Static Cling

[NOTE: I think I finally figured out what my problem was. I think a lot of HT-philes will get a kick out of this... read on to the bottom of the page. ]

Hey, all! Just picked up a 32" Sony Wega, the KV-32FS12 model, from Best Buy... it's very nice. I also have the Sony SA-VE315 surround sound system... five small satellite speakers and a subwoofer, and all shielded according to Sony. I had the center channel on top of my 8-or-so-year-old 21" Toshiba (which still has a good picture, but I bought the Wega to have a bigger TV), and I didn't notice any color distortion on the Toshiba set.

When I got my Wega, I waited the appropriate amount of time for the set to warm up, plugged it in, turned it on, calibrated it with THX Optimode... and it looked beautiful. Turned it on again later that night, and the colors turned kinda wonky... went to the THX Optimode again, and noticed in the SMPTE color bars test pattern that there were a lot of turquoise blues and red-orange colors, but not a lot of greens or yellows. I pulled the center channel off the TV and put it off to the side, waited for about 15 minutes, and the colors improved a little, but they're not back to how they looked originally. One tech I talked to said I should return the set to Best Buy... or, rather, have BB come out and get it and bring out a new set. Another tech said that I just needed someone to degauss (?... something to do with demagnetizing, right?) my set.

Some questions:
1) What do you think the problem is? Magnetic mess-ups, or something else? What should I do about it?
2) Is putting a shielded, center channel speaker directly on top of the TV appopriate?
3) Is there any way to improve the shielding of speakers?

Thanks a bunch!

- Mike

[Edited by michael_sharma on 03-10-01 at 07:54 AM]

Cardiff Giant11

the Wegas have an automatic degauss function so unless you exposed them to something like a giant electro magnet you shouldn't need it to be degaussed From the sound of it sounds like something else is wrong with your set but i can't say what. Try powering it off for a while then turning it on, it should degauss. Then check the color bars to see if they are messed up still.

juice21

I would geuss that your speakers are as sheilded as they need to be, and I doubt a small center would affect the color of your whole screen, you will usually notice discoloration in only the top 4" or less of the screen. It might be a pain in the a**, but I would say you got a fluke unit from sony, and you should return it to BB for a new one. I have had tons of problems with sony products, and that is why I now stay away from them, except for their Tv's, you just can't beat them, but they still have flukes, so you best best is to haul it back and get another one. Good luck!

Static Cling

I was gone all weekend, so I left the TV off... came back, turned it on, and the colors were just as messed up as they were when I left. And, no, the discoloration was all over the screen... so maybe it is something more than my speakers "not being shielded enough," which just doesn't sound right to me... I'm no HT tech or anything, but still. :P Thankfully, I got the BB extended warranty... yes, I know most electronic equipment fails within the manufacturer's warranty, but I was more concerned about having to lug a 32" WEGA everywhere... I'm pretty sure that, with the warranty, they'll take care of transporting it and delivering a replacement when there's a problem. Didn't know about the auto-degauss... that's neat! I have heard of WEGAs having color problems... but I figure that I'll eventually get a good unit.

Static Cling

Interesting...

So, last night, I say, "Screw it, I'm going to watch a movie, and maybe the colors will be off, but oh well." I put my center channel speaker underneath my TV, in the shelving area in my TV stand. Movie finishes, I turn off the DVD, and I'm flipping through channels, when I think to myself, "Hmmm... the colors are looking pretty good..." So I pop in my Fight Club DVD, turn on the THX Optimode, go to the SMPTE color bars, and lo and behold, the colors are back to normal. How weird! Maybe it's the auto-degauss that dfbennett mentioned...?

Static Cling

Yes, it's me again, posting in my thread. I've seen the colors go from normal to weird, back to normal, back to weird, back to normal... today, it did the weird, normal switch again. What gives? I haven't moved my center channel speaker since I placed it below my TV. Any suggestions?

asabase

Sounds like an electron gun is failing. My monitor is doing the same thing, but it costs $25 to ship and they've "repaired" it once already. Note to self: Never buy an ADI monitor again. [/rant]

juice21

Return it! You should take it back and get a replacement. This would probably be easier then trying to trouble shoot it everyday until it stops happening, if you even can. It's probably a fluke, so I would just take it back and exchange it. Most likely the next one, (hopefully) will work flawlessly.

Static Cling

Well, it's not that I have to "troubleshoot" it... I just put up with it until the colors go back to normal. But, yeah, it is kind of silly for me to spend $900 on a TV and have the colors go wonky every other day. I'm gonna call Sony again and see what they have to say, I think.

juice21

Well, I guess 'trobleshiooting' it isn't the right word, but for $900, you should be able to turn it on, hit play, and just sit back and watch a great picture! I am suprised how huge sony is, with how many 'flukes' they put out on the market. I have had at least 5 sony products that I have had problems with, and that's why I don't even buy sony, except for TV's, but even then your taking a chance. Hope this works out for you!

Kromax

What are you waiting for? You bought a defective TV. Take it back to the store from whom you made the purchase. Why mess around with repairs? You deserve better.

Static Cling

So, since I didn't feel like bugging my friends to help me lug my 32" WEGA into Best Buy, I had a tech come in and take a look at the set... unfortunately, he came in when the set was looking good. He said that there's nothing with the TV that can cause what I was describing... either the parts fail, or they're good... they don't go back and forth like I was describing.

Then, I realize that even though my TV's colors look weird sometime when I'm playing my DVDs, when I swith to cable or VCR, the colors look fine. So I'm like, "Dangit, if it ain't one Sony product, it's ANOTHER!" So, I'm ready to take my DVD player in today, when I think of something. Normally, I have my DVD video going through component cables into my TV. But I connected a composite video cable from my DVD to my TV, and lo and behold, the color is fine.

So, who was the culprit? That's right... my $69.99 Monster component video cables. I can't believe it either. I went to Best Buy and exchanged the cables, and problem solved. I want to be mad, but I just think it's so funny... it wasn't my $900 TV, or my $200 DVD player... it was my stupid cables.

[Edited by michael_sharma on 03-19-01 at 02:11 PM]