Hey all. I've had a Sony KV-30HS420 CRT for about a year now, but I have an issue with the width of the full-screen picture being wider than the screen itself. Whenever I play games in HD (Xbox 360 or PS3) or watch HD channels, I find that I'm missing a bit of picture on both the left and right sides of the screen, as well as a tiny bit on the top and bottom. It's almost like it's a 32" picture, but I only have a 30" set.

I've consulted the owners manuals and such and have seen no option for a width adjustment. Because it seems to happen with all of my HD input sources, I would suspect that it's an issue with the TV itself. Is this something that anyone else has come across before? It has been an ongoing issue for as long as I've had the set, but it's really starting to bug me and I'd like to correct it, if possible. However, it's not to the point where I'd pay to have it repaired. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!

This is called "overscan" and all CRT televisions are designed this way. On Sony sets, this is adjustable through the service mode, which can be accessed by pressing a certain key combination on your remote control.

The service manual will tell you the specific key combination and also list the service mode settings. I checked, and the service manual for your model TV is available as a free download at:
http://www.tvtinker.com

Be aware that there are sensitive settings in the service mode. On my Sony CRT, the settings that affect overscan are HPOS, HSIZ, VPOS, VSIZ. If you have a test pattern for overscan, you should aim for under 5% of the image being cut off.

Excellent, thank you very much. I'll give that a look and see if I can figure it out.

EDIT: Alright, I've taken a look at the manual and the big thread with the codes and such, but I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to simplify this a bit for me. I've never done anything like this with a TV before, and I'm not confident enough with the lingo and such to start this without a bit of guidance. All I'm looking to do is remove the overscan, so if anyone can help me through that, it would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

EDIT 2: Nevermind, I was able to adjust the settings that I wanted to. It's not perfect (the picture seems a bit angled on the right), but it's better than it was, and that's all I really wanted. Thanks for the threads of valuable assistance!

Hi,

I don't know if you are still subscribed to this thread, but could you post what you did to correct the overscan? I have this problem with 720p and 1080i sources but not 480p. BTW, tvtinker.com appears to be a squatter site.

Thanks.

Yesterday I played around and found that MDHS, MDHP, MDVP and MDVS do the trick, but only for the specific resolution you're using. I had Overscan on 1080i, but not 480i/P so I did this, it's in MID2 or 3. Brought it down to about 3.5%.

I'm having the exact same problem. How do you get into the service menu to fix this?

On my Sony KV-30HS420, with the tv off press the following sequence to get into service mode.

Display
5
Volume +
Power

Not that it's any help if you don't know what you are looking for...:)

Ok, here's my contribution to the owners of the Sony KV-30HS420 based on all the great work other people did.

Problem:
HDMI input, 720p/1080i modes overscan too much for video game use (XBOX 360 elite).

Solution (your mileage my vary, not my fault if you destory your tv, take responsibility for your electronics etc):
Enter Service Mode:
To do enter service mode, set tv to the video input you want to adjust? in the mode you want to adjust? and turn the tv off.
Then press Display, 5, Vol +, Power On
Use the 4 button to scroll through items (1 to back up)

Find MID1.MDHS. Use 3/6 to increase/decrease the value. 220 worked for me. I've also seen 226 online. Use Mute->Enter to save. Use 0->Enter to reset to defaults

Find MID1.MDHP. Use 3/6 to increase/decrease value. 7 worked for me. Use Mute->Enter to save, Use 0->enter to reset to defaults.

WRITE DOWN YOUR DEFAULT NUMBERS.
Not my fault if this doesn't work for you!

Cheers.

Thanks very much for that info. After recalibrating the settings on my set, several times, the overscanning has been neutralized to where I can now view the additional area space that'd be otherwise hidden on a conventional CRT. That factor leaves a lot to be desired, but at least now I can get the full experience of watching ESPN News, Fox Business and CNBC without having it cropped at the edges. Keep up the good work, guys.

Wondering if anyone can help me with this TV. My problem is when a camera moves fast or is tracking someone on TV it has this dragging look to it. Like some of the screen is in slow motion. It seems to be the left and right sides. I have the service manual and have tried everything. Defaults for the service menu or any help would be great..

Thank you,
Matthew