[PND]

Like many other people who have purchased Panasonic tvs recently, I have a few things that do not seem quite right..

I have a number of possible problems with my 2 month old TX32PB50:

[1] There is a 3-4" vertical strip on either side of the screen which seems to have bigger visible 'pixels' than the rest of the screen. With the picture off, this is still evident and the grid/mask/mesh? behind the glass is visibly not flat in these regions (it seems to bow inwards). With the picture on, these areas seem to be more grainy especially at the bottom than the rest of the image where the dots making up the picture are not really noticeable.

[2] Using the TV in any of the sound modes, using built-in front speakers and supplied centre (no rear speakers connected) either surround 'on' or 'off', there is a noticeable hissing sound mainly out of the built-in fronts when there is a quiet bit in the channel being watched. If the volume is reduced one click off mute, this extra 'background' noise can be heard quite clearly, like an untuned channel hissing in the distance.. Surely this should not be there?

[3] The picture appears to bow down in the bottom right hand corner, obvious when the on-screen 'Now/Next' bar from Telewest for instance is displayed.. Dodgy geometry setup I suppose?

Does anyone check the setup on these sets before they are sent out?
Or am I just paranoid???

I bought the set from Currys because I was offered a good deal (via manager discount etc.. enough said).. but even so, I would have expected something better than this from Panasonic.

Before I go back and complain, does anyone know if Currys use their own engineers and are they Panasonic trained or is it just luck as to who you get? I have read somewhere that once they take the back of the set, you are stuck with it?

Thoughts.. comments... sympathy.. help.. experience of similar will all be gratefully received..

Yours hopefully.....

[Zacabeb]

I think I can answer the first question since I've done some reading in the tech specs for different CRT's.

The dot pitch is greater near the edges of the screen for technical reasons. At center it is about 0.67mm, near the edges it increases to around 1mm for each group of red, green and blue stripes. This is the case with CRT's from other manufactuers as well. Keeping the dot pitch as fine near the edges would increase the risk of color impurities.

Panasonic use a finer dot pitch than many of their competitors do and this is probably why they have not achieved as flat a screen. It is more curved than the competition, especially now that Sony and Thomson have flattened the internal faces of their CRT's completely. I don't have any figure, but the vertical spacing in the shadow mask seems to be finer as well on the Panasonic CRT. This might cause more moiré effects.

[Nyquil Driver]

Paul,

You should think yourself lucky...
If those were the only flaws my 28Pl1 had I'd be over the moon!.

Geometry isn't as serious as it first seems because you can alter the set-up in the service menu. Also, have you performed the geomagnetic corretion yet? (the 'f' button on the set, under the screen) as that can also help straighten out a wonky image.

I personally wouldn't be concerned by the relatively minor sound issue either as I always use my amp/speakers instead. I do sympathise with your situation on the whole though as I myself have a duff Panasonic TV, although the faults it displays can't be remedied in any way. I get patterning/interference on R2 DVD playback (but only when I use RGB). I tried explaining it to the retailer I bought it from, but he's adamant that I'm too picky and he won't let me exchange the set for something else (I want the Hitachi with 3 Scart sockets). He said he can't sell a returned set 'as new', so basically I'm stuck with it.

He also said that I'd have to pay for someone to inspect it and he made it obvious that whoever he sends will be of no help anyway. When I reasoned that the problem was specific to PAL discs (and so clearly IS an identifiable flaw), he just muttered something about 625 lines and said "there's no difference", I brought up 60Hz but he just gave me a blank look. When I mentioned the vertical bands on set-top-box RGB performance, he said "well, that's just banding"(?!!) and then claimed there must be something wrong with my RF or Scart-lead (which cost £30 and was purchased from his store!). I had to leave before I lost my temper and I would have obviously been wasting my breath commenting on the (red) colour bleed and blurred screen-edges.

Anyway (and ranting aside!), your problems sound more like "teething troubles" than damning faults to me and I think you got off lightly!. Have you tried an R2 DVD through an RGB scart yet? I'd be interested to hear your opinions.

In any case, hope you get it sorted out.

i have a tx36pl and i also have the vertical bars either side of the screen. Currys have agreed to exchange it. When they send an engineer they use there own (mastercare) the guy who comes here does not know his arse from his elbow. However, he took the back off my set and currys still replaced it. If you have had the set for 4 weeks or less you are entitled to a new set if found faulty. After 4 weeks they can take it away for repair. BUT, if they cant get it back to your house working to your satisfaction within 4 weeks you can have it changed. I have had 4 tvs from currys in 8 months, now going on to my 5th and i must say that im impressed with there service. The delivery guys are on my xmas card list now.

