Panasonic GX800 Owners Thread

It might be an issue with marginal HDMI cables. I had no end of issues with connecting my Freesat PVR, if you read earlier in the thread. At the time, I didn’t want to make too many changes, but I wish that I’d replaced all of the HDMI cables with 4K versions, instead of just using a new 4K cable for the video output from my new Panasonic BR player. Hindsight is a wonderful thing ...

Clem
 
Thanks Clem. The cables I am using are a few years old. I thought hdmi is hdmi and ones specifically for 4k are just sales speak. Any you can recommend?
 
@Tzap: I use Amazon Basics. I’ve had a couple of failures and oddities (like the one that I posted above), but overall they seem to work well and are keenly priced. For my 4K BR player’s video connection I’m using these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasi...dmi+cable&qid=1569018238&s=electronics&sr=1-3 . There are probably others at a comparable price, but don’t go paying silly money for such cables - they either work or they don’t, and stupidly priced cables that the likes of Curry’s will try and flog you are gross overkill, and offer nothing over cheaper, properly specced cables. There are spec. differences between high-speed and 4K cables though, so it’s possible that your issues may be cable related. Non-4K cables may well work, but may give unpredictable results. If nothing else, it’s one possibility eliminated.

I get the impression, and that’s all it is, that my 800 is definitely picky when it comes to HDMI connections. It made no sense that a cable that I’d been using to connect my Freesat PVR to my old Sony TV wouldn’t work when connected to my Pannie, but it definitely didn’t want to play. I may have damaged it I suppose, or it may have got brittle through being in one position for such a long time — I’ll never know, but a new cable of the same spec., another Amazon Basics high speed (not 4K) cable worked. The joys of digital, perhaps.

Clem
 
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It's a tad strange that the Dynamic HDR effect setting seems well regarded by pro reviewers. Both on TVs and their UHD players. But hey ultimately it's all about the eyes of the beholder.

What adaptive backlight setting do you use? Maybe other settings effect the outcome of how well the HDR effect setting works.


I have the Adaptive Backlight set to Mid.
 
I’ve found another annoying quirk with this TV. I’m still playing with picture settings, using True Cinema as my base. Once I’ve tweaked the picture I use the copy option to save the new values to all inputs. What I didn’t realise is that the copy function then resets the picture option on the copied destinations to Normal. I couldn’t work out why the picture looked so poor until I checked the picture setting for each input. OK, it’s not a big issue, but why aren’t the user’s preferences preserved as previously set in terms of the picture selection?

Clem
 
I’ve found another annoying quirk with this TV. I’m still playing with picture settings, using True Cinema as my base. Once I’ve tweaked the picture I use the copy option to save the new values to all inputs. What I didn’t realise is that the copy function then resets the picture option on the copied destinations to Normal. I couldn’t work out why the picture looked so poor until I checked the picture setting for each input. OK, it’s not a big issue, but why aren’t the user’s preferences preserved as previously set in terms of the picture selection?

Clem

That's just plain stupid of them.
 
The audio issue has been bugging me so tried a few things today. I have no if this helps figure it out but thought I'd mention it --

I've only ever noticed the issue when watching blu-rays (from a Panasonic blu-ray player connected via HDMI) but have to say that most other uses are not via HDMI -- Netflix, Amazon and iPlayer etc are all built into the TV.

I tried changing the HDMI today, not with a new one, but a spare, no difference - same issue.

I then tried a different HDMI port. My blu-ray is connected into HDMI 3, but when I moved it to HDMI 1 the problem was still the same.

One interesting thing to note, if I use my soundbar (which is connected to the TV via HDMI 2) but via optical from the blu-ray player (direct to sound bar) the issue is gone.

Then I tried via headphones and the issue is gone.

Annoyingly, I then unplugged the headphones and listened back through the TV speakers and the crackle/pop I'd been hearing in the same place on the same clip I'd been looping had now gone from there too.

I'm baffled.

So, this could mean it's not my HDMI cable, it's not just one faulty HDMI port, and it's probably not a fault on the blu-ray player.

But I don't know why it seems fine via headphones... and disappeared completely if I watched the same clip enough...

What to do now?

I can handle the quirks of having to turn it off and on again (for now) but I can't live with this audio issue. It's ruining my enjoyment of every show or movie I watch on the blu-ray player. I'm waiting for it to happen and then taking note of the time...

If I contact John Lewis then will they repair or replace? And if they replace, will the next one still have the same issues... What a pain, I just want the damn thing to work...

EDIT: I've just heard the popping and cracking when watching freeview through the TV aerial. So that's blown my HDMI theory...
 
