn't reset them to a factory default.
While it is uncommon for this to happen, occasionally the TV can be reset to a pre-factory adjusted state. How? Well, sometimes it's a fluke like a power surge, or sometimes something is forced to reset by people who find their way into the service menus. Either way, in cases like these it needs to be readjusted by a technician. Still, this would cause severe picture anomalies, and I doubt this is what has occured on your display.
More likely, the problem could is that the set has a power supply deficiency in high voltage regulation (simply explained: a power supply deficiency occurs when the set's power supply cannot provide enough power to sustain intense images), a phenomenon common only to CRT products like tubes and CRT rear-projection displays (what you have). You could verify this problem by using the Needle Pulses + Steps pattern on the Avia video calibration DVD. This can be corrected by reducing the white level of the display. To do this, reduce the "contrast" or "picture" control of the TV. Try it and see if it helps.
The three colors can be corrected by adjusting the alignment (commonly known as "convergence") of the three CRT tubes in the display. All consumer CRT projection displays at least provide some basic controls for convergence adjustment. Given the age of the TV, you'll be able to access them from the televisions menu. Instructions on how to align the tubes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, so you'll need ot refer to your manual for specific instructions.
I will try to capture a screenshot of the Avia pattern and repost this as an "Ask The Experts" article on the site.
Sutliff2, you're not far off with your pincusioning idea. The appearance of the problem I described above goes right with that concept. However, pincusioning is rarely user adjustable on television products, but commonly adjustable on CRT computer monitors.
So the moral of the story is that if you're experiencing this problem on a bulky CRT computer screen, find the pincushion control in the monitors menu for a control to adjust it.
That's a great tip sutliff. Perhaps you should submit it as a quicktip for all those CRT PC monitor folks out there!
I have the exact problem as Tylert with my RCA 46"
rear projection. I bought it in 1998 and had an extended warranty that of coarse expired last year and now that same problem. When I turn the TV for an hour or so, the picture is fine and all the " converge " options are available in the menu. Then when the top and bottome " pincushion " the converge options are actually gone from the menu now too. I had a home service call for only $20 ( if they dont do the work ) but he quoted $350 + taxes(cdn) to fix what he said he knew was the problem. Is that a fair sounding price? He said it is a common problem with RCA and was so confident that he offered 90 days warranty. It seems like alot for an older projection tv , but i have had the power up issue, no sound issues and static issues in the line inputs all taken care of during the original warranty so it seems like alot of new guts in the old beast. Please any one with an experienced / knowledgable idea on this , if you could please let me know it would be greatly appreciated.
PS> Awesome sight, I actually have been reading around all the forums on different issues for over 2 hours before i even decided to register.
Keep up the great work everyone, we all can use the help / tips before we proceed and get robbed by the service men that come in . You all know in a jam, we always get the 1% of the service men who are out to make a quick buck and never get the other 99% who are honest hard workers like us just trying to make ends meet.
bearsox,
Thank you for the kind words about TechLore. We hope to make it a great community site for everyone to learn about electronics... not just help people with repair issues. Go tell everyone you know about us. :-)
I'm not sure it's a fair price without knowing the problem, but as far as your TV goes, I would not bother fixing it. At 7 years old on an RCA big screen, you're begging for another 350 - 400 dollar problem in about another 6 months to a year. It may be worth it this time, but not next. So, I would say goodbye and go get a new TV. Of course, it's never easy to decide if you should fix or replace a TV, but this article should help: "How to Determine if you Should Repair a Broken Device".
Ok I have the same problem with a 7 years old Zenith , I asked a repairman to check it out, his diagnostic was the power supply and the convergence board, since I do diagnostics my self (in another field). I didn't like the way he worked, first he pulled out an analoge multimeter and checked something, then he used a digital multimeter(both very basic units). he never tried to converge the set and told me the power supply and entire convergance board should be changed (about 500$)and he can not do the job at home it should be at his shop(he added next time I should buy a RCA TV because they are the best). So I didn't belive him .Now I have my main board on hand and try to find the voltage regulator of the power supply.I think the only thing he checked was the voltage So I need the main board diagram and specs for convergence output to check them out.Any body has the information?
First,
Thanx for the opinion, I pretty well was thinking that anyways but it's nice to hear an unbiased opinion. Now the decision is bigger? HD? or with all the new TV's out there, rear projections are dirt cheap, even new. Hockey season coming so I have to make a quick decision, maybe I'll pawn it off on how good " survivor " would look on a bigger tv and the wife will want a bigger TV.
Also, already showed the site to the guys at the office and they all seemed interested in the wide range of discussions and topics.
Babak, As far as the Zenith vs RCA issue, I have a 36" Zenith down stairs without any issues(knocking on wood) for over 4 years. I believe every brand out there is only as good as the warranty the give you and the extended warranty they try to get you to buy. I use it as a rule of thumb and almost always works, is that the product will last almost the identical time they offer the original warranty. That is why they obviously offer to repair it for that long, they are playing the odds and statistics. I had the original warranty of 2 years, and on a Major purchae figured i wanted to be covered longer, good thing as you can read above, the problems rolled in after that up until now. Even the cream of the crop fail and falter before some of the more economic models. While all was covered, loved the tv
Again thanx to all and keep up the good work.
bearsox,
We can certainly help you pick out a TV. First, HD should be a no brainer. Actually, at the sizes you're looking at, I doubt you can even still buy an analog TV.
In fact, we have something that can help you figure out what type of TV to buy. I have a 13 article series that explains all the different types of TVs, and how to choose among them based on your needs. It's chock-full of good information. Take the time to read it, it will really help you. Click here to go to the first in the series. Use the links within the article to navigate, or you'll get lost with all the other content on TechLore.
I read your comment about brands, and I don't entirely agree. Most specifically with this point: "I believe every brand out there is only as good as the warranty the give you and the extended warranty they try to get you to buy." The industry standard factory warranty is 1 year parts & labor with in-home service on TVs above 27" (Some with cover a picture tube for 2). There are some that offer 2 years on everything, but those are usually the premium products that come with a premium price. The longer they cover the TV, especially labor, the more expensive for them it becomes, and the more expensive the TV gets. If TVs only last a little longer than the factory warranty, there would be a lot of pissed off people.
Manufacturers are not the ones that offer you an extended warranty at the point of sale. These warranties are offered by the dealer to help you cover your investment. Larger dealers back the warranty themselves, others use a third-party warranty company. Either way, on large screen televisions, these warranties can be a fantastic value (especially the ones that cover the TV for 4 or 5 years.) I'm not saying it's worth covering that $249.95 27" TV, but I would always recommend a 5-year warranty on any TV over $1500, regardless of type.