Projection TV's & video games ??

[Masco73]

I am sure this has been covered before, but I can't get a definite answer. Does playing video games on your big screen damage it??

I have seen alot of game room pics where people have stuff hooked up to big screens. Also, I remember my brother playing through the whole n64 shadow man, perfect dark, goldeneye,etc games on his 52 inch. I don't think it ever had a problem.
However, in many of the books(video game manuals and tv manuals) it says may cause damage.

Is there an answer to this or is it play at your own risk?? Has anyone here ever damaged the tv by doing this.

Thanks for any help!

[Raedon]

Big screen projection TV's can burn in if you play a game where the score is white and in one location for a long period of time. This was true of older projection TV's from the early to mid 90's (I have seen proof of that.) No Idea on the HDTV's.

[Sylentwulf]

I'd LOVE to know the answer as well, I play a lot of RPG's and I'm planning on getting a 47" Panasonic HDTV widescreen, and I MIGHT keep my systems hooked up to my current 32" (DOUBTFUL, but if I think it is actually GOING to hurt my new TV....

Let's say it DOES burn in, is there any way to replace the screen? Or is it not at all cost effective to do so?

[Raedon]

the burn in doesn't happen on the screen part itself. It happens in the RGB projectors you can fix it with new projectors but that costs as much as a new TV. This is the older TV's agian.. I haven't had a friend who played a newer console on a Projection tv for more then an hour in over 5 years.

[Lexicon]

We have a Sony 61" HDTV we've had for almost a year now and routinely play 3 or more hours a day on it. No sign of burn in at all. The salesperson who sold it to me told me it was mainly a problem on older projection TVs of course who knows for sure whether to believe him or not.

[biggamer]

my 72'' takes up to 12hrs game abuse daily and i see no problems whatsoever!

[Sylentwulf]

Best Answer I've found.

Q:
I recently purchased a Hitachi 50EX39R projection TV, and was wondering if it's safe to play video games on it? The reason why I ask is because there's a warning in the Sony Playstation manual which states: "Unless your projection TV is an LCD type, do not connect your "PlayStation" to it without first referring to the user manual for the TV. Failure to do so may cause permanent damage to the TV screen." So would you happen to have any advice as to whether it would be safe to hook up a Sony Playstation to this projection TV?

A:
With your TV set in its default contrast position, video games can damage your TV, so can MSNBC, the home shopping network, and anything else that displays a fixed logo on the screen. If you want to play video games on your TV, you need to use Video Essentials or Avia to properly adjust the contrast setting. By doing that you will:

1. Get longer life from your TV

2. Probably get more detail from the picture because it is no longer blooming.

3. Be able to watch TV and play games without worrying about damaging your TV.

The bottom line though is just turn the brightness and contrast down from the way it is set as default when you first brought it home and turned it on.

[ashbourn]

The only thing is burn in with older tv's but more 5 years old or newer will not have a problem.