# Why does it take so long for a TV to warm up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218 "2002-05-04T05:03:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/1 "2002-05-04T05:03:57Z")
When you turn on a television set. What the heck is going on that it takes 10-15 seconds to see a picture? For Christ sake, a set manufactured in the 2002 takes just as long to “warm up” as a set made in 1960. What goes on once you turn it on that it takes so long to be functional? (Yes 15 seconds is a long time. It’s the 21st century for crying out loud!) They used to make “instant on” sets. Whatever happened to them? ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/2 "2002-05-04T05:46:57Z")
The picture tube in your set is a \ vacuum tube that requires heat to operate. There’s a heater inside the tube to do the job, but it takes a few seconds to get it going. The old instant on sets kept the heating filament on even when the set was turned off, but the old timers I know in the repair biz have told me that they were inefficient, or a fire hazard, or both… I don’t know if they really were a fire hazard, but I could believe the inefficiency… ---
**Author:** ![Waldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Waldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waldo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/3 "2002-05-04T08:02:55Z")
My tv was free out of a friend’s garage, and looks to have been made in the mid 80s. It doesn’t take any time at all to warm up. I don’t know what you’re talking about. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/4 "2002-05-04T13:15:42Z")
I have changed the title of this thread from **Why does it take so long…** to **Why does it take so long for a TV to warm up?** In the future please choose more descriptive thread titles. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/5 "2002-05-04T13:49:09Z")
I have a new Toshiba 27" TV and it takes about 4 seconds for the picture to appear. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![hammerbach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hammerbach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hammerbach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/6 "2002-05-04T15:07:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Waldo \* > \*\*My tv was free out of a friend’s garage, and looks to have been made in the mid 80s. It doesn’t take any time at all to warm up. I don’t know what you’re talking about. \*\* Here’s the first relevant google result I found: [Instant-on TVs](http://www.fpl.com/savings/hes/contents/instant_on_color_televisions.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/7 "2002-05-04T15:31:30Z")
Note that if you have an “instant on” tv and its plugged into a cable box and you use the cable box on/off to turn your set on/off then you no longer have an “instant on” tv. Yet another reason why tvs with this feature are no longer a good idea. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/8 "2002-05-04T17:14:56Z")
My 32" Toshiba takes approx 4-6 seconds to fill to full brightness from a cold start. I think you might want to look into different brands if your set is taking 15 seconds or possibly switch to decaf. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2002, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/9 "2002-05-04T23:45:11Z")
You can call the manf & ask them. Maybe you can get an exchange if its new & takes too long? ---
**Author:** ![Natural-J-Bankie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Natural-J-Bankie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Natural-J-Bankie)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/10 "2002-05-05T06:32:56Z")
You could plop down the big bucks on a plasma tv, or a nice large LCD monitor for the computer and add a TV tuner. Course any decent new TV sould only take 4-6 like others have mentioned before. My 27" Sony is like this. It’s about 2 years old. My 16+ year old 19" Hitachi also takes only a few seconds to warm up. It has a few other problems, but it still warms up quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Waldo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Waldo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waldo)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2002, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-it-take-so-long-for-a-tv-to-warm-up/107218/11 "2002-05-05T08:16:04Z")
I take it back. I make it to be about 4 seconds. I never noticed, I guess because I was involved in sitting down while the picture was black.