I got a 27" flat screen (screen is flat, not a thin tv) for dirt cheap and it has one minor problem - the picture acts like it is zoomed in. In other words it cuts off all the edges of the picture by maybe 2 inches which really sucks watching games that you can't see the score.

Is there a cheap way to fix that? I found online how to access the servicer's menu and that didn't help much. There is no horizontal or vertical sizing on the regular menu. Any help would be much appreciated.

12/16/2005 4:38:48 AM

are there different view modes (like a "zoom" mode, "wide","4:3", etc?). what brand of tv is it?

12/16/2005 6:06:11 AM

^Like he said. Look for any buttons on the remote control that say "view" or "mode" or something like that. The button for my TV looks like a square with a plus in the middle of it (kind of like a crosshair), so it might be the same on yours. These different modes are usually so you can watch widescreen movies without the black bars on the top and bottom.

12/16/2005 7:13:00 AM

Its a Zenith, bought in 1999. The model # is iqb27fw. There are no zoom modes or any way to change the dimensions (4:3, 16:9). I'm not sure if I got a different remote with a zoom if it would help at all. If it did happen to be something with the inside of the tv and not the settings, how much would it be to get it fixed?

12/16/2005 12:47:25 PM

if you have the service menu, there should be an option to reset all the settings to default.

that should fix the zoom issue, if it's the result of errant button pushing.

12/16/2005 12:53:39 PM

I didn't find any option to reset the default settings. However I did make sure all the settings were set to default according to this website.

http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/brandspecific/zenith/zenith_servicemenu.html

It's a little better but the problem still exists. I have a feeling it's not because of errant button pushing. Do one of you guys that knows about how TVs are made know what might need to be fixed/replace on the inside? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to TVs. The reason I'm asking you guys of your opinion is b/c most places charge at least $25 just to look at your TV, and who knows how much to fix it. Thanks for any help!

ps - I got the TV for $20 cuz the people really needed to get rid of it. If it seems like it'd be more than say $30-$40 to fix, I can just live with it.

12/16/2005 4:14:59 PM

Juat curious, does it do the same thing from a video input, like a PS2 or xbox, or is it just the tv tuner?

12/16/2005 6:40:45 PM

yeah it does it for any input :-\

12/16/2005 7:41:34 PM

I've debugged your television and discovered the root cause of your problem.

Quote :

"I got a 27" flat screen (screen is flat, not a thin tv) for dirt cheap"

12/16/2005 8:12:22 PM

Sounds like you just have a lot of overscan....which isnt something youre going to be able to fix yourself, if at all....although Im surprised a flat screen has this problem.

12/16/2005 9:19:48 PM

Quote :

"Do one of you guys that knows about how TVs are made know what might need to be fixed/replace on the inside? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to TVs."

Don't even consider to open it up and mess around in there yourself. Best case is nothing will happen, worst care you could seriously hurt or kill yourself.

12/16/2005 9:33:08 PM

so all of this seems to sum up to - deal with it. I guess it aint that big of a deal. Unless one of ya'll fixes tvs...

12/17/2005 2:35:58 AM

unless you get lucky and there are knobs inside that allow you to adjust V/H-synch you're pretty much SOL. opening a TV (any CRT) and messing around without properly discharging the capacitor(s) can be deadly so don't try it at home unless you have very good health/life insurance.

12/17/2005 3:05:43 AM