My father just bought an obnoxiously HUGE television (I think it’s a 64" or something like that), and gave us his old 9yro BIG (54") screen. It works great, but the picture is hazy. DeathLlama opened up the back, and saw the three projection bulbs are covered in a fine but thick layer of white dust; the mirror also has a haze to it.
We’re wondering what would be best for cleaning the bulbs. I know not to use anything ammonia-based, like Windex. What about camera lens cleaner? Or, DeathLlama has some sort of product he uses on his car windows that is purportedly not ammonia-based and is streak free. Could that work?
I gotta say, we’re not the big screen type. We were happy with our little 15yro 25" screen, but it’s hard to turn down something free. I feel obligated to host a Super Bowl party now.
I have a 47 inch RCA projection tv, about ten years old now. It is humongous compared to what you can buy now but the damn thing works great and hasn’t cost me a dime in repairs. I secretly keep hoping it does croak and I can go HD but nope, it keeps humming along.
What I jumped in to say is that once a year, just before Super Bowl, so any time now, I pop the back off and clean the bulbs and mirror with a few clean, damp, soft and particularly important, lint-free cloths. I’ve never used any “special” cleaners and this approach seems to work quite well. Terry cloth seems to work well. I use old bath towels.
I likely don’t have to say this but be sure to let the bulbs cool first. :eek:
I used a combination of your recommendations: we first used canned air to blow the worst of the dust off the bulbs, then used a microfiber cloth to wipe the mirror, then used a slightly damp mircofiber cloth on the bulbs before a final dry cloth wipe.
Voila! Significantly brighter image. We still need to use all the adjustments and whatnot to get the best color balance and focus, but it’s an awesome pic now.
It’s ridiculously huge, though. Seriously. It has SUCH a place of prominence in the house, I feel like I should be lighting candles around it and sacrificing goats before it.
And yup, DeathLlama has agreed–we are now required to host a Super Bowl party. Nevermind we have no idea who’s in the playoffs or even when the SB is, but as the Friends with the Giant Screen, it is a moral imperative.