Degaussing a 34XBR960

[Joe Redifer]

OK I realize there are a dozen or so threads about this, but many are filled with arguments back and forth between a select few members and don't really provide much in the way of useful information as a result. Anyway my Sony 34XBR960 is about 1.25 years old or so and has sat in the same spot the entire time with no changes to its surrounding environment (no speakers right next to the TV, etc). As you can see from the picture below, the lower left corner is discolored. This only started happening over the last few weeks or so.


Ouch! Completely unacceptable!

I've tried doing everything like turning the set on and off a bunch of times in a row, unplugging it for awhile and then plugging it back in, etc. I don't think there's really much more I can do that won't cost me an arm and a leg (TV techs are EXPENSIVE I hear). Is this the end for the TV? Time to throw it in the trash? I sure hope not. So I ask of ye, are there any possible fixes for my costly 34XBR960, and what kind of prices am I looking at? The TV is obviously useless the way it is now. Damn CRTs. I wish other display technologies could look as good without the problems.

[williamtassone]

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

Damn CRTs. I wish other display technologies could look as good without the problems.

Yeah but unfortunately there isn't anything to compare with a Sony Super Fine Pitch , and, unless SED arrives, there probably never will be.

No need to throw in the towel just yet. You've still got the best direct view CRT in television history. It's just a color purity issue caused by changes in terrestial magnetic fields

Go into service mode and select the parameter "LAND" which adjusts the landing of the electron guns and will remove the blemish in 60 seconds.

Terrestial magnetic fields wax and wane. If u need detailed help PM me.

I've fixed this problem on several XBR's in Australia sans problems. Mind you the trained chimps from Sony , who dare call themselves techs, con consumers into using Landing magnets (a geometry fix)

But at $65 an hour I too would be pulling the backs of XBR's and applying magnets like theres no tomorrow

PS under no circumstances should you apply an external degaussing wand to this particular Sony- these aperture wires are so thin there's been cases of the grill being irreversibly wrecked . Your's is definetly a 60 second fix in service mode

[Joe Redifer]

Alright, thanks! I adjusted the LB from something like 116 to about 75 and the problem is gone. Should I anticipate doing this again in another year or so? What happens when I can't go below 0?

You are right, it is an excellent TV aside from the geometry problems.

[williamtassone]

Well the geometry problems can be fixed too but it's getting late here in Oz so we'll tackle that next time!

The earths magnetic field will wax and wane and I've even read that solar flares will cause color purity problems. Certainly power surges can. The larger the electrical current the larger the magnetic field .

From my own experience I adjust purity maybe once every 9 to 12 months . 60 seconds and im done.

I also discovered that older, poorly wired houses will generate net electrical currents in the house and this can cause colour purity problems , as can poorly grounded electrical wiring. Most common cause is fluctuating terrestial magnetic fields.

I've also pulled out internal speakers on XBR's on the theory that poorly shielded internal speakers cause beam defraction. That made no difference whatsoever. It's an electron beam landing issue till proven otherwise.

[williamtassone]

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

What happens when I can't go below 0?

.

Unless you move to North Finland you'll never need to go anywher near zero

[mapson]

Joe, doesn't the 960 come with a 2 year all around in house warranty? You said yours is 1.25 years old.

[Joe Redifer]

Beats me. I'll have to look at the manual.

[joebxr]

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

Beats me. I'll have to look at the manual.

Here ya go...
34XBR960 Warranty Card

[williamtassone]

Originally Posted by mapson

Joe, doesn't the 960 come with a 2 year all around in house warranty? You said yours is 1.25 years old.

BUT WHY TRUST AN xbr960 with the trained chimps at Sony Service? It's something u guys can fix yourself in less than a minute.

You can bet your left nut that most techs would be unscrewing the back of your set and applying magnets to the tube- an incorrect solution but a wonderful money spinner for them.

When I rang Sony engineers in Sydney Australia they were unaware of a service menu fix for this !! Preposterous! With poor communication like this amongst the hierachy at Sony is it any wonder they crashed from their world pre-eminent postion to be overtaken by the likes of LG & Samsung. I think Sony rested on their Laurels and their big head got the better of them

And besides many junior TV technicians are trained ad hoc and are no-where as good as the some of the older guys.

Sometimes in life if you want something done right....

[lymzy]

Sorry for being OT.
34xbr960(n) is the only choice for 16:9 SFP tube in US? I tought there were 36".

[krazykarl]

The Sony 30XS955 and 34XS955 use the SFP tube in a 16:9 format, but as time passes they will become harder and harder to find.

[POWERFUL]

Don't forget about the 36XS955. Although its only 4:3.

[Chris in SD]

I think the 36 is the best choice. You lose an inch of 16:9 over the 34, but gain 9 inches in 4:3.

[Joe Redifer]

Is there a service menu fix for the geometry issues near the corners?

My TV also does weird things like display a weird vertical band on the right side of the screen when ZOOM mode is used. This vertical band is a bit brighter than the image and almost seems like a reflection of sorts... that's the best I can describe it.

[krazykarl]

Sections 2170D-1 and 2170D-2 control horizontal and vertical geometry respectively. For a rediculous amount of information on Sony service codes, read up in its respective thread here in the Direct View section. The search function will be immensely helpful as the thread is up to 37 pages

[williamtassone]

Originally Posted by krazykarl

. For a rediculous amount of information on Sony service codes, read up in its respective thread here in the Direct View section.

Fastidious rather than ridiculous but it's the best thread on the subject worldwide.

Joe can you post some of screencaps of your geometry problem mate?

[theroys88]

You should invest in a manual degauser. You can pick one up from Ebay for less then 50 bucks. Place the degauser wand in front of the tv about 1 inch away in the center and slowly go outward in a circular pattern. Three or four minutes should do the trick. I have had a tv that was severly demagnetized and that did the trick the first time. Compared to your set it was alot worse.

