A little while back I was asking about what tvs to buy in the $1000 price range--well I bought the teac 76cm EU3216stf, and I've got some feedback and more questions.

Overall, for this price, the telly is great, certainly a big improvement on a 15 year old 4:3 with one RF input! The screen size is nice, not too large, quite adequate for me. The number of inputs is good; I have foxtel digital, dvd player, vrc hooked up into the back via two scarts and an RF. There is a side av input for my ps2. Would have preferred more on the back, but for this price who is arguing.

Now, some queries/complaints.

1. There is some sort of elliptical shadow/effect centred on the top right of the screen but filling the entire top third of the screen. It looks sort of like ripples on a pond. This is not generally noticeable while watching something bright, but you can definitely see it while the screen is blank or black e.g. between foxtel channels when there is no signal, watching a dark show or movie, or on ps2 games with a black background, and in the letterbox sections watching dvds. Is this normal? Is it enough to get a replacement or a tech from manufacturer to look at it?

2. Something that may not seem like a big issue, but bugs me a little. So you turn off the telly with the standby button, fine, but then in order to turn it back on you must use one of the numbered channel buttons. Is this normal in new tellies these days? It would seem better to use the standby button for off and on since it is easy to locate on the remote, while you need to spend a few seconds finding the other in the middle of the remote. Also, when turning the tv on, the volume is always set back at zero so you need to spend a second turning the tv back UP.

3. Watching pillar-boxed picture for 4:3 format shows. There is a waviness along the edge between the picture and the left and right pillarbox black sections of the screen. Most noticeable on really bright shows and channels e.g. E!. (or is this some optical illusion on my part??) There doesnt seem to be any defect along the perimeter of the actual screen of the tv as I have read elsewhere can happen--this is definitely only on pillarboxed 4:3 shows. The problem seems to be magnified when taped onto vhs...but this could be due to the quality of my vcr (an eighty dollar purchase at kmart).

4. On the back there are spots for other inputs e.g. what looks to be another scart, an s video, audio equipment, but these are covered by casing. Is this because they use a standard backing case for different tvs, or are there really more inputs behind the plastic coverings?

Thats it for now, hope this helps those with questions about this model. Thanks in advance for any advice!

gojiro

I have the earlier model EU-3280 which as far as I can tell is the same. I've had other people on here poo-poo it as a crappy Teac tv, but really the EU series is definitely a step up from the standard Teac TV's. The key point is value for money. Sure it's not the equal of a Sony or Panasonic, but they're half the price. As good as LG, Sharp and others.

Highly recommended to those not able to afford the top half of the TV world.

1. There is some sort of elliptical shadow/effect centred on the top right of the screen

Not sure about that. Mine doesn't have it.

2. .... when turning the tv on, the volume is always set back at zero

Try going into the Sound menu (red button on remote), set volume to desired level, then select Store at the bottom of this menu.


3. Watching pillar-boxed picture for 4:3 format shows. There is a waviness along the edge..

Mine does that sometimes too. This may be the Teac-ness coming out.

Thank you THANK YOU!! Pretty obvious, but ah well....the save/store option does not appear on the menu window, you need to scroll down to show it, which I had missed the first time around. Problem solved.

And you're right, apart from my few gripes listed above, the tv is good for the price.

gojiro

I am really suprised to hear this, in RetraVision they have this TV on display and that thing you describe is on that TV aswell. The sales person assured me it was a network broadcasting issue, and im like yer wahtever.

Could you tell me approximatly what your colour settings are?

My colour settings (as an approximate percentage along the length of the bar, with leftmost=0% and rightmost=100%):

BRIGHTNESS 100%
CONTRAST 90%
COLOUR 75%
SHARPNESS 25%
TILT SET AT FURTHEST POINT RIGHT ON BAR
PICTURE MODE: MANUAL
COLOUR TEMP: NORMAL
ZOOM: AUTO

That doesnt sound very good..

You really shouldnt have the brightness and contrast set at those levels - you are most likely over-driving the CRT and resulting in the geometary distortions you are seeing on the 4:3 material on the borders.. Try reducing these to around 50% and see if your still seeing distortion (contrast is the main contributor here).. Brightness is setting the black level - at 100% your blacks should be showing as grey instead of black.. Those levels are pretty much maxxing out the crt - you can cause premature aging of the set also...

I have the 66cm version and im seeing severe discolourisation on mine (and am about to call up and get a tech out).. Most noticable on 4:3 shows or shows with very dark and very light areas of the screen.. My discolourisation is mainly on the left (but extends to the right) and shows as a green discolourisation on a light or white background.. It is image sensitive - that is, much less noticable when watching a 16:9 image with equal brightness. It looks like magnetic interference, but it fades quickly.

Teac advised turning it off at the power for several nights to 'get the crt to reset' - while I did this, I knew it wouldnt make any difference as it fades by itself after a few seconds of occuring.

I also note the set is not very good at holding geometary which changes depending on the image being displayed (ie. it changes depending on how much white).. I also see some 'ghosting or shadowing' should a dark shape move across a light background (such as the new HJ's 'fresh' adverts with the solid shapes moving vertitcally and horozontally).. I note this could be due to the shitty no-or low shielded cables that come with the set or set-top box (I cant remember now)... I also note bleeding of the video from one input to the other - ie when watching a DVD I can see the STB image very very faintly in the 'background'..

