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Swish
05-26-2010, 04:59 AM
I love my 50" Panasonic Viera but had an issue the other night that really ticked me off. I was watching the Flyers/Habs game on the Versus high-def channel when their feed got all messed up and remained that way for nearly the entire second period. I changed channels just to be sure it wasn't a Comcast issue, and it wasn't. It was watchable to some extent, but there were vertical lines running across the screen and other interference interference, ruining my viewing experience. At one point the video froze for about 10 seconds although the audio was fine, then my screen went black. I changed the channel but got nothing on any channel, so I shut it off

I went upstairs to another TV and was able to watch everything, including the game on their non hi-def station, so it wasn't a cable problem, but could have been the cable high-def box or the TV.

The next morning, I turned it on and everything worked fine, which was a relief, but I'm wondering if my plasma has some sort of protective mechanism that shuts it down if there is some problem with the video feed? Does that make sense? In retrospect, I wish I had popped in a DVD to see if I got a picture, but I was in a hurry because I didn't want to miss the game.

Anyone have any ideas or experience with this?

pixelthis
05-26-2010, 10:30 AM
Coulda been a "cable" problem.
Much as I LOVE TO RAG PLASMA, this sounds like the procs got overloaded,
for something like a basketball game that would figure.
To fix it you turn the set off, turn it back on.
Back when HD was first starting I had the dish, and every once in awhile, after watching for a long time, the pic would lose sync with the sound, sometimes freeze, etc.
Basically your set cant process HD fast enough to keep up.
For slower material it works fine, but on high demand stuff like sports it gets behind,
the response time is too slow to keep up.
Funny, because when ragging my LCD and claiming plasma superiority, this
is supposed to be a problem with LCD, not plasma, or so the detractors say.
How to fix it?
GET A NEW MONITOR.
The newer ones have just about conquered decoding HD "on the fly", cheap memory hasnt hurt.
Or you could live with it, happens again, change channel, doesnt work, turn it off for a few.
Plasma is DEAD, btw:1:

Swish
05-26-2010, 11:06 AM
Coulda been a "cable" problem.
Much as I LOVE TO RAG PLASMA, this sounds like the procs got overloaded,
for something like a basketball game that would figure.
To fix it you turn the set off, turn it back on.
Back when HD was first starting I had the dish, and every once in awhile, after watching for a long time, the pic would lose sync with the sound, sometimes freeze, etc.
Basically your set cant process HD fast enough to keep up.
For slower material it works fine, but on high demand stuff like sports it gets behind,
the response time is too slow to keep up.
Funny, because when ragging my LCD and claiming plasma superiority, this
is supposed to be a problem with LCD, not plasma, or so the detractors say.
How to fix it?
GET A NEW MONITOR.
The newer ones have just about conquered decoding HD "on the fly", cheap memory hasnt hurt.
Or you could live with it, happens again, change channel, doesnt work, turn it off for a few.
Plasma is DEAD, btw:1:

...several times but got jack squat. My set upstairs was fine, so I continued watching up there as I didn't want to miss too much of the game while screwing around with the plasma.

This is the first time I've had the problem and I bought it last July. I really love the picture and have no complaints otherwise.

pixelthis
05-28-2010, 10:45 AM
...several times but got jack squat. My set upstairs was fine, so I continued watching up there as I didn't want to miss too much of the game while screwing around with the plasma.

This is the first time I've had the problem and I bought it last July. I really love the picture and have no complaints otherwise.

Then hang onto it.
I had a 47" PANNY, a RPTV, had a similar problem when playing HD material with a
lot of action.
HAD TO unplug it sometimes to "clear " it.
Surprized they still have that problem, the cheapskates need to start putting more memory in those suckers.:1:

Woochifer
05-29-2010, 07:53 PM
I love my 50" Panasonic Viera but had an issue the other night that really ticked me off. I was watching the Flyers/Habs game on the Versus high-def channel when their feed got all messed up and remained that way for nearly the entire second period. I changed channels just to be sure it wasn't a Comcast issue, and it wasn't. It was watchable to some extent, but there were vertical lines running across the screen and other interference interference, ruining my viewing experience. At one point the video froze for about 10 seconds although the audio was fine, then my screen went black. I changed the channel but got nothing on any channel, so I shut it off

Sounds like a processor issue, or an issue with the feed itself from Comcast. Lot of things could cause what you're describing, and the problem could originate from the box or the TV itself. Nothing to do with whether the TV's a plasma or what not.


