Ok, My Sanyo Z2 is one month past its 3 year warranty period, however, it has very low hours, under 500hrs.

First I want to tell you a little about my setup. I'm using a HTPC that I built myself. It has an Nvidia 6600GT card with HDMI output. I purchased a 25ft DVI/HDMI cable from Monoprice since my Z2 had a DVI input. I use TheaterTek DVD software to watch movies.

For a year or so things have been great, however, over the last month or so I occasionally get some weird vertical lines when Windows XP comes up on the screen.

The vertical lines are about 10 pixels wide each and are not evenly spaced across the screen. It basically looks like a bunch of vertical stripes on the screen, some slightly darker than the others, and they alternate across the screen.

When I first noticed them, they seemed to go away after the projector had been on for some time. Lately, they seem to stay up all the time.

I found a post on AVSforum where a guy talked about having to unplug his projector before turning it on to get rid of some lines he had. The other night this did work for me, but tonight they are back.

They are really noticable during light or light blue colored scenes during a movie, and when I have my Windows XP desktop up.

What really sucks is that my warranty just expired 1 month ago. However, I'm hoping that with such low hours (444) sanyo might work with me.

I'm just trying to figure out if it could be the cheaper HDMI/DVI cable from monoprice?

I may have to get my Panasonic S97S HDMI DVD player back out and hook it up again to rule out the HTPC also....

Randy

I don't know much about this, but isn't there an adjustment on the projector to minimize the bands ?

I've read many threads on AVSforum over the past few years about people going into the Service Menu and tweaking certain options for VB. Some have been successful, some have not, some have made things worse.

I'm just trying to figure out if what I'm seeing is in fact VB.

I found a few posts where a guy had a Z2 and after a few years of owning it, started seeing vertical lines. He was not sure it was VB either. He sent it into Sanyo, and they could not reproduce the problem. When he got it back he still had the problem. The Sanyo guy told him to try unplugging the projector for a minute before using it, and that worked for this guy. However, after some time the lines would appear again, and he would have to continue to unplug the projector each time.

Another guy said he had a similar problem, and was using a cheaper DVI cable. Then he ordered a nice one from Blue Jeans and the problem stopped. He said it was a resistance problem or whatever with the cheaper cable?

It is just weird that I really have not had the problem until the last few months or so. When it first started, it seemed the lines would go away after about 15 minutes, or I would just get used to them...

It is funny that the other night when I unplugged the projector before using it, the lines went away. However, returned tonight when my kid and I watched Superman "The Movie".

This stuff sucks....

That does suck. From what you are describing it does sound like vertical banding which can occur from deterioration of the LCD panels over time from overheating. Its can be a problem with all LCD displays but the early projectors and TVs are more susceptable. That's the main reason I buy extended warranty coverage only for my LCD displays. The Z2 was a great projector when it first came out 5 years ago. Look at the bright side, now you can upgrade.

Randy,

wow you have low hours!!! I have only had my projector for about a week now, and I already have 30 hours on the bulb I think (which is a bit disturbing I guess ).

Did you try to use some other inputs? Perhaps it is your HTPC causing the lines (because you do have such low hours).

I would suggest try plugging in a dvd player or something with component cables and seeing if it has the same result.

I don't know much about this kind of stuff, but it was just a thought.

Just thought of a troubleshooting suggestion to confirm if its your projector. Can you install a regular LCD monitor with a DVI input in place of your projector? If you still see banding then the problem just may reside with the HTPC and/or your video card.

I just called Sanyo, and the technician said they go by the purchase date, this sucks. I am 1 month past the 3 year warranty. My wife purchased it online on 4/6/04, it took 2 weeks to get it, and I didn't receive it until my B'day on 5/3/04.....

I am going to try hooking my Panny S97S dvd player back up as it has HDMI out also. If I see it with that, then it might be the projector or cable.

It is just weird that it went away after unplugging the unit.

Well talked to Sanyo today, they won't help, figures...

Anyway, tonight I unplugged the projector again for about 10 seconds, fired it up....vaaaaalaaaaaaaa it looks great.

<scratch head>

I'm not grammar bot, but it's "voila"

and congrats on the reboot.

Quote:

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What Does Vertical Banding Look Like

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Like crap, from my experiences with it. lol

In the past whenever this problem would show it's ugly head, it was liking viewing the picture through a bloody grid. You'd have lines, starting at the top of the screen all the way down to the bottom of the screen, that shot straight across.

Thankfully, I haven't had that projector or problem in years.