Definitive answer - LCD hum and screen glow

[admin_exported]

Hi all

Spent a few hours trawling the web and this forum and thought id take the direct approach and just ask.

I picked up the Panasonic TX37LZD80 at the weekend, got it mounted up on a swivel mount stand. However I noticed as soon as turning it on that it hums. Its not massivly loud, you dont hear it over the fan in a PS3 for example, but in silent parts of a TV show/movie you can hear it. Is this normal?

Also I have slight glow in the corners of the screen on black, sort of dim white/yellow. I noticed it really because I was watching a wide wide screen movie with black bars even in 16:9 and I could see that the black wasnt 'black' consistently all the way across. Again, ive read conflicting stories about how this will fade when the TV has been on for a while, once its 'run' in or if i turn the backlight down (Which I did, but I cant say I saw much difference) or simply that its just normal for a large LCD TV. Would this be expected?

I'd love a definitive answer to these questions from an/some experts.

Am I expecting a little too much perfection or do I need to go through the hassle of trying to get the unit exchanged?

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi there,

It's a little difficult to give a 'definitive' answer as I've not seen your particular set, and this is a model that we've not yet reviewed, but a couple of general observations might help.

It's not uncommon for a TV (LCD or Plasma) to emit a slight hum. However, we very rarely see sets that make enough noise to really annoy. I'd suggest that if it's only audible when the room is otherwise silent, it's probably normal.

Backlighting unevenness or seepage is also pretty common on LCD TVs, though some are certainly much better than others. Panasonics in general tend to be far less prone to these issues than some manufacturers, but even they could potentially exhibit a smidge of light from the corners. However, having not seen this particular set, it's hard for me to really judge whether what yours is doing is normal or not.

All I can do is say that when we do get this particular TV in for review (shouldn't be long, as we're working our way through as many Panasonics as possible), we'll make sure to post our observations on this.

 

[Anonymous]

Tom

Thanks a lot for your clear and fast response.

I appreciate its very diffucult to judge as well not really having seen or heard the thing.

Im certainly starting to get the impression that the light in the corners is nearly expected and ive seen some screenshots of far far worse in my searches than I am experiencing.

I suspect im just being finickity. I used to work in Sony's Digital TV division as a design engineer and getting trained to see digital artifacts and quality assess pictures doesnt help when you just want to sit back and enjoy

I'll hang on to my receipt if they get worse I'll do something about it and let you know on the forum as well, in case anyone else is interested.

Again many thanks for your reply.

 

[Anonymous]

I have got the 37LZD70 and it has a glow in all 4 corners - this is only noticebale in a really dark room when the screen is blank (i.e. AV1 with no signal) and it seem to fade the longer the set is on. No buzzing though.

On the light issue I searched the web extensively and I would say that it is defnately normal on LCD TV's. There are several people on here who have had a number of replacement LZD70 and LZD80 sets and all have had some light in the corners. Its not worth the hassle - if you are not happy the only answer is to swap it for the Plasma equivalent.

I am really happy with my TV - the picture quality is superb. Having seen a few Plasmas recently at friends houses I am really glad I choose LCD as the picture is so much crisper and the colours are deep. On x box 360 it is simply stunning.

 

[GT13]

I am experiencing the same problem but it appears to be limited to the bottom corners of the screen. It is present though with the inbuilt Freeview tuner, via my PS3 and via my DVD Player. I have contacted the retailer, Empire Direct, Panasonic Customer Care Centre and the local approved service company. The last feed back from them after consulting with Panasonic engineers is that the fault I have described is 'impossble', obviously not!