I went upstairs to another TV and was able to watch everything, including the game on their non hi-def station, so it wasn't a cable problem, but could have been the cable high-def box or the TV.

If the upstairs TV is using an analog output then it's completely different. Even if it's a digital cable feed, you're still using a different cable box.


The next morning, I turned it on and everything worked fine, which was a relief, but I'm wondering if my plasma has some sort of protective mechanism that shuts it down if there is some problem with the video feed? Does that make sense? In retrospect, I wish I had popped in a DVD to see if I got a picture, but I was in a hurry because I didn't want to miss the game.

The only shut off mechanism active by default on the Panny is when the TV detects no signal for a period of time. But, the non-signal shut down has a countdown clock that alerts you two minutes before the shut down occurs. There's also a non-action shut down that occurs if you have a stationary image on screen for a long time. But, that mode is not active by default.

A bad signal will simply give you a bad picture or no picture at all. Trying out a DVD would have cleared up whether you had an issue with the cable signal or box.

FWIW, I've had nothing like you describe with my Panny. But, then again I subscribe to Directv. :)

Sir Terrence the Terrible
05-30-2010, 09:56 AM
Wooch may have a point here. I have an old friend who is the Director of Engineering for a local station here in the bay area. She tells me all the time that Comcast is perhaps the worst cable company of all time at passing a signal through its system without damaging it on occasion badly. She has heard complaints of lip syncing issues, stutters in the signal, TV's going blank for a second or longer, pixelation, and various other artifacts. The problem is, that rather than taking responsibility for these problems, Comcast directs the customer to the television station so they do not have to deal with the issue themselves.

She told me that for two months they monitored the off air signal against the cable signal, and found numerous problems with the cable signal that did not appear off the air.

If you television has no history of doing this in the past, I would write this off as a comcast problem. But that is me......

Swish
05-31-2010, 02:31 PM
If the upstairs TV is using an analog output then it's completely different. Even if it's a digital cable feed, you're still using a different cable box.

FWIW, I've had nothing like you describe with my Panny. But, then again I subscribe to Directv. :)

...but not because of this issue. I was having a bi<a>tch of a time changing channels on it. It would change a couple times then just sit there and stare at me. I tried just about everything, including using their remote as opposed to my Harmony, but it made no difference.

As for Direct TV, they don't have the Philly station that carries most of the Flyers games, nor do they have Versus, so I'm sticking with Comcast. I love their On Demand, and if you've never seen it in action, you cannot know how awesome it is. I can watch episodes of my favorite shows without ever having to DVR or TIVO them, and I don't own either so it really works for me.

The Panny will be going in the LR once I have my new HT room up and running. I'm still waiting to see if the price comes down on the Epson 8500 UB in the next month or so. I'm pretty sure that will be my projector.

I do appreciate all the help and information from you and the others. My product knowledge, at least form a technical standpoint, is somewhat limited, but more due to a lack of time than anything.

Woochifer
06-02-2010, 08:28 PM
As for Direct TV, they don't have the Philly station that carries most of the Flyers games, nor do they have Versus, so I'm sticking with Comcast. I love their On Demand, and if you've never seen it in action, you cannot know how awesome it is. I can watch episodes of my favorite shows without ever having to DVR or TIVO them, and I don't own either so it really works for me.

FYI, the Directv-Versus carriage issue was resolved right before the Stanley Cup playoffs began. The two sides were in a pissing match over fees, and Directv would have started getting cancellations here in the Bay Area if the Sharks playoff games weren't available.

Forgot about CSN Philly not being available on Directv. That sucks. All the other CSN affiliates are on Directv, but I heard that Comcast is taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to exclude other carriers from gaining access to the Philly programming. Obviously, it's doing the trick because it keeps subscribers like you locked into Comcast's service.

Swish
06-03-2010, 03:43 AM
FYI, the Directv-Versus carriage issue was resolved right before the Stanley Cup playoffs began. The two sides were in a pissing match over fees, and Directv would have started getting cancellations here in the Bay Area if the Sharks playoff games weren't available.

Forgot about CSN Philly not being available on Directv. That sucks. All the other CSN affiliates are on Directv, but I heard that Comcast is taking advantage of a loophole that allows them to exclude other carriers from gaining access to the Philly programming. Obviously, it's doing the trick because it keeps subscribers like you locked into Comcast's service.