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I noticed a really bad lip sync issue watching The Deadly Game BR this evening, Panasonic 820 player connected to my 800 TV — player video to TV HDMI1, player HDMI audio to my Yamaha sound bar. I only noticed it in the closing scenes as one actor was speaking, so I’m not sure if it was because his lines were re-recorded or a BR disc or player fault, but it was really obvious. I still can’t get the colour balance right. The more I use this TV the more I dislike it, so I now plan to use it to replace my bedroom TV and I’ll replace the 800 in my front room with the LG TV that I was originally going to buy. The LG has better specs., HDR10+ support aside.

@bunyboy: I think that you need to contact JL and arrange for a replacement. It sounds like you have a duff unit. The troubleshooting that you’ve done is pretty exhaustive. There are a couple of things to try though: check that you have the latest firmware installed, do a factory reset, check how your cables are routed, use a mains suppressor. As I mentioned to @Tzap above, I think that my 800 TV is picky about HDMI cables, so it might be worth trying a couple of new 4K-rated HDMI leads. That said, if your 28 return window is closing with JL, get it swapped out first as faulty. If you’ve missed the 28 return, then you’re looking at some sort of repair, but argue your case with JL.

Clem
 
Thanks again Clem. I got mine from Currys and believe there is a 5 year guarantee. Might keep it for a while as don't want to swap for another faulty one. Hopefully new cables will sort it as I really like this tv. As I said, this has only occurred 4 times since purchasing it.
 
I noticed a really bad lip sync issue watching The Deadly Game BR this evening, Panasonic 820 player connected to my 800 TV — player video to TV HDMI1, player HDMI audio to my Yamaha sound bar. I only noticed it in the closing scenes as one actor was speaking, so I’m not sure if it was because his lines were re-recorded or a BR disc or player fault, but it was really obvious. I still can’t get the colour balance right. The more I use this TV the more I dislike it, so I now plan to use it to replace my bedroom TV and I’ll replace the 800 in my front room with the LG TV that I was originally going to buy. The LG has better specs., HDR10+ support aside.

@bunyboy: I think that you need to contact JL and arrange for a replacement. It sounds like you have a duff unit. The troubleshooting that you’ve done is pretty exhaustive. There are a couple of things to try though: check that you have the latest firmware installed, do a factory reset, check how your cables are routed, use a mains suppressor. As I mentioned to @Tzap above, I think that my 800 TV is picky about HDMI cables, so it might be worth trying a couple of new 4K-rated HDMI leads. That said, if your 28 return window is closing with JL, get it swapped out first as faulty. If you’ve missed the 28 return, then you’re looking at some sort of repair, but argue your case with JL.

Clem

Thanks Clem. I'm going to get in touch with JL today as I think you might be right, the audio issue is probably some dodgy speakers. The other stuff will remain on a new unit though I bet.

I do have latest firmware, so it's not that. I can try a factory reset again I guess. I know JL will ask me to do that anyway.

I'm not sure what you mean by checking how my cables are routed, can you explain? And I don't know what a mains suppressor is - which might mean I need one..?

Re: lip sync -- I've always had a little bit of lip sync issues with connecting a sound bar via HDMI from blu-ray player, even with my last Panasonic TV, what I did find though is if I use optical out of blu-ray player to optical on sound bar, lip sync is fine. I don't know if you have that option, but worth a try if you do.
 
@bunyboy: by cable routing I meant make sure that your HDMI cables are kept clear of other cables, like mains, aerial, etc., as they can cause interference. As for a mains suppression, something that stops mains interference, like a surge-protected power strip. It’s possible that an electrically noisy appliance like a fridge or central heating thermostat might be causing some sort of issue.

The problem with optical connections is that they don’t carry audio from the newer audio codecs, like DTS-MA, Dolby Atmos, etc., and you lose the HDMI switching.

Clem
 
Thanks again Clem. I got mine from Currys and believe there is a 5 year guarantee. Might keep it for a while as don't want to swap for another faulty one. Hopefully new cables will sort it as I really like this tv. As I said, this has only occurred 4 times since purchasing it.
I got mine from Peter Tyson but the 5 year guarantee is from Panasonic themselves, so I'd check if you need to register the TV and apply for the guarantee with them like I have.
 
@bunyboy: by cable routing I meant make sure that your HDMI cables are kept clear of other cables, like mains, aerial, etc., as they can cause interference. As for a mains suppression, something that stops mains interference, like a surge-protected power strip. It’s possible that an electrically noisy appliance like a fridge or central heating thermostat might be causing some sort of issue.

The problem with optical connections is that they don’t carry audio from the newer audio codecs, like DTS-MA, Dolby Atmos, etc., and you lose the HDMI switching.

Clem

I haven't got the HDMI's clear of other cables, they're all inside a tube thing so they can't be seen going between the TV and blu-ray player, soundbar etc. I'll look into splitting them up into a couple of those tube things....

Although, because I've now heard this audio popping/crackling via the TV aerial freeview signal, I wonder if that could still be the issue? Perhaps, as the TV aerial cable is next to the other cables still...

