I recently acquired a large Sony rear projection TV and the colors need adjusting. I am aware of the service menu and some basic procedures, but does anyone have any tips on getting the colors as accurate as possible on these old TVs?

I am also having problems with a grainy picture on the TV from the cable. I think it may be a result of a poor signal (I am forced to use NTC). I have read about analog amplifiers and they seem to get mixed reviews. Anyone have any opinions on this?

7/7/2010 11:55:49 AM

if you dont have a colorimiter you're basically making a good guess. The lighting in your room is most likely going to wreck your color perception, so just get it close.

If you're looking to 'get it right' you'll need something like a Pantone Huey or Spyder. Most of these you either hold up to or clip a small device onto the screen. It feeds some test patterns from a laptop, then checks the color against what it should be. Lucky for you it then tells you how to correct it. Just be sure to skip over the ultra-cheap ones, they usually only have automatic setting (which will try to adjust the laptop instead of telling you what to do to fix your screen.)

7/7/2010 1:23:55 PM

well-shielded coax is a must, you probably don't need an amplifier unless the distance is over 100ft. even then the signal is only going to lose 1.4-2.0db which is less than than the typical 3db that occurs at each connection.

as for color, the easiest thing to do is get a TV/monitor that you know is color corrected already and put it next to the TV for reference. the next cheapest thing is going to be a TV configuration DVD and the most expensive is what ^ suggested.

[Edited on July 7, 2010 at 2:04 PM. Reason : .]

7/7/2010 2:02:52 PM

When I lived at USuites (6 years ago), we had to use NTC. Service was terrible. I put a 4x4 post in a 5 gallon bucket and filled it with concrete so I could mount a satellite dish out front. It was pretty awesome being the only apartment in the whole complex with ESPN-U

What I'm getting at is this - don't think you're stuck with NTC. If you've got a good view to the south-west, you can do what I did. (message_topic.aspx?topic=365356&page=1#7841745)

7/7/2010 8:01:50 PM

^ I appreciate the suggestion but I am not in a position right not to install or pay for any dish subscription.

I am now having issues with surround sound. My new 5.1 setup has an older Technics receiver with newer, Panasonic speakers. The speakers work fine in low noise setting, like when people are talking. But when action or loud noise/bass is present, they crackle and buzz. Even when I turn the bass completely off on the receiver, they speakers will crack and buzz.

I got the speakers second hand (for free) so I don't know whether they are actually blown or if the receiver is trying to push too much power to the speakers. I connected the speakers to my old boom-box and they support the sound very well without cracking or buzzing.

I don't have model numbers right now, but I can get them later tonight if anyone thinks that would help. If the speakers aren't blown, what could be causing this and how can I fix it?

7/8/2010 9:43:37 AM