[This followup was posted to sci.electronics.repair and a copy was sent
to the cited author.]
In article .com,
says...
So I opened it, and there were a series of screens for calibrating
Contrast, Color, Sharp, and so on. Then there are two screens, each
with concentric rectangles about an inch from the edge of the screen -
one for oldie "4:3" viewers like me, and one for HD 16:9ers. Each has
a circle in the center, about 8 inches in diameter on a 24" diagonal
NTSC screen.
When I displayed it on my Toshiba 24af43 flat and the Sony 24" flat
WEGA, I was shocked by how bowed out and overscanned both sets were. I
cracked the internal menus on each set, and brought those rectangles
back on to the screens(!) let alone properly sizing them to achieve a
height and width ratio of 4:3, or, 1.33333333~ This certainly involved
a lot of "trapezoidal" and "pincushion" adjustments to get it right,
but once I did, it looked as ruler straight as I could get it.
Now here is the weird part: The concentric squares, one one inch
inside the other, were perfectly square, as measured diagonally and
vertical/horiz. The circle was perfectly round - I have a protractor
to check these things. And, everything was equally distant on all
sides. BUT: when I switch to broadcast TV - IE the Weather Channel
forecasts or other channels that use a lot of frames and boxes, the
main box may be off center, and on other channels the boxes would
appear pincushioned(some cases in or out) or even parallelogram shaped!
So I performed the secret menus adjustments according to THOSE images,
and went back to THX - Now the THX images were once again out of whack,
even worse than before.
I now have reached a compromise between the Star Wars THX calibrations
and broadcast TV - slightly out of whack between the two.
And no - neither set has geometry adjustments PER input. After all,
these are "smaller" 24" sets, not 27" or larger that probably do have
internal geometry for each input. So anyone reading this - PLEASE don't
suggest checking for adjustments for each input.
Anybody have any clues? Is it something the cable or broadcast channels
are doing to the signal? Or are both DVD players or the THX test
patterns themselves to blame?
For the Sony, you can also check the forums at www.agoraqest.com.
I assume on the Sony you made your adjustments in the DEF group? Be
aware that there may also be a 16:9 group, which would be active if the
DVD is sending an anamorphic signal. This section includes some geometry
settings of it's own. If the TV cannot override the anamorphic mode, you
may need to temporarily set your DVD player to letterbox mode and make
adjustments under DEF, then set to widescreen/anamorphic/16:9 and and
make adjustments under 16:9.
I would still consider getting Avia and/or DVE (Digital Video
Essentials.) They contain nice instructions on how to perform settings,
MANY more patterns, filters for setting tint/color if you don't want to
mess with turning guns on and off, and extensive audio adjustments.
Also, especially with the 24" Sony, too much brightness could overload
the TV's power supply, causing bowing and other issues. Both DVD's have
needle pulse patterns designed to help find your maximum white level
(Contrast or Picture) that the TV can properly handle.
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