[Joe Redifer]

That discoloration problem's already solved and I hear degaussers are bad news for TVs like this.

Screen caps of geometry coming soon.

[Joe Redifer]

OK here is a pic of one of the corners:



Every corner does this (bow upwards or downwards if it is a top corner), but the lower right corner is the worst offender by a bit. Vertical lines are straight for the most part except on the extreme bottom left corner of the image, which is outside of the image area due to overscan. I'd like to have a bit less overscan, but if I decrease it then the bottom left corner shows and it is really messed up. This issue is not the end of the world, but I'd like to get the visable corners fixed.


Here is a picture of that weird bar on the right I was talking about earlier:



This happens when on any kind of unnatural mode (zoom, widezoom, horizontal expand, vertical expand, etc). It seems to be the most worst on HDTV channels and not really visable at all on DVD or other 480p sources. Cause?

[RWetmore]

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

OK here is a pic of one of the corners:



Every corner does this (bow upwards or downwards if it is a top corner), but the lower right corner is the worst offender by a bit. Vertical lines are straight for the most part except on the extreme bottom left corner of the image, which is outside of the image area due to overscan. I'd like to have a bit less overscan, but if I decrease it then the bottom left corner shows and it is really messed up. This issue is not the end of the world, but I'd like to get the visable corners fixed.


Here is a picture of that weird bar on the right I was talking about earlier:



This happens when on any kind of unnatural mode (zoom, widezoom, horizontal expand, vertical expand, etc). It seems to be the most worst on HDTV channels and not really visable at all on DVD or other 480p sources. Cause?

Joe,

Looking at these pictures, you should be able to fix or minimize this. Go into the service mode: 2170D-1. Adjust VCEN to straighten those lines keeping in mind the middle of the lines may bow up or down if adjusted too far.

[Mathesar]

Judging from your pics my XBR960N has the same geometry flaws in the upper right and lower right ,however the upper left and lower left are very straight on mine.

[Myke256]

I have the bowing too, as do most people with these sets. It only bothers me in the top left. I tried messing with the VCEN but it threw the center off. I'm thinking of just hiring a tech to come use the magnets on it. I have my VCEN at 14, VPIN at 30. It's an improvement over this picture but still noticable.

[Joe Redifer]

It's really hard to photograph the bowing corners due to barrel distortion from the camera lens.

[Joe Redifer]

Originally Posted by RWetmore

Joe,

Looking at these pictures, you should be able to fix or minimize this. Go into the service mode: 2170D-1. Adjust VCEN to straighten those lines keeping in mind the middle of the lines may bow up or down if adjusted too far.

Adjusting VCEN and even VPIN just make things worse. These settings only mess with the middle of the picture, all of which are as good as they're gonna get. The corners remain curved but if I mess with the 2170D-1 settings, so is the center. I need a setting to adjust the corners. Will the warranty cover these magnet adjustments? Do I need Sony to do it themselves, or would any licensed Sony repair center honor the warranty?

[williamtassone]

Originally Posted by theroys88

Place the degauser wand in front of the tv
.

fine for more robust aperture grills and shadow mask grills but contraindicated for SuperFine Pitch XBR's

[williamtassone]

Yeah I have this bowing on My Aussie version of the XBR910. Unless I am mistaken, as it has been sometime since I read his comments, kenTech suggested that the horizontal bowing required magnets applied to the corners of the CRT.

Others in other forums have suggested there is a service mode fix for this.

I'll have to read my service manual this weekend and experiment and see if there is a non-magnet fix.

It didnt bother me because after 2 years of looking for a landing fix I was over the moon. Besides LCD, plasma, at least the ones from 2 years ago, made me cringe.

i never noticed the bowing when I first got the set. maybe it was always there and I just didn't notice it

[williamtassone]

haven't tried VCEN yet but all the other geometry settings(eg VBOW, LBOW etc) don't adjust horizontal line geometry at the edges. There's plenty of codes if your vertical lines are curved. Therefore I think we have to resort to permalloy magnets as was mentioned in the thread "The Sony Service codes"

We'll all laught about this 3 years from now when watching our 55"SED's

Joe, that weird line on the right has me stumped, totally.

1 hour later.... I can see how VCEN could help in some cases but Joe's is definitely a magnet fix.

[RWetmore]

Originally Posted by Joe Redifer

Adjusting VCEN and even VPIN just make things worse. These settings only mess with the middle of the picture, all of which are as good as they're gonna get. The corners remain curved but if I mess with the 2170D-1 settings, so is the center. I need a setting to adjust the corners. Will the warranty cover these magnet adjustments? Do I need Sony to do it themselves, or would any licensed Sony repair center honor the warranty?

Hmmmm. My VCEN control did straighten out the sides to a certain degree, though they still aren't perfectly straight. I wonder why these sets don't have horizontal line geometry adjustments. Would make straightening everything so easy.

[AHammer16]

I have a 960 and i have the same corlor distortion issues in the corners. They seen to ber there on day and gone the next. When i look at the sony service menu thread i get confused. Is that thread for all sony tv's or is there a specific 960 thread? I believe i have tried to download the info but one of the files is corrupt or the link is bad. Cold some one who knows the correct thread kindly direct me to it.

BTW, Sony has replacedthe picture tube in my 960 2 timesand has come by multiple time and placed a de-gaussing loop around it. They are now ordering a new board for it to replace the one thay think is defective. I think they are a bunch of morons form what i have read here.

[mapson]

AHammer, I sent you a PM.

The Sony techs have replaced the tube twice for the problem in the first post? Have they gone into the service menu at all?