[rkb]

Hi

I've just seriously improved black level performance on my 3yr old Tosh 46WHO8b by cleaning the 3 light guns and mirror. I can hardly believe the difference.

Although very pleased with the TV, when compared to my mates 51" tosh, I thought something was lacking despite using AVIA etc.

Previous threads and other tweak sites had mentioned things like lining the inside of the TV with black material and cleaning the mirror to improve black levels- black material is too much hassle for me, but I thought the cleaning would be worth a try. It was!

By popping off the speaker grilles you can unscrew the fixings for the screen. The screen is "hinged" at the top- ie a lip on the screen frame sits in a recess on the top edge of the TV cabinet. By easing the screen out at the bottom and lifting up, the screen comes off- store it carefully!

Lean into the TV- you will see the 3 upwards pointing coloured guns. They looked clean and a blast of canned air didn't shift anything- but a damp finger on the glass of the gun left a shiny spot- showing how opaque the remainder was. Using a damp microfibre cloth (for cleaning camera lens) i was able to restore the guns to a clean shiny finish. I then cleaned the mirror- it's awkward as it is downwards sloping and it can be hard to see streaks as you polish.

Put the screen back on and you should be amazed by the difference in black levels. I suspect anyone with a RPTV over a year old will have enough build up on the lenses to show a significant improvement by cleaning. Let me know if anyone else has tried this and how your results were.

Cheers

rkb

[Zacabeb]

While on the subject, it should be stressed that when cleaning the lenses, one should never use solvents of any kind, as the lenses may be made out of a plastic compound covered with an anti-reflective coating. This might get damaged by solvents.

Cleaning is a good idea though. Some RPTV's may still also need to have their coolant replaced every so often (my old Philips set needed it every other year), as the glycol tends to turn dirty with fungus growth. Dirty coolant results in fuzziness and dark or even bright blobs in the picture.

Be careful with the screen too, as these screens are so expensive you wouldn't believe it. When a service center scratched the screen for my 41" Philips set, they had to replace it and the new screen cost them about £500(!). They stopped servicing RPTV's altogether after that incident...