Hi all, I have an 4 yr old Mits WS55-731 that I got in Oct. of 2003. I have been having a problem with what I call "reverse" burn in. You see, when we first got the set, I did all of the things like strecth the screen, use the gray bars, etc. to prevent burn in. THen we just got tied of it and had a couple of months where the "bars" on the side (while watching SDTV) were pretty much black. After that, I noticed that those "bars" on the sides of the TV were much brighter when viewing a bright source of video like a blue or white background. The middle of the screen was not as bright and looks a bit redder if I display an all white screen (using my HTPC).

The question is can I do anything about this "reverse" burn in as I call it, or am I just doomed to have this problem forever. I'm game for buying a new set, but I am selling this unit to a friend and would like to solve/lessen the problem if possible.

I'm game for opening the set if someone could show me the proper way so I won't break anything.

Thanks again. I usually post over in the HTPC forum, but have been reading around here for info on Sony's SXRD based RPTV and I am pretty set on getting one to replace the Mits. I know Sony pulled out of that line of TVs, but a 60" can still be had for under 2G's.

-Brian

Your burn-in or image retention is permanent and there is no way to reverse it. The only solution is to replace the three crts $$$

hammerdwn.....
I want to be clear. This is NOT burn in. TO me, burn in would mean like you said, image retention. There is no image retention anywhere, just the side bars that would appear when you watch 4x3 TV on a 16x9 screen are "brighter" and less red when viewing a full 16x9 source.

Oh, and the model is WS-55511 , not 731

I'm not saying the ultimate conclusion is incorrect, but I wanted to be clear about the symptom.

...those "bars" on the sides of the TV were much brighter when viewing a bright source of video like a blue or white background. The middle of the screen was not as bright and looks a bit redder if I display an all white screen...
When you watched all that SD 4:3 content with black pillar bars, you aged the CRT's phosphors only in the middle of the image. They've dimmed, as phosphors do, with blue & green dimming more than red (so the middle now looks redder than the pillar bars). Now, the pillar-bar area is loaded with fresh phosphors, ready to shine brighter than the ones in the middle.

My guess is that the uneven aging can't be fixed. I don't think you can effectively accelerate the aging of the pillar bars to catch up with the middle.

Thanks StevenZ,

Unfortunately, that is exactly what I think happened. I thought about how to revers it, but couldn't come up with anything. I guess my friend will have to just deal with it or not buy the TV from me. :)

Thanks again.....

-Brian