This is annoying though, as my last (also Panasonic) TV was set up in the exact same way and this wasn't an issue at all.

All the power is going through a surge protected plug bank - is that the kind of thing you mean?

Ah, yes - optical does not, but I've only got a stereo soundbar so wont notice the difference as much as I do the lip sync issues so it works for me...
 
The surge protector that you have should be doing its job. You can clip ferrite chokes to cables to help things. I do think that this TV may be a bit picky HDMI cable wise, so grabbing a couple of new 4K rated cables from Amazon might be worth a try. The only way to be sure though is to swap the TV ...

Clem
 
The surge protector that you have should be doing its job. You can clip ferrite chokes to cables to help things. I do think that this TV may be a bit picky HDMI cable wise, so grabbing a couple of new 4K rated cables from Amazon might be worth a try. The only way to be sure though is to swap the TV ...

Clem

Spoke to JL. They asked me to do a factory reset, and if not they'll send someone round to trouble shoot. I've never heard of ferrite chokes before but might be worth a try... as I've only noticed this issue on blu-ray and through the aerial, but not on any app based TV, all of which is coming via wireless internet - so no cables. This could be a solution...

Will something like these do the job? Where on the cable should I place them?

 
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Yes, I use the same chokes. They come in various sizes. Fit the chokes as near as you can to the device end of the mains cables. I also fit them on wallwart cables, same principle. I would grab a couple of new HDMI cables too, then you’ve done just about everything you can. As for someone coming round to troubleshoot, what, are they going to spend a couple of days with you and your family, so that they can hear an intermittent problem? I would insist on a replacement TV or a refund. Connecting your TV via wi-if shouldn’t make any difference that I can fathom, but that said, my 800 is connected via Ethernet.

Clem
 
Yes, I use the same chokes. They come in various sizes. Fit the chokes as near as you can to the device end of the mains cables. I also fit them on wallwart cables, same principle. I would grab a couple of new HDMI cables too, then you’ve done just about everything you can. As for someone coming round to troubleshoot, what, are they going to spend a couple of days with you and your family, so that they can hear an intermittent problem? I would insist on a replacement TV or a refund. Connecting your TV via wi-if shouldn’t make any difference that I can fathom, but that said, my 800 is connected via Ethernet.

Clem

Got it. Thanks. I've separated all the cables as best I can now. Chokes arrived today so will fit those this evening and see what happens. I'll try new HDMI's next, but I did already swap these ones and the same thing happened with others so I doubt it's that.

And - exactly, they won't stay for several hours waiting to hear the weird audio. I think this is just JL "technical support" not having a clue and just saying what they are told to say.

Regarding the WIFI, I meant that the signal from wifi isn't coming via a cable at all (apart from into the phone line across the room) and so, if it's a cables issue, it makes sense why I'm not hearing it when watching internet based programming.
 
Hi,

My GX800 will arrive tomorrow. How about the tv's network mediaplaying capabilities?
TV is handling samba protocol? I want to play movies from my PC over the network. What is best option to use? Or is it possible to download apps from app store, which makes the network mediaplaying more comfortable?

Thanks for advices.
 
The Panasonic App Store is pretty poor. I don’t recall anything much. There’s not even NowTV ...

Clem
 
One think I forgot to mention regarding the sound issue reported earlier. When it started happening, I switched to tv on the virgin media box...no issue. Started playing the recording...sound issue. I've ordered 4k 2.0 cables as recommended by clem. Will report back.
 
Does the tv support miracast function? Can I mirror the screen of my android phone to the tv? If yes, what app is needed on the phone?
 
One think I forgot to mention regarding the sound issue reported earlier. When it started happening, I switched to tv on the virgin media box...no issue. Started playing the recording...sound issue. I've ordered 4k 2.0 cables as recommended by clem. Will report back.

All my HDMI's are only a year old and all 4k 2.0 cables already. So I don't think that's the issue. But who knows... I'd be really interested to know if it makes any difference for you.
 
TV problems are annoying, because a fault entails a visit from someone who you know won’t be able to fix things there and then. They’ll be much sucking of air through teeth and then the TV will be unceremoniously bundled up, ignoring the fact that you have the box for it, and when it’s returned some weeks later the same fault will probably still be present and the TV will be covered in greasy fingerprints and scratched to b*ggery. With smaller devices you can at least put them back in their boxes and drop them off to the local shop for repair, reasonably safe in the knowledge that they shouldn’t get damaged.

Clem
 
One think I forgot to mention regarding the sound issue reported earlier. When it started happening, I switched to tv on the virgin media box...no issue. Started playing the recording...sound issue. I've ordered 4k 2.0 cables as recommended by clem. Will report back.
One thought. Does the sound issue happen if you use the VM box to watch TV AND when you play back recordings? If it’s just recordings then I would be inclined to get VM round to check it out.

Clem
 

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