I'm expecting my 36PL30 from Empire Direct on Thursday, and from reading the posts on this board, I'm convinced it's gonna hiss and crackle, and have these effing vertical lines at the edge of the screen.

I can't believe some of you have gone through 3 or more TV's and they'll still come back and change them if you complain!

Can someone please give me a glimmer of hope that it might actually be alright on mine?

the vertical lines at the side are not too bad. the only time i can see them is when i watch the footie as the bars seem to be on top of the picture so when the picture moves quickily from side to side you see these bars remain static. As for the hissing, the only time i can hear the hiss is when i have the volume on about no 1 (the lowest) who the hell watches tv with the setting that low. if you have it at anything above that I cant hear it. if i were you i would not worry. out of all the tvs I have had the panasonic has been the best.

I was driven mad by a similar sounding buzzy noise coming from Panasonic during quiet bits of films. Until I realised it was the bloody freezer unit in the kitchen.

[PND]

Thank you all for your responses so far... other users please feel free to join in.. The only way manufacturers such as Panasonic might ever improve things quality wise is if enough voices are heard..

Nyquil Driver.... Where is the often mentioned service menu which will allow me to alter geometry?

Keep the comments coming..

My PL1 is pretty good apart from interference on DVD playback (RGB). I still can't trace whats causing it at the moment. I now have a scart lead for my Dreamcast which hooks up to the other scart socket on my DVD player and allows RGB passthrough. I can't see any interference on the games at the moment (I need to look a lot closer perhaps to see if I can see it) , but it does show up some geometry errors.
Therefore I also need the service menu code and perhaps what to change to sort it out. Can I also adjust it for when the picture moves to the left on RGB sources ?

[Dream Weaver]

Brand New 28PL10 owner here. I dont have any probs with bars, moire etc etc, and I managed to iron out the jagged edges on mine using the service menu, as follows:

Turn Bass up to max.
Turn Treble down to min.
Open the flap on the bottom of the TV.
Press and hold the -/v button, whilst holding the Index button on the remote.

It takes a few attempts, but the service menu will then pop up. You can change the channels whilst using the menu with the up and down keys.

To navigate the menu, use Red & Green to move left and right through the options, then use Blue & Yellow to change the values. You also have to press STR to store the new values.

My buzzing noise hasnt gone away from the speakers, and until last night it wasnt bothering me. But when the missus went to bed I had to turn the TV down, and I could really hear the speakers buzzing.

You cant buy anything of decent quality these days. I also have a new PS2 which wont play DVD's without skipping.

DW

[PND]

I will try the service menu tonight...thanks.

Has anyone else got a set that with the picture off that the mask(?) doesn't lie flat behind the glass - it seems to bow and wave on the left and right hand sides?

[Nyquil Driver]

Any luck Paul?.

In reference to the service menu...

What are the RGB settings on everybody's sets?. Mine has reds with a high of 868, greens 703 and blues at 784, is it th same on yours?. Like I said, I can often see stray reds (most noticeably on faces), but if these settings are correct then at least I'll know I've tried everything.

[PND]

Nyquil Driver

I will make of note of settings tonight and report back tomorrow!

Paul

Iam afraid I cant help mush with praise for Panasonic, I have a 32Pk25 and I am onto my third one in 5 weeks!

No 1: had a high pitch buzz noticable from 15 ft away whilst listing to speech only items.

No2: The vertical dirty marks up the left and right side of the screen with corrisponding poor geom.

No 3: As No2 but not so bad, except when on white backgrounds when the dirty marks turn blue.

Back to the shop I go, but the 32pk25 has been replaced by the 32pl10 which will proberbly be just the same. I must a say though that (shop @ Panasonic) have been great, no issues with any changes so far. Although they are almost too helpfull, like they know there's a problem and are just trying to wear me down before I ask for a refund!

[PND]

Been into the service menu... Looks like I could really mess up my geometry now!

Nyquil Driver: RGB settings as follows:

High R=160, G=112, B=128
Low R=384, G=433, B=384

What is the best way to set up geometry.. is it a case of getting a DVD with test image? or just guessing from current channel..

From Telewest cable, the height of the picture varies depending on channel and whether widescreen or not.. Some channels fill screen while some have gap at top/bottom..

Any more for any more?

hi,

ive just been in the service menu and i ajusted the H-AMP. It was on no 68 and I reduced this. Im now sure the vertical bars at the picture edge have gone. As long as you note the numbers before you ajust them, you cant go wrong. I also cured the bend in the top corner of the picture.