...for what they call their 'Triple Play', so it would be problematic to change everything, at least for now. I was really hopeful Verizon's FIOS would be the bomb, but it's been a cluster from what most are telling me in my area. I'm quite happy, overall, with all three services.

GMichael
06-03-2010, 05:02 AM
Is your cable box also a DVR? I have had similar trouble with my DVR at times. Rebooting the system seems to clear up the problem, but you do loose a minute or two of watching.

pixelthis
06-03-2010, 10:13 AM
Is your cable box also a DVR? I have had similar trouble with my DVR at times. Rebooting the system seems to clear up the problem, but you do loose a minute or two of watching.

Its the TV.
Despite the legion of plasma fanboys saying otherwise.
Nothing to do with it being plasma, just Panny being cheap.
The symptoms are identical to problems I had with a panny HD RPTV
a few back, while using the Dish.
Have never had the problem with my COMCAST, nor have heard of anyone having it.
Its a buffer problem, either not enough proc power or enough memory.:1:

02audionoob
06-03-2010, 03:13 PM
Then hang onto it.
I had a 47" PANNY, a RPTV, had a similar problem when playing HD material with a
lot of action.
HAD TO unplug it sometimes to "clear " it.
Surprized they still have that problem, the cheapskates need to start putting more memory in those suckers.:1:

I had that TV...and that problem or something similar.

Sir Terrence the Terrible
06-03-2010, 05:43 PM
I had that TV...and that problem or something similar.

I disagree its a panny issue, I have a panny in one of my system's, and it has never had that problem. It has never been connected to cable, so it cannot be the television.

Panasonic plasma's are highly rated and well tested across their entire line of set's. This problem is not widely reported as far as I have seen when it comes to the set directly. Since it can easily reproduce 1080p with no problems, there is nothing in cable's 720p or 1080i(which requires less processing than 1080p) than can trip that set up, action or not.

That cannot be said for cable boxes, which have widely noted HDMI issues, and no where near the processing power of a 1080p television set. 1080i(the maximum resolution of cable boxes) are only required to have half the processing power of 1080p televisions, as they are only processing half of the 1080 line frame at a time.

Lastly, Panny's RPTV processing power requirements are exactly the same as a cable box outputting 1080i, as that is the maximum resolution that both can output. If I was going to blame processing power, I could not(with any credibility)blame the plasma.

pixelthis
06-04-2010, 08:44 AM
I disagree its a panny issue, I have a panny in one of my system's, and it has never had that problem. It has never been connected to cable, so it cannot be the television.

Panasonic plasma's are highly rated and well tested across their entire line of set's. This problem is not widely reported as far as I have seen when it comes to the set directly. Since it can easily reproduce 1080p with no problems, there is nothing in cable's 720p or 1080i(which requires less processing than 1080p) than can trip that set up, action or not.

That cannot be said for cable boxes, which have widely noted HDMI issues, and no where near the processing power of a 1080p television set. 1080i(the maximum resolution of cable boxes) are only required to have half the processing power of 1080p televisions, as they are only processing half of the 1080 line frame at a time.

Lastly, Panny's RPTV processing power requirements are exactly the same as a cable box outputting 1080i, as that is the maximum resolution that both can output. If I was going to blame processing power, I could not(with any credibility)blame the plasma.

its the TV.:1:

Rich-n-Texas
06-05-2010, 07:31 AM
Swish, posts #5 & #6 contain the answers to your problem. I have FiOS here in North Texas and there were times when I'd see some of the anomalies you describe. I chaulk it up to Digital technology, and that's just the way it is. These issues have fortunately become fewer and farther in between recently.

Because of the intelligence and good advise from some of the members here, my next TV will be a Panny Plasma.

pixelthis
06-05-2010, 09:01 AM
Swish, posts #5 & #6 contain the answers to your problem. I have FiOS here in North Texas and there were times when I'd see some of the anomalies you describe. I chaulk it up to Digital technology, and that's just the way it is. These issues have fortunately become fewer and farther in between recently.

Because of the intelligence and good advise from some of the members here, my next TV will be a Panny Plasma.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Can't wait to hear your wails of anguish when that technological nightmare goes
tit's up.:1:

Rich-n-Texas
06-05-2010, 09:11 AM
Just like XM has gone tits up huh troll?

pixelthis
06-06-2010, 10:16 PM
Just like XM has gone tits up huh troll?

