[Influence]

I posted this in the main 960 thread, but figured I might get a few more people to see this issue if I created a new thread.


Over the past few months, I've noticed that when watching cable TV on my 960, if I switch from hi-def channels to standard def, it looks like I lose one of the primary colors and the picture takes on a strange greenish/purple tone. I thought it was my aging Comcast single tuner PVR box (DVI out to the HDMI in on the 960) and would just power off the cable box (while on an SD channel) and then power it back on and things would fix themselves, until I watched an HD channel and then tried to go back to SD again anyway.


Just last night I went to watch a DVD on this set for the first time on months and noticed that the picture off of the DVD was very green in overall tone. The DVD player is hooked up via component video. So it looks like the TV is the problem, not the cable box or DVD player.


Anyone experience a similar issue? If so, how was it resolved and more importantly what did it cost? Is my beloved 960 hosed for good?


Though it wouldn't be so bad to replace this set with a 42" G15 series Panasonic plasma

 

[Allan Jayne]

Try unplugging and replugging each and every cable end twice, for the purpose of cleaning the contact/joint. One at a time will prevent confusion and putting things back wrong.


Is it always the same color you are losing? Loss of red gives an overall cyan cast (with blues and greens somewhat normal. Loss of green means your predominant colors are blue and red with an overall purplish cast. Loss of blue means an overall yellowish cast with reds and greens still vivid.


Does either (or both of) your DVD player and TV have menu or switch settings for RGB versus YUV versus component versus VGA? They must match each other or you will get discoloration even though the picture itself may still be sharp. For a cluster of red, green, and blue jacks consider Y/Pb/Pr to be the same thing as Y/Cb/Cr.

 

[Influence]

Notice I explained that HD signals exhibit perfect color. Only when watching SD signals does the TV seem to have a problem. Also, either a restart of the cable box or the TV will return SD cable signals to the proper color, at least until I watch a high def channel and then switch back to SD, then the color goes back to the heavy greenish/purplish cast. The color space is set correctly for all sources.


DVDs via component input are permanently mis-colored, so it is multiple SD sources (and inputs) exhibiting this problem.


I'm pretty sure that this is the color control board or input board inside the TV that has gone bad, but I'm just trying to see if anyone else has had a similar repair performed and how much it cost. If it's going to be a $400+ repair, it's just not worth it to me.

 

[trivial]

It's premature to call this set "hosed". I don't know what the problem is, but I do know if I had this problem it would be easy to work around except with my SD consoles. So if you don't play last-gen or Wii games, here's my advice:


A DVD player that upscales to 1080i through HDMI can be had cheaply, and may constitute an upgrade. Most HD tuners can be set to upscale SD channels to 1080i. If yours won't, make Comcast replace it. I also can't think of a good reason why this TV should be the one you watch videotapes or laserdiscs with, unless your space is very limited.


If you have a HTPC, start using 1080i over HDMI or component. I really like feeding my 40XBR800 some 540p over DVI to cut the interlace artifacts, but you may feel cheated of some horizontal rez if you do that while keeping pixels square.


I think if you did these things, and 1080i continued to work properly, you'd feel the money was better spent than it could have been on an expensive repair. But someone may yet chime in with a very cheap repair suggestion, which would make everything I've said a little redundant!