IMAGES ARE OVERLAID AND NOT IN FOCUS

Check for dirt on the front element of the lens. I am always amazed that almost every point and shoot digital I see has a filthy lens.

This can also be caused by condensation inside the lens or on the rear element

Sounds like the convergence circuit is failing. You can try pressing the "magic focus or perfect focus" button to see if it clears up. If not the circuit is bad and needs repair. They have repair kits on this website. tvrepairkits.com if you want to try repairing it. otherwise it can cost $300-$400 to have somone else repair it.

Try adjusting the convergence. If it won't move see below- (or hitting Magic Focus for some Hitachi’s)

This sounds like convergence output IC problem. convergence board would have to be removed - remove and replace 2 STK IC's and check the surrounding resistors. Shops usually $200-$400 Be sure to vote/rate me if this helped Thanks!
See link for more detail
http://www.ehow.com/how_4575598_yourself-projection-tv-repair-convergence.html

If this tv has a feature called magic focus or perfect focus which is a button inside door that flips down on the front, then it has sensors on the inside of the screen. When it was pushed in, these were probably messed up and will cause a poor picture. It may be difficult to get those realigned. Magic focus will not work right until they are realigned.

There are two common problems with these sets.

Problem #1) Convergence

Symptoms:

• Screen Looks 3D
• Colors wont align
• Video may look distorted

Problem #2 CRT Fluid has clouded over. Symtoms

• Dull looking video
• White looking video
• Halos around objects
• Red/Orange looking video

You can see some examples and find a fix here...

http://www.fixya.com/support/r2861467-solution_video_looking_whiteish_dull

Just to clarify, it sounds like what you are saying is that the image appears to duplicate in either red or blue along the edges of the image (especially white lettering and probably increasing along the boarder of the TV). This is resolved by converging your TV. Convergence will drift normally on large screen projection TV's over time or through moving them. The Hitachi 57f500a has a feature called "Magic Focus" (pg 36 in your manual) which will auto converge the image. If the auto converge feature doesn't work, on page 37 in your manual, it explains how to converge manually. If you do not have the manual, I have the image of the pages below. If for some reason this doesn't work, please provide additional info and detailed prior to rating the help.

I have red concave lines going across the screen, plus wording appears double like a ghosting effect, this is ongoing from the time the tv is turned on until it is turned off. This started 3 days ago. Is it time for a new tv, its 9 or 10 yrs old now.

sounds like you are having a convergence fail. there are 2 Convergence amps in the tv should be on the largest heat-sink inside(right hand side looking from back) replace with stk392-110 and any open or burnt resistors. check for any cracked solder and mark any cables you unplug. if you do that work and need to align the convergence at all let me know and ill walk you through those steps

Have you let set warm and then tried Magic Focus? Maybe after 15min.

without knowing the model number, i can only give you some ideas on what to check.

If the tv was working fine, and started experiencing the problem after being moved, check your focus. you may or may not have an electronic focus pot on the rear of the tv, and you should have a manual focus located on the lens assembly, loosen the wingnut and rotate the lens to focus it.

also check the crt coolant level, if it has a bubble in it, it may be causing the red halo effect.

if the red is to the top or side of the characters and not completely surrounding them, it may be a convergence issue, check the manual for convergence procedures, if it does not have them, your best bet would be to take it to a service tech.