The Official Kd-34xbr960 Thread - Page 260

OK, Great. Any idea on how locate a degauss option? I don't see it any easy access menu. When I open the "Service" menu I can't really understand the format, it is all numeric codes, apparently.

If you have the option, it is someplace in the user menu, not the service menu.

Yeah, not in the user menu as far as I can tell.

There is no manual way to initiate degaussing once the set is on.

The "pop" you hear ALWAYS occurs when the set is powered on, and is the automatic degaussing which is designed to always be performed at power-on. No way to prevent it, and no way to request it... other than as an automatic result of normal power-on.


Those images are much more severely impaired than I would expect from magnetic fields of nearby non-shielded speakers... unless they are really huge. This is not an ordinary problem solved with a simple power-on degauss.

But if you aren't running some large electric motor right next to your TV that is putting off an enormous and oddly shaped magnetic field, I'd say your set is seriously in need of service. Something's going on back there with the picture tube, and some kind of effect on the R/G/B guns, for the color to be so off on so large an area and so uniformly and not a "corner flare" or something more common.

It may be difficult for you to find a local competent TV repair person anymore, but you could try phoning Sony and ask for an authorized service technician... either directly from them to arrange, or someone on their list who's located near you.

Killer of dreams....

Seriously, Thanks for the input. I think I am going to call it.

Finally finished the cosmetic layer, applying that very black velvet you suggested (and that I bought as well) to the painted plywood face.

Rather than using spray-adhesive, or even liquid glue/paste/adhesive, we just went with 2-sided tape! I had bought the spray-adhesive as well as wallpaper paste (being unable to find liquid adhesive at Home Depot), but when the cabinet guy and painter assistant cut the fabric they decided 2-sided tape would provide the best result to get the velvet held down smoothly and securely. The TV was dismounted and the wall mount removed completely one more time, in order to apply the velvet to the entire face uniformly. Then holes were cut in the velvet to overlap with the cable-grommet, and the four main wall mount bolts, and the velvet was applied. Then the wall mount was re-mounted (hopefully) one final time and the TV and cables re-attached.

So that's how it got done. Of course I kick myself for just not thinking about taking one final photo of the "wall" with the black velvet applied, because it was such a DEEP BLACK color that the black grill cloth on the speaker enclosure cover below (that goes down to the floor) now almost looks gray by comparison. But it's really that the grill cloth is black, and the black velvet is "below black". It's truly light-absorbent and non-reflective, and just vanishes. Quite remarkable the difference between "black" and "below black" (which is also a concept relevant to setting "brightness" when tweaking the 960!).

Anyway, here's the final tweaks, aside from the black velvet face.



Note that the final resting place for the wall mount is about 8" to the left of where it originally was placed on the unfinished plywood face. This was too far right, and I needed it moved left 8". That required a second pair of studs to be added to the interior framing, and then the plywood face reattached (primed, and with grommet hole for cables cut out). Then the plywood was painted black and the wall mount installed in its proper location. And the rest you now know and have seen.

I will be calibrating an 960 tomorrow, I have never seen one so it should be fun!

Have you tried the "hard" power reset as suggested in the thread you started?
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1455625/kd34xbr960-is-there-a-manual-degauss-option-how

Just got back from a 6 hour calibrations session on a 960 and it turned out real nice.
The customer had 2 speakers sitting right up against it as he was trying to move his surround sound system into the room For the short time he had them there it left green/purple marks but no where near as bad as PACIFICMAN's. After a few power power cycles it had started to clear but was still there..
If PACIFICMAN''s was caused by speaker it may take some time to clear.. but I have to wonder if it isn't something more..

Hi Pacifcman,

Two questions.

1) Is the 960 plugged directly into the wall socket or using a surge protector? I was told by a Sony service rep many years ago that the set must be plugged into the wall socket so the degausser gets the full power necessary to work (surge protectors or extension cords reduce the power coming in).

2) Also try unplugging the set for at least five minutes. After a while discoloration appears on the corners of my set as well and unplugging the set for five minutes gets rid of it.

Also, it would be good practice to unplug the 960 for five minutes every few weeks anyway for I notice that over a few weeks there is slight loss of the picture's "punch" which is restored by keeping it unplugged for a short time.

Hope this helps.

