I'm planning to buy the following TV.

Does anyone if this TV and playing video games can damage the screen such a burn in or other problems.


http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/...Review.do#tabs

Rear-projection CRTs and plasmas are vulnerable to burn-in, although it's not as bad as it was in the early days. If you're planning on playing marathon game sessions with a health display on screen or something, you might want to consider a rear-projection DLP or LCD, or wait a bit for SED (flat panel CRTs) to get cheaper.

(Edited to say that the last part was a joke. It'll be a long time before SEDs are under $1000.)

What would be a marathon gaming session (length)?

I plan to turn my contrast and brightness down to help alleviate potential problems, and while it's pretty rare I'd go on a 5+ hr gaming session (lack of time), sometimes on weekends on holidays I might pull one off without thinking.

Well than as long as you also watch some other type of material such as DVD or TV and not just 5 hours of gaming you'll be fine.

You are right this is not only exclusive to gaming, I'm going to be watching TV and DVD movies and I don't play more than 3 hours of gaming anymore like I use to. I use to play all day but I'm losing interest in gaming that sometimes I play for about an hour and quit.

by the way does anyone think this is a good price for a TV of this brand. I had my eye on a better more expensive flat screen HDTV but I can't afford paying $3000 + so for now this is all I can afford.

Its a good idea not to have anything stationary up on the screen for long periods of time. I worry about those bugs the stations put in the corner. The last thing I want is some network logo burnt into my screen.

I know you want a 51" for that low low price, but don't do it. CRT sets are NOT for the average consumer. If you are playing a lot of video games then you are in an even worse position. You want an LCD, or a LCD-RP or DLP-RP set. Those technologies will be the most like your good old Tv; you can use them any way you want and not worry about them at all.

Thank You all for the advise.

I'm not going to buy it and I'll wait for a better TV.

I'm sorry, but this is 100% paranoid crap. Now, I doubt that Philips is very good, I haven't been impressed with their TVs. But that is a manufacturer issue, not technology.

"Good old" TVs were also CRT. Why didn't people have gobs of trouble with them burning-in? Because it isn't that bad of an issue. It is worse for CRT projection than for a direct-view, but let's be realistic. And the DLP/LCD are nothing like the good old CRT directviews. They have a very different look, any CRT model looks much more like the analog TVs.

The rules:
Turn the contrast down as soon as you get a TV. Use a test disc or one of the THX Optimizers from any DVD movie claiming THX to get the picture settings a little better. Be cautious for the first 200 hours of usage, this is a break in period where the CRTs are more susceptible. After that, if you keep contrast correct and you don't leave anything on pause for more than a couple minutes, you can do whatever you want to a CRT TV. I used to play original NES games for hours on my dad's RPTV. No problems whatsoever. And today's games are much less of a problem with constantly moving graphics.

Yup Spiky is correct. The worries of burn in are overstated. Can it happen? Yes. Did it happen in the past? Yes. But those it happened to never reduced their contrast from it's maximum setting and the manufacturers have made changes in design that also reduces it. These days people are more aware of how to treat these TVs and once they do it's a nonissue. My Mits is 4 years old and many of those years have had either black bars from 2.35:1 AR DVDs, grey bars from using the Narrow mode for 4:3 TV or video gaming on the Xbox or PS2. I adjusted the user settings with Avia when I first bought it and last year I had it professionally calibrated. This TV is in better shape now than when I bought it.

The worries in burn ARE a bit exaggerated now-a-days, but it can happen. Some people just feel more comfortable spending their cash on something that pretty much won't have it happen. I don't see anything wrong with that. But I'd only consider calibrating your TV if you truly have a problem with your image. I mean in some cases it can give you much much better results, in some cases, some people feel like it wasn't much of a change. Use the Avia or DVD Essentials to setup your contrast and colors and white levels, and if you still feel like you need a little more from your picture, go for calibrating the TV. It's a lot of money and may not be worth it to you.

Thanks for the advice guys!

Now if they would just make a disc or something to reburn the screen to its original state.

Hmm. Like an inverse Fox News disc? Or inverse QVC?

Exactly. Unless you leave your contrast cranked way up and leave your xbox paused for hours on end, day after day, you will likely never have a problem. CRT offers the best bang for the buck right now, with the best picture to boot. I am considering replacing my RPTV with a DLP to get the big box out from in between my speakers (I feel like it's making my system boomy), but I can't bring myself to do it yet.

I would look around to see if you can get a better set for the money, although you will probably have to drop down to 48". If you can find a Mits 48 inch from last year for that price, grab it. No offense, but every Phillips RPTV I have seen was awful compared to a Mits or Hitachi.

Geez, Bob. It's 1 am. Go to bed.

Geez, it's 1:15, you go to bed.

Only 12:15 here. That's like, normal. And I'm already in bed.

Damn you and your central time. Going to bed. If anyone asks any HT questions in the next hour, cover for me.