Nice new Panasonic TV but a few problems!

[survivor]

Hi everyone,

A few weeks ago I finally bought my first LCD which is the Panasonic TX-L37D25B. I was going to get it in December as a family Christmas present but when I saw it had been reduced by £200 in John Lewis to £799 and came with a free Blu-ray player I decided to pounce! A couple of days after purchase I also had a new digital aerial erected.

My sources in to the tv at present are - virgin media box (standard definition) connected by scart plus a Sony dvd recorder (three years old) connected by a Chord Silverscreen HDMI cable. The dvd recorder is also connected to the media box with a scart lead so I can play recordings either on AV1 or 2 or through one of the HDMI inputs. I then of course have the option of using Freeview which is useful when I am recording another channel through the media box.

Initial impressions - pretty good! The sound isn`t quite up to my old CRT but it`s fairly decent. I have a lead that connects to my hi-fi for special occasions which beefs it up a bit. I`m not ready to buy a surround sound system just yet and to be honest I don`t think my room is particularly suited to one. Considering I don`t have any HD channels as yet the picture on Freeview is very good indeed! I had been slightly concerned because I know from reviews this set tends to shine more so with Freesat. The remote control is well laid out and simple to navigate. The television itself looks great and quite classy. So far so good...

However, I have encountered a few problems and I`d be grateful if anyone has any ideas on the solution before I contact my place of purchase. Firstly on Freeview there is a thin white line on the bottom of the screen that judders in and out of sight constantly on certain channels, ITV 1 being the most noticeable.

Secondly when watching any channel or recording through AV1/2 there is an alternately black and white line running halfway across the top of the screen from the top left hand corner to the centre. This does admittedly disappear when watching the same channel/recording through hdmi but it shouldn`t be there and here`s the funny thing, the picture through hdmi isn`t as good as through av? This has been a big disappointment for I had been looking forward to being impressed with my first foray into the hdmi cable world. I have tried to tamper with the picture settings but to no avail. Through hdmi the picture I am getting is rather fuzzy and the colour is quite dull. Skin tone tends to be slightly greenish though come to think of it that may be a slight problem with other sources as well. It`s a little like my digital camera, pictures are great when the scene is shot outdoors but poor when taken indoors. I know that is generally the way in life but I am noticing this more with my new television than I did with my old.

Lastly, there is a three quarters of an inch blurry section on the edge of the screen that runs around the entire television. It is more noticeable with certain colours such as green. Match of the Day is being spoilt at the moment because my focus keeps on wandering to the edge of the screen. I was wondering if this might have something to do with the LED edge lighting?

I realise that when my sources improve such as HD television and Blu-ray discs I will only then get the best from this television. Oh, by the way I sold the Blu-ray player because I plan to get a PS3 quite soon so I haven`t seen the tv in Blu-ray action yet.

Many thanks in advance for any ideas you may have.

 

[micks_address]

try turning on 'overscan' in the settings.. that will get rid of the extra info in the borders of the picture.. for blu-rays you should turn this back on though..

 

[survivor]

I`ve just tried your suggestion micks and that has indeed eliminated the black and white line on AV1/2. Well played and many thanks!

I shall keep you updated on the other problems.

 

[giggsy1977]

Survivor, do you have the aspect ratio of the picture set to Auto? This tends to make objects passing past the edge of the screen distort slightly. Trying changing the aspect (button prob top right of remote if the handset is similar to mine) to 16:9 for example and see if that helps.

 

[survivor]

Hi Giggsy, yeah I`ve tried fiddling about with the aspect ratio and I usually have it on 16:9. Initially I was able to get rid of the edge problems but only by using Zoom 1 which spoilt the picture. Following micks advice the black and white line has disappeared and it looks like (fingers crossed) the juddering white line at the bottom of the screen on Freeview. I am still concerned about the fuzzy inch or so all around the screen edge. Didn`t notice it in the shop so when I get a chance I shall pop in and have a closer look. As I mentioned earlier I`m wondering if this has something to do with the LED edge lighting which I just may have to live with if this is a common trait. When I`m watching the centre of the screen it`s fine but you know how it is when once you`ve noticed something you can`t help but keep on noticing it! Also the greenish tinge on people`s faces especially when filmed indoors. I`ve tried endless fiddling with the colour settings but don`t seem to be able to change this. Sometimes in the same scene one persons face will look fine whilst the other person looks quite ill!

Do you know how important it is to run a THX test on a new tv? I haven`t done one as yet.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your post.

 

[Anonymous]

Survivor

I have the same problem with the black and white strip on my Panasonic TX-P42V20B. This has a plasm display. I am currently trying to get some joy from Panasonic over the problem.

I agree enabling overscan works but you loose a fair amount of picture content and I don't think that should be the answer.

What device are you playing to the AV1 port. I'm using a Sony RDR-HXD1065 DVD player. Maybe the input device is producing the strip. The problem didn't occur on my previous Sony TV though.

I have also experience the same problem on a Freeview TV channel. I was watching Match of the Day about 2 weeks ago the strip appeared on some of the outside broadcast shots but not on the studio shots. What that proves I don't know.

It can't be anything to do with TV transmisson as the problem occurs on DVD films on the AV1 port.

Regards

Regards

 

[Anonymous]

heywoodg:
Survivor

I have the same problem with the black and white strip on my Panasonic TX-P42V20B. This has a plasm display. I am currently trying to get some joy from Panasonic over the problem.

I agree enabling overscan works but you loose a fair amount of picture content and I don't think that should be the answer.

What device are you playing to the AV1 port. I'm using a Sony RDR-HXD1065 DVD player. Maybe the input device is producing the strip. The problem didn't occur on my previous Sony TV though.

I have also experience the same problem on a Freeview TV channel. I was watching Match of the Day about 2 weeks ago the strip appeared on some of the outside broadcast shots but not on the studio shots. What that proves I don't know.

It can't be anything to do with TV transmisson as the problem occurs on DVD films on the AV1 port.

Regards

Regards

you should have the aspect ratio set to auto, or 16.9, then you should have overscan on for sd and off for hd, that should sort the problem..

edit.. actually i seem to recall that picture overscan is on by defult when the aspect ratio is set to auto on the v20, even though you can turn it on or off, it stays on..

you need to have 16.9 selected, then you can turn overscan on for hd and off for sd...

..

 

[survivor]

Hi Heywood,

Interesting you are getting the same black and white strip. Mine has disappeared after setting the overscan though you say that this affects the picture which is certainly a concern. Hmmnn..

On AV I have connected my virgin media box and on AV2 a sony dvd recorder hxd970 model which is three years old. The sony is also connected to hdmi1. Before turning on overscan I had the problem on both AV inputs but not on hdmi. It seems strange to me that the pictures through AV are better than through hdmi? Perhaps this will be reversed when I get an hd box? I don`t think it`s the input device because I`ve had both of mine for years and never had this problem before.

With Freeview I had the same issues as yourself except mine had a pure white juddering strip on the bottom of the screen which oddly seemed to disappear on certain screen shots during a programme such as the news then suddenly reappear on others. Come to think of it your experience with outside and inside broadcasts is starting to ring a bell.

Please let me know if you hear back from Panasonic.

All the best.