As soon as they pull that dead man walking's plug.
TRY sticking a vaccume into the plasma, 30,000 volts waiting for ya son.:1:

GMichael
06-07-2010, 06:00 AM
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Swish
06-07-2010, 06:59 AM
I disagree its a panny issue, I have a panny in one of my system's, and it has never had that problem. It has never been connected to cable, so it cannot be the television.

Panasonic plasma's are highly rated and well tested across their entire line of set's. This problem is not widely reported as far as I have seen when it comes to the set directly. Since it can easily reproduce 1080p with no problems, there is nothing in cable's 720p or 1080i(which requires less processing than 1080p) than can trip that set up, action or not.

That cannot be said for cable boxes, which have widely noted HDMI issues, and no where near the processing power of a 1080p television set. 1080i(the maximum resolution of cable boxes) are only required to have half the processing power of 1080p televisions, as they are only processing half of the 1080 line frame at a time.

Lastly, Panny's RPTV processing power requirements are exactly the same as a cable box outputting 1080i, as that is the maximum resolution that both can output. If I was going to blame processing power, I could not(with any credibility)blame the plasma.

...on the same channel (Versus) and had no issues. If this was a TV problem, why would it only happen the one time? I've watched numerous football and hockey games, both with plenty of fast action, and never had a problem until that one game. I'm now believing it was the cable box, which I returned to Comcast and replaced.

Rich-n-Texas
06-07-2010, 09:24 AM
Good idea Swish. So the game was on NBC AND Versus? Interesting. The outcome of the game... not so much. :(

Swish
06-07-2010, 09:31 AM
Good idea Swish. So the game was on NBC AND Versus? Interesting. The outcome of the game... not so much. :(

The mind can be cruel. Just ask me.

Sir Terrence the Terrible
06-07-2010, 12:41 PM
...on the same channel (Versus) and had no issues. If this was a TV problem, why would it only happen the one time? I've watched numerous football and hockey games, both with plenty of fast action, and never had a problem until that one game. I'm now believing it was the cable box, which I returned to Comcast and replaced.

Comcast is notoriously bad with handling feeds from network stations. They also have poor QC on the boxes as well. I don't get it with them, all you have to do is follow HDMI protocol, and you won't have issues with HDMI. All you have to do is include the neccesary processing power for 720p or 1080i, and the boxes don't go whacky when the buffer gets full.

pixelthis
06-07-2010, 02:57 PM
Never had such problems with my COMCAST BOX.
Only started to die after four years from old age, pretty much like yourself.
And my new box has a lot more storage and features, and works more smoothly.
Except for one minor detail, which is easy to understand in such a complicated device.:1:

LMB
06-16-2010, 11:51 AM
More likely it's the cable box not the TV.
Reset cable box. If you have everything going through receiver make sure you turn on receiver and tv then cable box.





I love my 50" Panasonic Viera but had an issue the other night that really ticked me off. I was watching the Flyers/Habs game on the Versus high-def channel when their feed got all messed up and remained that way for nearly the entire second period. I changed channels just to be sure it wasn't a Comcast issue, and it wasn't. It was watchable to some extent, but there were vertical lines running across the screen and other interference interference, ruining my viewing experience. At one point the video froze for about 10 seconds although the audio was fine, then my screen went black. I changed the channel but got nothing on any channel, so I shut it off

I went upstairs to another TV and was able to watch everything, including the game on their non hi-def station, so it wasn't a cable problem, but could have been the cable high-def box or the TV.

The next morning, I turned it on and everything worked fine, which was a relief, but I'm wondering if my plasma has some sort of protective mechanism that shuts it down if there is some problem with the video feed? Does that make sense? In retrospect, I wish I had popped in a DVD to see if I got a picture, but I was in a hurry because I didn't want to miss the game.

Anyone have any ideas or experience with this?

rainman333
10-07-2011, 06:43 AM
plasma tv will go out, freeze up, won't have a screen but will turn on (like mine right now) during solar storms. plasma screens are tubes of ionized gas.....solar storms (earth directed) is plasma discharge from the Sun...ionized gas. You cannot see it but you will know when it is around because it will cancel out your plasma (ionized gas) tv. its true...our tv has been doing this for about a year. solar activity has increased. and you are correct, all of our other tvs work fine.

Mygaffer
10-30-2011, 08:20 PM
Sounds like your cable box to me. Comcast, which I am unfortunately a subscriber to, tends to have them built as cheaply as possible like all their equipment.