Joe

I forgot about #1. I've got one of those fancier 'high joule' strips but I'll have to try that on my Panny; gonna be fun trying to reach the nearest outlet though, hopefully my high-current extension cord will suffice (for window AC units, etc.). The corners are a little off but one really bothers me as it's stronger and reddish (the others are bluish). That side of the set has a crack in the plastic so I assumed it was mishandled once (was a Kenwood car audio distributor marketing show set). Maybe a tube magnet got dislodged. I haven't been able to get myself motivated enough to remove the mass quantity of screws and wrestle with getting the cover off assuming it'll come off whilst sitting on the stand (I assume they do on these monsters for easier serviceability).

An update, 6 months past my power chip repair (getting 6-7 blinking on standby lite.) my 960 started to act up again. This time it was the red screen with horizontal lines and the the eventual shut off problem. Getting the 7 blinking on the standby lite again. I thought the chip I repaired went bad again. So I swap it out with the extra chips I had and aparently it was not it. I was able to start the TV its just that I get the red screeen. Unlike before it will not start at all. Did some more digging on the issue and found it to be one of the 3 color video chip TDA6120Q. Luckily the red was on the right end for easy access. At first I was afraid that it might be the tube itself cause I can get it going after 10-30 start ups. But the red is all over the images-like a ghost. I put up with this for a few months and finally today I decided to change the chip $7--US seller. You can get one for $6 shipped coming from China but I did not have the patience to wait 2 months. Anyways, much like the first repair almost a year ago now, IT WAS A SUCCESS! If anyone gets this issue, there is hope and easily fixable. The Beautiful picture this TV puts out is back again in full glory!. Very happy!

Hi If,

Hey, I recall you replacing a chip about a year ago and glad you were able to again. Obviously you know your electronics and can determine what chip you need to replace. What cost you less than ten dollars a service repairman would have charged us probably $200.

Glad it's all working out again.

Hey are you guys able to take the back off these and do this repair without moving the TV off a stand? I'm curious in the event I ever get one and have this problem.

Of course the 'modern' reality of this for the less technically-adventurous is to send the beast for recycling and buy another one off Craigslist for $50-100. Lots of inconvenient and heavy moving though.

Yes the back can be removed easily. I recently did the blinking red light chip replacement. The instructions were a piece of cake. I had to buy a solder sucker and had done electronics repair in the Marine Corps 30 years ago so I was familiar with the process. $40 for parts and tools. Not bad, although I was drooling over a new Panasonic Plasma. After fixing the 960 I couldn't justify buying a new tv YET!

Jo,

Thanks. The repair was fairly easy much like the first one. Actually even easier due to its location --- its the circuit board attached to the end of the tube. Anyways, tech folks mentioned that this TDA6120Q fails not only on sony tvs but many other brands too. Many folks think that their TV is dead once they start seeing just a red, blue or green screen, but most of the time it is just this chip that needs changing and it will be good as new again. Later. Here is a link with pix for those who maybe facing the same issue.. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1359208/sony-34xbr800-screen-goes-bright-red-then-off
Edited by iforsevilla - 2/12/13 at 10:45pm

My 960 needs a good home. Free to whoever will come get it in the Kansas City area.

Finally got to watch a high-quality BluRay movie last night ("Footnote", superb Israeli film) with stunning video and audio.

First time watching 1080p/24 on my 65VT50 from my Oppo BDP-103 player (sharpness at +1, per 103 owner's thread consensus until Oppo decides on +0 issue), as compared to the 1080i/30 via Oppo BDP-93 and BDP-83 I've been watching on my 960 for all these years.

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!! Just like "going to the movies" in my all-dark bedroom "home theater"! Truly like film. Perfection! Jaw droppingly gorgeous.

The picture is similarly remarkable with 1080i "live" HDTV (upconverted/"cleaned" to 1080p by the BDP-103 and its QDEO chip), fed from external HDMI input through the 103 coming from my DVR. Perfect.

I'm NOT using the ISF calibration settings I had done last week, not really caring for the results. I have a second calibration appointment (with a different provider) scheduled for next week, and hopefully I'll be more satisfied. But for now I'm using what I believe to be PERFECTION (or visually close to it)... i.e. Panny's factory CUSTOM to start (like Pro with the 960, i.e. everything at ZERO/Flat/OFF) and just an adjustment to brightness and contrast set by using my DVE and S&M "tweak" setup BluRays. Panny factory COLOR=50, TINT=0 along with ColorTemp=COOL1 (rather than ColorTemp=NORMAL) produces absolutely perfect color to my eyes (and the color filters with the setup discs). I've used the COOL temperature forever on the 960 as well and probably have just gotten used to it as what I prefer.

