I have a Toshiba 16x9 tube TV. It has always had a beautiful picture and that’s why I have never even considered seriously upgrading it.
On April 15, I took my TV to a repair shop because the picture had started going out intermittently but with increasing frequency and duration. They diagnosed a bad chip, and I approved the repair. On May 10, I picked the TV up and brought it home, hooked it up, and enjoyed having a picture again.
Unfortunately, the picture is now marred by the fact that the 4x3 area in the middle of the screen has been burned in. It’s most noticeable on dark scenes, when you can plainly see that the middle part of the screen is brighter and a slightly different color from the “wings” on either side.
It is perfectly obvious to me that this happened while it was in their care. I owned this TV for several years and the tube was in perfect condition when I gave it to them.
In my mind, they fixed the original problem, then fed the TV a signal to test it, possibly leaving it on for days to stress-test it, and in the process, they burned my tube.
Is this a reasonable theory?
Is there any fix for this other than insisting they pay for a new tube?
Yes, I took it in to a Sony dealer for them to replace the tube. They replaced it but messed up some other stuff that left me with a messed up picture, I called them again and they just made it worse.
Your theory seems reasonable. We always used signals that changed constantly for long-term testing, and we always used signals that filled the screen. If they weren’t doing that, they screwed up.
There’s no fix for a burned screen, so your best bet is to try to get them to replace it. Maybe it will teach them better testing practices.
It’s a CRT TV and I’m guessing it’s at least 5 years old, possibly much older. I think you’ll have a very hard time convincing them to replace the tube. They may not even be able to source a replacement at this time, and really it would probably be cheaper for them to give you a new TV. I doubt any of this will happen, although I suspect you’re ring about them burning it.
Also–and I mean no offense, KneadToKnow–I have heard customers claim that their TV has a beautiful picture many, many times when the tube was really on its last legs. (We used to say that you had to hold a candle up to the screen to see the picture.) I’m not saying you’re exaggerating the quality of the picture prior to the shop visit (for one thing, tube life had improved greatly before the advent of LCD and plasma sets), but that the shop has likely heard lots of people make such claims, and may be dismissive of them. When you talk to them about it, I recommend emphasizing quantifiable changes over how nice the picture was previously.
I can’t guess at your chances of getting a replacement (either of the tube or the set). Repair shops vary a lot. Some of them will do their best to help you, and some of them will just write you off. If you don’t ask, though, you certainly won’t get anything.