Keeping in mind, this set was pretty damn cheap, I think $599 with a SD set-top box (which at the time was $199 in itself) - I can live with the geomoetary distortions due to the amount of white, but I wont put up with the colour distortions which im hoping are just specific to my set.

Cheers,
Bitey

I have a Chinese model with non flat screen and I would back my SD picture against just about any set on the market and that includes HD sets..
It is over two years old and has never given a problem(said in whisper just in case it's listening LOL)
I too think you have your Brightness set far too high at 100%, try around 60%.
Colour is IMO set too high as well, try around 25-30%( I suspect people would be having orange faces at your set level. Contrast, try for best effect.
One of the best ways to set these controls is to back your colour right off to B&W, then ajust your birightness and contrast contols for the sharpest B&W picture, (if the picture has a milky look, it is too bright) then start to bring up the colour till you get best skin tones..I see too many sets which have the colour set far too high eg orange faces and grass that sparkles like an emerald.
I assume as you are using the SCART connectors you have selected RGB. This will give the best picture.
As for your distortion in the corner, this could be magnetic interference from something like a speaker nearby or a faulty degaussing cct in the TV itself. The degaussing cct is fired everytime you turn the set on and should normalise the screen for residual ambient magnetic intereference. I had a similar problem once witha Palsonic only this was over the entire screen. A replacement degaussing unit fixed that and never occurred again.
The standby problem you have seems to be the norm these days for TV remotes...

About all I can suggest for the moment, but if you have any questions, let's hear them.

Hey mr.bitey, I have that problem on my 66cm set too, mines more a moving burn in, very distracting and annoying. Also looks like theres quite a bit of colour bleeding, only on the component input though, If you get TEAC to fix it, can you PM me if it can accually be fixed

Thank you Topdog, mr.bitey and captainatomic.

After adjusting my contrast and brightness I now have a much better picture. Bitey you were right about blacks as grey, my blacks are now black! You know, I've been watching tv with the pillarbox and letterbox strips in a light shade of grey and never even noticed, it just seemed normal, but this is much, much better.

And with the picture now a little darker, that concentric circle effect I described in the top of the screen is no longer noticeable. It's still there, but only shows at the higher brightness. I am still gonna phone Teac and Retravision 'bout it though.

(Thinking back, I seem to remember doing the original picture settings while playing GTA San Andreas in order to get a suitable colour there--bad idea?! Haha.)

There was one other problem--that rippling effect along the edge of 4:3 shows, especially bright ones. Well, now the strips are black, no ripple. At least none that I've noticed yet. Must have all been to do with my stupid bright settings.

Thanks again all, I love this forum!

gojiro

Topdog!

Can you please elaborate on your comment re selecting RGB.

gojiro

I meant to add something. While I do prefer this picture to the old, it is generally a little dark. Is this how others watch tv??

gojiro

You need to set it properly - the 50% i mentioned was just an example to demonstrate that 100% or 90% really (in most cases) is too high.

If youve got a DVD with the THX opimiser on it, this is a good place to set the brightness and contrast.. DVD Essentials is better again as it guides you through setting up the user-adjustable settings.. failing that - turn the colour off (all the way to the left) and play with brightness/contrast on in black and white - you should aim to see as much detail as possible as Topdog suggests- this will be hardest to do If you dont have a THX DVD (mosters inc for example) rent one! - it'll be worth the few $ ..

PS: If you like the picture light then have it that way! - its about setting it how YOU like it, not how someone on a forum says it should be set :-) just be aware if you crank the contrast up you will cause premature aging of the crt and increase the risk of scrreen burn..(which is very low for a CRT direct view tv anyway)..

Cheers,
Bitey

OK.
You don't mention whether you are also using an STB for FTA TV as well as Foxtel.
I don't know much about Foxtel decoders and their outputs , generally if your box has SCART connectors then they will most likely output in RGB. There should be an option in the box to select RGB as your video output and something similar on your TV. The TV may even have an Auto selection mode which will detect an incoming RGB video format. Search for these an select them as RGB will give you the best possible picture..If you still think the picture is too dark for your taste you can try upping the brightness a bit, but don't get to the stage where blcak is starting to look grey or washed out.

Glad to see you got most of your picture problems sorted out and yes it may be worthwhile to get TEAC or their agents to have a look at the bloom....Check first for any high level magnetic devices nearby, such as speakers. I have a set on centre speakers on top of my TV and it has no effect, but if it did I would have to find somewhere else to place it...

This week I purchased a Teac EU3216STF and when I connected the DVD player through the scart it only plays in black and white (through either scart 1 or scart 2).

I previously had it connected to a a 68cm Teac Tv and had no prblems.

Also the scart plug that came with the TV appears to be fault so I am using the old one.

Any idea on how to get color back on the DVD?

Had TEAC tech out this arvo to look at my tv and it's problems.

Re the weird sort of oval impression/effect in the top half of the screen--guy said this happens, I'm not a techie and can't remember the word he used! something about a pole...?--but they are replacing the tv. There's only one of this model left in Brisbane, it has been superceded, he said he would check if it had the same problem and if it was fine I could have it. Let's see if that set is f#$@ed too and I might get a newer model.

gojiro