"Gray Bars"
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The gray bars are there to stop burn in on some TV's , mostly the older models. Many of the new models claim that they do not have burn in.
Burn in is when your watching a 4.3 movie on a 16.9 screen for long periods of time, sometimes it's a Logo that's too strong that can get burn in as well.
Bill
Burn in is when your watching a 4.3 movie on a 16.9 screen for long periods of time, sometimes it's a Logo that's too strong that can get burn in as well.
Bill
I have my SD channels set to gray bars, because 1) my HDTV is a CRT rear projector and 2) it helps me differentiate between SD and HD channels without pressing the info button.
If you have a CRT or plasma TV and aren't using gray bars... you'll be soooooorry. 
If you have an LCD flat-panel TV, there is no real problem so gray bars are unneccessary.
See ya
Tony
If you have an LCD flat-panel TV, there is no real problem so gray bars are unneccessary.
See ya
Tony
I've had a CRT for the past 5 or so years and have never stretched the SD picture or used the grey bars settings. I have zero burn in at all. As long as you have your TV set up right there is really no excuse for burn in.
"set up right" ?? What you do mean ?? Other than making sure the brightness isn't cranked, i.e. "torch mode", I don't know what set up you are referring to.
Exactly. The most important thing is the brightness, but you can still make the picture look awesome without leaving it in "torch mode"
I gave noticed that even with the gray bars on my Mits CRT RPTV, I can see a slight difference in the 4:3 and 16:9 areas. I have my eye on the new 1080p Samsung LED DLP 56" set, so I'm not too worried at this point. When the price comes down another $500, the burn should be bad enough that even my wife will notice and ask about it.
Do you mean brightness or contrast? I always thought it was having the contrast/picture set too high that would damage your tv.
These guys seem to have some pretty good reviews of TV's and include in the reviews the settings (brightness, contrast, etc.) used after having them calibrated. I use these settings and the picture looks pretty darn good, although at first it looked really different but I quickly liked the suggested settings here better:
LCD TV Buying Guide: LCD TV Reviews and Buying Advice, Find the Best LCD Television
Plasma TV Buying Guide: Offers Plasma Television, DLP TV and LCD TV Buying Tips
Projector Buying Guide: Tips for LCD and DLP Projectors
First let me state, I AM NO EXPERT. This is how I adjust my TVs in my house and it seems to work well for me. Your mileage will vary.
Contrast is really a "white level" and brightness is really a "black level". Theoretically you should adjust your brightness (in a dark room with a dark picture like between commercials) to the point where your screen starts to look gray, then turn it down just a bit. Then watch a normal channel (whatever you watch) and adjust the contrast so that the picture doesn't wash out or blind you (torch mode). Adjusting the contrast is going to vary depending on your room lighting....daytime or nighttime. For instance since my master bedroom tends to be dark I've adjusted the contrast down on that TV so that I don't sunburn my face and leave permanent shadows on the walls. It works well for me.
Also, people that watch a lot of 1 channel that has the ticker scrolling along the bottom (like sports or news channels) can cause burn in.
The gray bars are supposed to be easier on your screen than the black, but many times I notice there still might be a very narrow black strip between the gray and the picture (that picture isn't perfectly centered), and that too can cause burn in.
I remember reading somewhere though that burn in is most prevelent in the first X number of hours of a new TV, but I don't remember what those hours are or where I read that. Apparently the chance of it occurring lessens over time.
I didn't want to chance it so I went with LCD. Plus, I have a bright room and there's much less glare with LCD. Although Plasma has it's advantages too...
The only advantage plasmas have is that they are brighter. They suffer from a "screen door effect" i.e. the picture looks like it has mosquito netting over it. All plasmas have this issue. The clarity and color transitions also arent as good as a good LCD or DLP. I've never seen a plasma TV that looks as good as the cheapest DLP. IMHO they're an overpriced, underperforming technology.
I had an old SD projection TV that had Fox News Channel's logo and flag burned in after 9/11. It is no longer an issue since being replaced by an HD LCD set.
My smaller 32" CRT HD has a definite black bar burn and is annoying but watchable as a secondary work hours television. [FONT="]I don't care much as the unit will eventually be replaced but I wouldn't black bar it again.
Go gray bar, as ugly as it is!
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