This 65" plasma is absolutely what you want if you ever have to (or want to) replace your 960. Panasonic has announced the more expensive ZT60 and updated VT60 families for 2013, so prices on this year's VT50 products will be dropping.

In my opinion there is no comparison at all between the plasma image vs. LCD/LED images even against the most current high-end models. The whole look and appearance of the plasma image is like the 960's CRT image, with all the 3D-like realism and depth I've come to expect. You can watch it from any place in the room, with no brightness dropoff from 0-angle... just like with a CRT. Coming from the 960 CRT, this feature is absolutely priceless. Even during the day, with sunlight coming into the room (not shining on the screen)... the plasma image seems even better than with the 960, retaining its inherent brightness. Just terrific.

Cannot praise the 65VT50 enough. What a joy.

So who did the calibration for you? You posted up above in this thread that Jeff M was going to do, did he? If he did, and you don't like the image, then you don't like an accurate display and don't waste your money having someone else do it.
Now if this was not Jeff, and someone like BB Geeak Squad, then I would expect it to be very messed up.

BTW, your eyes have no idea what perfect color is, that is why they make $20,000 meters to measure the light spectrum.. Calibration is not about what you like, it is about seeing what was seen when the content was mastered. There are no calibration police, if you like the way it looks don't bother having it calibrated.
Why TVs are not calibrated from the factory.. THX Instructor blog
http://www.tlvexp.ca/2011/12/why-tvs-are-not-calibrated-from-factory/
Edited by airscapes - 2/24/13 at 5:21pm

Yes, it was Jeff who did the calibration. It was not BB.

I don't want to get too far OT on this 960 thread, but I'll be more than happy to share the before/after calibration report PDF for my VT50 with you via PM, showing what he actually saw when he started vs. what he accomplished and how things look when he left. I really think the reason I'm not "satisfied" is because the results are "objectively not perfect and accurate", and just don't look "subjectively natural". I honestly feel he didn't do the best possible job on my VT50 (compared to similar before/after calibration reports I've seen others post on the VT50 threads), but that's obviously just my opinion.

Also, he opted out of trying to calibrate my 960, explaining that "there's something wrong with your set that I've never seen before, and I know all about what can be done with the service menu and I can't correct it". I don't want to editorialize further than to say I really don't buy that. Anyway, he decided didn't want to touch my 960, so that was that. I wasn't happy.

I don't dispute that.

Well, I've just completed watching some indoor and night-beach volleyball sessions, from the London Olympics, both of which to my eyes are venues which were absolutely perfectly lit with proper HDTV-friendly light, both for indoors and night-outdoors, both for hardwood blond floors as well as for beach sand.

And whether it is "perfect" or not, the colors rendered by Jeff's ISF (and several other "generic" user-posted VT50 setups) are simply "wrong" to my eyes. They are not colors I see when going to a Lakers game and seeing the floor color or on the team clothing. Watching through my Custom setup (again, pure un-customized FLAT/ZERO/OFF for everything but with Contrast=78 and Brightness=56 and with color "influenced" by ColorTemp=Cool1 rather than ColorTemp=Warm1)... well that just looks like I'm right there at the venue watching with my own eyes.

And it's the same thing with other "live" 1080i programs (e.g. Oscars tonight) and film (e.g. 1080p/24 from BluRay).

And it's the same thing watching "Frozen Planet". My colors for snow, polar bears, etc., seem more "natural"

Obviously, this is subjective... and my eyes are not colorimeters. That's just my taste.

Anyway, I have David Abrams coming out next week for a second calibration, and I'm sure the discussion will be interesting. David says he has lots of experience with the 960 as well, so we'll see how that one goes.

Just in passing, I've privately communicated with another AVS member on the VT50 threads who also had Jeff come out and do his ISF calibration, and he too is having a "second opinion" performed, making arrangements for Chad B to pay a visit for another ISF calibration for him and his VT50 as well. Hmmm..
Edited by DSperber - 2/24/13 at 6:42pm

Hi Ds,

So glad to know you're very happy with your new Plasma and that it has the life-like picture that we are used to with the 960. We've been watching some of the Oscar's tonight and to be honest, the picture on the 960 is still breathtaking and natural - after all these years.

