[Azuma]

Apologies first for what may be a very stupid question - I have been told that the contrast setting on a large new CRT should be kept quite low for an initial period of a couple of months to avoid damaging the screen. Any truth to this?

I am just waiting on delivery of a Sony 36" wide (I'm in the colonies - NZ - so model number probably wouldn't mean anything to the UK members) which I will be primarily using to play console games - consequently I would probably set the contrast quite high to keep text sharp etc. Will this damage the set though?

Would very much appreciate any help or comments on this. Cheers ...

I was told the same thing by two engineers, but they didn't mention a time frame. 2 months sounds a bit long to me - I guess it depends how long you leave your set on for each day...... They simply told me that I should keep the contrast low at first and then gradually turn it up to the level I desired. I would've thought that the TVs would have already had a burn-in period before despatch to stores anyway...... so I wonder if it is true or if it is a great myth...........

Regarding keeping the contrast overly high, this is a sure fire way to reduce the life of the tube anyway, particularly with games (and even after any initial 2 month period). It's best to adjust contrast to your lowest tolerable point and without causing blooming (set up disks are good for this, or THX optimode on one of the THX-certified DVDs).

[Azuma]

Thanks for that Squirrel God - I guess in any event it can't hurt to make an effort to keep contrast quite low initially and yeah, I take your point about high contrast setting's causing more wear on the screen.