New TV just delivered. A Philips 21PT5409.

First thoughts: they don't make 'em like they used to! Build quality is not a patch on an old 21" Philips (though that cost considerably more over a decade ago).

All a bit cheap and plasticky though I guess not too bad for £120.

Picture seems to be OK.

However, even on taking the TV out of the box, I noticed that the centre of the screen appears brighter than the edges.

When actually watching TV it's not noticeable but when you get the plain black screen for a brief second switching between channels, you can see that the centre is a bit brighter than the edges. Same with Ceefax.

And you can see it quite clearly when the set is turned off.

Not a major issue but is this a quirk of the real flat tube or is it a problem that TVs can suffer from?

Thanks.

[ninjafeel1970]

sounds like a faulty shadow mask in the tube.

[mike7]

I've seen several sets like this when I was out looking for a 'bedroom' set for a friend. It seems pretty common. We settled on a Bush which was the same as yours. My guess is that there are few sources of 21" CR Tubes these days as manufacture of them has wound down and maybe they all come from the same source, hence the common problem. It doesn't seem to make difference when switched on.

Thanks.

I also noticed that the picture of the TV at Argos also shows this effect: http://www.argos.co.uk/wcsstore/argo...5UC256120X.jpg

But it's not noticeable watching TV and, if you watch the TV in total darkness, you can't really see it even when the screen is totally dark. So perhaps might also be an issue with reflections.

I guess you can't expect perfection on a £120 TV. You do wonder how much profit Philips must make on something like this.