Agree with you about the LCD/LED picture - very pretty but not natural at all - almost like looking through a silk screen than a window.

Have you watched 3D yet and the converted 2D to 3D process? With the LCDs, in order to get the proper 3D effect, one has to stay relatively close to center. I saw how it diminishes once a viewer goes past let us say a 33 degree angle from center. How much flexibility do you get with the plasma? Don't rush to find out on my account - it's more curiosity than anything else with the 3D. Just be sure you don't get headaches from the glasses - many do after awhile.

That could be your problem right there, especially after I read the other post about snow and polar bears. It appears you like your whites bluish. I tried that too because I have a 'too red' problem on my Panny CT-34WX50 via 480i only but I couldn't take the whites being bluish.

[My 'too red' problem is a color intensity problem as the tint is centered, something to do with this set and how it treats 480i. If anyone has any feedback on the subject I'd be glad to read it, maybe the Sonys have the same issue (CRTs optimized for ED/HD). Unfortunately I've searched and searched for service menu info for this set to no avail]

Something in the signal chain may not be doing the conversion from SD 601 gamut to the HD 709. If you are only seeing this on a signal coming from a set top box it could be that box that causing the error (assuming HD Box using HDMI connection). You can check the HDMI setting in the box for one that is call SD over ride. Change that to 480p or 480i. What this does it when you hit an SD channel, it will put out SD rather than HD. You will notice a pause when switching between HD and SD channels but the end result will be the TV does the up conversion (wait just looked that up and it is CRT so it will not upconvert but display SD which should be correct) and not the box. The box if set to SD over ride off will upconvert the ST to HD and output 1080i) I find on my projector that letting the projector do the upconvert provides a better image. With CRT there is no upconvertions as it will just display the 480i signal (not pixels so upconvertions is not needed) If you are seeing this OTA, there isn't much that can be done and could be a problem with the station not converting the signal properly.
Let us know what you find.
Edited by airscapes - 2/25/13 at 11:08am

Some interesting comments to be sure. On my Sony KD-34XS955 (similar to the 960) I have the color set to "PRO" and the offset set to "MONITOR" - this seems to agree with the discs I've used for calibration (Disney WOW, Spears & Munsil, Digital Video Essentials and Avia) as well as my reference monitor (Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-101FD). I used the service menu to improve convergence and reduce other CRT artifacts (pin-cushion, moire, etc.). I use the DVDO Edge to make final over/under-scanning adjustments and to ensure the proper color spaces are maintained (also the Edge does a great job converting the 480i signal from my Oppo DV-980H DVD player). I used to watch Blu-rays on the Sony but now I save those for the Kuro. I will watch HD television via the Windows Media Center extender - it may not have the detail and size of the Kuro but the color and inky blacks of this CRT are still terrific. I've owned this TV since 2005 and I've never had a single issue - knock on wood, of course.

Yeah I think it's the TV. Had the problem with DTV converter boxes, both composite and s-video. Also VCR on composite, Blu-ray/DVD player on component (no DVI or HDMI on this TV), and DVDR/player on component (but it can only input composite and s-video). It may not be as bad on component but still an issue.
OTA I'm now using an HD tuner (have two now) but recording of OTA is via the DVDR and VCR sourced by DTV converter boxes (s-video and composite, resp.).

I thought I had seen posts about folks complaining of red problems with 480i on HD CRTs, probably in the CECB forum.

Good info though for the future, thanks! Hey does that mean 960s natively display 720p? I read here that they support 720p unlike my Panny.

I know who would drive from St. Louis and take you up on that offer. *raises hand* This guy!

I would love to drive to KC from St. Louis to provide a good home for your XBR. I messed up the post above ^^^ please forgive. This is my first time using the thread. Daren

Welcome! Daren. The 960 is a killer CRT 2nd only, and I do mean only, an older model 60" Pioneer Elite Plasma monitor.




Joe- I have had my 960 connected to a Richard Gray Pro 400 line/power conditioner since bought new in December 2005. My set has never been plugged directly into the house socket.
Never a problem w/ the degaussing. You are correct, in that, 99% of the other "conditioners" out there do steal current from your gear. The Richard Gray products and Shunyata products are unique
in their respective designers' philosphy, as they are designed to compliment one's electrical source(s).

Glad to be here JA! Thanks for the welcome.