51H84 Cropped Heads

[nabulldog]

The only complaint I have about this set is that I have to watch most of the broadcast stations in the Theater 1 or Theater 2(Ex. E.R.) mode in order to eliminate the grey or black bars and prevent any burn-in. I have ordered the Digital Video Essentials DVD in hopes that I might be able to adjust the overscan enough that Theater 1 will not crop off the top of heads.

I have read a great deal on some of the forums about burn-in and there seems to be some confusion. The majority state that you need to eliminate the bars, then some say if it is part of the broadcast( such as E.R. 16:9) then you won't get the burn. Others are changing the bar color from grey to black. Some are saying the Black bars are woarse than grey bars as to the severity of Burn-In. Since there is so much confusion I am just keeping the bars off all together.

In addition to Broadcast Stations I also get the bars watching DVDs which are 16:9. The black bars are on the top and bottom of the screen. I either have to zoom in on the picture(DVD picture option) if I want to watch in HD format or switch to one of the 3 Theater settings to get rid of the Bars. The heads again get cropped.

Is it possible to adjust the TVs HIT so the heads aren't cropped and still maintain a decent proportioned picture?

Out of the Box Service Setting for my TV. As you can see I have some Functional Descriptions but most are not there. Any additional Descriptions would be appreciated.

Toshiba 51H84 Service Settings attachment:
Nice, good for keeping track of your sets orig and new service mode settings.

[David Meek]

Hi William, welcome to The Guide. :welcome:

I'm not a Toshiba-guy so I can't help there, but do have to agree with you in that no bars are the best idea based on your choices. That way you generally keep the logo icon off the screen which is IMO the worst offender for burn-in. Grrrrr.

I do have a CRT-type RPTV - Pioneer Elite 610 and if I do have to display bars, they are the gray colored ones. I haven't had any burn-in from them - knock on wood - but really only feed my set 16:9 material (95% or so).

[Shane Martin]

I do have a CRT Based set as well..

In addition to Broadcast Stations I also get the bars watching DVDs which are 16:9. The black bars are on the top and bottom of the screen.

That's because of the different aspect ratios. Alot of movies are filmed 2.35:1 as opposed to the format in which HD adopted which is 1.78:1. I've been watching widescreen movies with black bars for the longest time and as long as your set is calibrated don't worry about the black bars. Sure you can zoom away them but you are further distorting the image and basically watchign the film as it wasn't intended. Directors choose different aspect ratios to show more of the film on certain instances.

Most action flicks typically are 2.35 and certain directors will only use this ratio. Most Comedies are 1.85 which means no black bars for you. Disney is using 1.78 or 1.66 on alot of their stuff so no black bars there either.

Just because the movie says "Enhanced for 16x9 TV's" doesnt' mean you don't get black bars.

The cropped heads is a result of you zooming widescreen material. You may also want to mess with the different zoom modes to determine which ones work for you best. The gradual stretch on my Mits is very very slight so I can't relate but perhaps one of the Toshiba gurus here(like Trev or Bing) could help.

For 4x3 non HD stuff, you shouldn't have too much of an issue with cropped heads unless you are dealing with a poor zoom mode(I can't imagine the Toshibas have these though). For widescreen non HD, then just watch it in the normal aspect ratio with black bars. The burn in possibilities there are minimal at best. I knwo I've watched widescreen on my previous sets for the last 10 years w/o issues. I know my friend watched widscreen movies almost exclusively since he bought it nearly 14 years ago.

As long as you keep it calibrated via AVIA or DVE you are fine with regards to black bar burn in. I was more worried about grey bar burn in so I just use the gradual stretch modes on my Mits. Logos are a worry but not so much anymore IMHO unless you leave it on one station for 8-10 hrs a day on end like CNN for instance.

[David Meek]

I've been watching widescreen movies with black bars for the longest time and as long as your set is calibrated don't worry about the black bars.

Oh duh. . . ops: Sorry I wasn't clearer there. I was referring to the side bars. The top/bottom bars on my set when viewing something wider than 1.78:1 are black - just like everyone else's. Double duh. ops:

Logos are a worry but not so much anymore

Shane, why is that? Has something been done recently to counteract them?

[Shane Martin]

As they get better at designing the look of the logos, it won't be so much of an issue like transparent ones. Really unless you watch one particular channel for a long time, it shouldn't matter if your set is calibrated.

If you watch alot of CNN and for mega hours of a day, I'd worry then.

They are still a worry depending on the design but companies are getting smarter about these. Some arent' like Spike TV for instance...

[BlazeMaster]

I'll 2nd the idea of getting it calibrated. I have my done by using Digital Essential w/ the best results by my eyes. One day I'll get it ISF'd, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results when watching DVDs. I have a Panasonic 53 RPTV, it MSRPed for $1500. But I got it for 1500$ including the 5 year extended warranty. Pretty good deal, thought about upgrading to digital RP or FP, but since this TV is still perfectly good, I'll save my money. I had my for a little bit over a year, haven't seen any burn-in at all.