Re: Making my own cables?

I seem to be getting conflicting info from the store reps (surprise!!?!?!?).

If a Plasma monitor/TV is used for computer/video game/TV and movies, is it susceptible to burn-in on the the screen if a given image is displayed for long periods of time... how long is safe to avoid burn-in?

TIA, Chip

My father has the HCD-FC7 5 disc DVD player (part of the DAV-FC7 home theater system), and after he put a photo CD-R in (which it says is compatible) he now just hears a kind of nasty noise (rotating or searching or something) and none of the CDs will come out of the player.

Sonys site is not very much help. Does anyone know how to handle this?

Thanks!

Yes - the Panasonic 42 inch Plasma (both HD & ED models) say that you can check the viewing hours. I haven't done it yet, but the book says it's possible.

There's a disc that you can buy that's supposed to be helpful for this, the AVIA Home Theater DVD.

Dear group,

I've got this strange problem with my RX-V650. Sometimes the remote control stops working, or some buttons stop working or function different. The transmit LED also fails during these moments. After removing the batteries for some seconds, the problem dissapears, but then returns in a short period of time (sometimes in a minute).

I have tried to reset all manufacturer codes and then reprogramming them, but this makes no difference.

Could it be that the remote control really needs 6v to operate? I have measured the batteries and each one of them reads 1.4v (adding up this makes 5.6v). This seems enough to operate, but I can understand that the little piece of "software" inside needs a tight 6v. Is this true?

Thanks a lot, Gert Wiersema

Drives for individual discs have a little hole you can stick the end of a paper clip into to open the drawer without power. Suspect this would have some way to do this too. Should be in the manual. Most mfg put manuals on their website. HTH

Put the old batteries in a flashlight until it no longer puts out enough light. Clean the contacts in the remote with an eraser and if needed/possible tension them to put good pressure on the batteries. Put in new batteries. New 1.5 volt batteries start out at greater than

1.5v(IIRC1.56v). !.4v isn't too bad but may not be enough. 1.2v is dead. Batteries cheap. Life short.

On my way for some Duracells then ;)

Thanks, Gert

I've hooked my onkyo ht-s570 and the subwoofer will not get out of standby mode. Any ideas?

Thanks Wellsie! Anyone have any idea how to assign some reasonable value deduction per hour/minute of usage or some such guideline?

What is the typical life-expectancy for a Plasma unit?

TIA! Chip

(surprise!!?!?!?).

Found some good info and thought it might help others with this question...

"(1) Some obvious advice: Do not leave static images on your plasma TV screen. Turn off your unit when you are not watching it. Do not pause DVDs for more than a few minutes at a time.

(2) Know that plasma screens are more prone to burn-in during their first

200 hours of use. When phosphors are fresh, they burn more intensely as they are ignited. This means that relatively new plasma display panels are prone to ghosting, which occurs when on-screen images appear to stay on the screen belatedly. This is probably just a function of the high intensity with which new phosphors "pop," and this phenomenon usually "washes out" on its own, as the screen displays subsequent images. When static images are left on new plasma screens too long (more than a few minutes at a time), though, ghosting quickly develops into something more permanent -- burn-in.

Self-Defense: Break your new plasma monitor in slowly. Keep the CONTRAST set at or below 50% -- any higher only causes phosphors to glow more intensely, which decreases the length of time necessary for burn-in to occur. And, be sure to avail yourself of your plasma's anti-burn-in features. These are monotone gray or snow screen settings that "wash" your plasma screen by recalibrating pixel intensity levels uniformly. This reduces the visual effects of ghosting. It's probably a good idea to run one of these screen "wash" cycles after about 100 viewing hours or so. (Note: These processes will impact the lifespan of the phosphors in your unit, so you should run them selectively and on an as-needed basis.)

(3) Know, too, that some plasma display panels burn-in more easily than others. In my experience, AliS type panels -- the ones utilized by Hitachi and Fujistu -- seem more readily given over to problems with burn-in.

(4) Utilize burn-in protection like power management settings, full-time picture shift (both vertical and horizontal), and automatic screen-saver functions. Check your Owner's Manual for further information.

(5) Realize that quality matters with burn-in as with everything else. You definitely want to purchase a plasma monitor that has really good scaling, so that you can watch 4:3 TV programs in widescreen comfortably. It is just not a good idea to leave black bars on your TV screen for prolonged periods of time, so you are probably better off watching most everything in "full screen" mode. This should not really bother you, if your TV exhibits good full-screen scaling.

Also, higher quality TVs tend to be more resistant to burn-in -- though not entirely immune to it, of course. Of the plasma displays I've owned and/or tested extensively, NEC, Sony, Pioneer, and Panasonic seemed least prone to burn-in once their pictures were properly broken in. Even so, I would NEVER leave a static image on any plasma TV screen, regardless of quality, for more than hour. "

"The Bottom Line on Burn-In: Plasma TV burn-in is not an issue that should cause undue concern in the average user. With a modicum of caution, most plasma TVs will probably never have a problem with image retention. A viewer may experience temporary ghosting, but this is certainly not cause for alarm. In truth, carelessness -- i.e., not paying attention to what your TV is displaying and for how long -- is really the leading "cause" of permanent burn-in. "

Found what seems to be a reasonable answer...

"As for the specific life spans of individual plasma display units, most manufacturers contend that their TVs last approximately 30,000 hours before reaching their half-lives under "normal" viewing conditions (i.e., with the CONTRAST set at around 50%). Recently, several manufacturers, most notably Sony and Panasonic, have begun to claim that their newest plasma display panels now have half-lives of 60,000 hours. I, for one, am a bit skeptical of such assertions, if only because this would represent a 100% increase in the life of the product. While I realize that much is being done to increase the life spans of plasma TVs (such as increasing the resiliency of green phosphors), I'll believe these figures when I see them achieved in real life, not just theoretically.

From the consumer's perspective, though, the 30,000-hour figure should be comforting, since this is about how long CRTs last. Let's put all this in perspective: Assuming the average American household watches 4 to 6 hours of television per day, a plasma display will last between 13 and 20 years. If you think about it, that's quite a bit of bang for your buck."

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The digital audio and the TV picture from the home theater are not in sync. Have digital audio and component video running. Any help?

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Thanks so much ... that was what I was looking for, but apparently Sony doesn't have that on the 5 disc models.

Appreciate you taking the time, though.

You're welcome, Chip, and this information was very helpful and reassuring.

Of course, frustratingly, when watching HD/Digital signals that are not in widescreen - such as much of what appears on the HD/Digital channels of local network affiliates - sadly, most plasma sets (at least my Sony...) won't let you adjust the set's "wide mode" feature at all - and your are stuck with the black bars... Funny, you'd think that one of the advantages of being in the digital domain would be a greater ability to adjust the picture rather than a lesser ability (or a complete loss of that ability) to adjust the width of the picture... especially as loss of that ability so obviously increases the potential exposure to burn-in problems...

There once was this super awesome receiver Technics made in the early

90s. I was not able to acquire such a unit at the time, but that's all different now. I know it's old, and there is much better stuff out there for far cheaper, but I fell in love with this "King-Kong" machine. Most will remember the Technics SA-TX50 as it looks similar to the one I'm looking for (it is also the only thing that will show a photo in a google search). The differences are that the TX50 has a charcoal cabinet and the TX1000 has a pale gold finish. The TX1000 was much bigger and had the labels THX & Class H+ I'm looking for this unit and will not stop until I have one.