Tip from by Mr Bob: "Well, I've
now seen one of the new ones which don't allow us into the Designer menu anymore. At
least not the way they used to, and I don't know any other way to get in. Therefore,
no user center calibrations for Color and Tint - on either NTSC or HD - and definitely no
STCs or QA02 resets.
On the positive side, it uses a new, non-glossy surface on the fresnel lens inside. All
fresnels I have seen before this one have had a glossy surface which I have always
suspected of possibly reflecting light back into the optical cavity. This one has a flat,
non-glossy surface. Slanted light patterns will definitely not be reflected back in full,
as before.
Unfortunately, it was daytime during the glare screen removal op, and even tho I tried
it with and without the glare screen moved to the back of the stack, I couldn't see any
difference in the reflection of the Pluge pattern from VE, with and without a surface that
was glossy. Perhaps someone out there will test out this new design during nighttime
viewing, and report in what they find. Stacy Driver, you out there?
Another strange thing about this unit is that when the color level is turned completely
off, for greyscale purposes, the dark areas turn a bright green. And I'm not talking a
subtle shade of green - I'm talking a bright garish green, which increases the more you
turn the color down, until with color at absolute minimum, the darks are positively
glowing with kryptonite green.
As such, I doublechecked the greyscale at the normal color level, and it's just fine!
Never seen this one before. I've seen the greyscale change in response to the Brightness
being turned up or down, but never the color level. So I left the greyscale calibrated to
D6500K at the given, blue filter test calibrated color level, and left it at that. We
always calibrate whatever needs calibrating at the ideal levels everywhere - which often
requires lots of back and forth, due to massive interaction activity among the levels
involved - so I left the greyscale as it was, plus the other levels. At ideal levels,
everything looked exactly as it should, so I was satisfied. I just like to turn the color
level down when doing greyscales - it gets rid of the rainbowing often present in the dark
areas, making them clean and unbusy - and was not allowed to do so on this occasion.
Otherwise, the picture turned out as all the Toshibas I've done always have - delectable.
One point.
If you're going to remove the very rigid and therefore structurally supportive glare
screen in toto - like I ultimately did, just on the off chance that the dull surface of
the fresnel lens that faces the mirror DOES minimize internal optical cavity reflections -
there will be lots of slop in the fitting of how the frame holds the now relatively flimsy
screen pack, exacerbated by the fact that the lens pack does not arrive having been taped
together at all. AND taping just the fresnel and lenticular together, with the rigid glare
screen no longer present in that stack, will not help with the pack's new spinelessness
and lack of rigidity anyway, once the glare screen is removed in toto.
The worst bend will occur 1/3 of the way from the bottom, where the screen pack settles
in, leaning back towards the mirror the most. I suggest you shim it at that point from the
back, to support that particular bend. Doing so will keep everything flat, if not
totally pasted up against the frame itself. I folded up half of a discarded envelope for
each side. If you fold it up enough, none of it will show up in your picture.
Also, the frame no longer falls apart when you take out all the screws necessary to
remove the screen pack. Now you don't have to undo the corners at all. I did, just out of
habit, but found out later that I didn't need to. The side and top and bottom supports are
all you have to remove now, to get the screen pack out and dealt with.
If you turn the frame up on its side, so that it will be taller and easier to work
with, BE CAREFUL because the screen pack - even as a triple layer pack - will immediately
try to topple out, with even the relatively rigid glare screen being very flexible when
held in that direction, being in that position a very "leggy" 2 to 1 height to
width ratio, at 16x9 measurements. I almost lost it, and it will scratch very easily if it
gets away from you and hits something you don't want it touching.
