no problem with PIP for me. If i'm watching something with the digital tuner, i hit the PIP button, than channel up or down, and it goes to the analog channel or signal i select.

maybe its just because you don't have any antenna and its not getting reception. you might have to run the channel finder utility beforehand or something

I've been looking at this tv for about a month now and was ready to buy it tuesday, but wanted to do a little more research... I came across this forum right after finding the 9110D for 549, shipping included from a website and had decided I was going to try and get our local walmart to come down in price. Much to my surprise I was able to talk the co-man into selling me this set for $549 + tx, under $590 for a set that is listed at $668 before taxes...i think it's worth taking a chance!!! Unfortunately the tv was sold out and they only have 2 more comingn in the next couple weeks. They advised that it could be 'any' time during the next 14 days and that i should just check back periodically. Every time i look at the TV's, I think the 8420 looks sooooo much better then the 9110, however tonight I discovered that the component cables are in the input that seemingly doesn't support hd...I'd like to assume that this is why i can tell a difference between the two.

My #1 question is this - For this being an audio/video forum, i can believe that more people aren't running cables/sound through their receivers....Doesn't this alleviate the issue of only have one CVI that supports HD? I suppose this way i wouldn't be able to use the PIP to watch two different HD feeds at once.

Anyway, hoping to pick this thing up by sunday, even if it means a couple hours in the car. I'll report back.

That's a good deal for that TV yaw. I bought mine about two months ago at Walmart for 668. I never really had any problems so far, no ghosting or anything. I've heard that the 8420 has a better picture but since Comcast is mapping digital channels to regular cable and the 9110d has a qam 256 tuner, it was the best option for me. InHD and all the broadcast HD shows are great, regular SD cable is fine.

As far as yaw's question about having two hd feeds at once, this tv cannot do that. You can't use PIP on HDMI or HD CVI. You can only use it on analog cable, or analog input with digital cable on PIP or vice versa.

Funny ol' world... :D

I had a 27" FS 4.3 set (from W*M) blow up on me a month ago.... only a year & a half old.
Was savin' pennies for the 30PW9110D/37, but was still short & picked up the 28" WS Sanyo HT28745 for $497.
It had a flickering problem that was worsening with use, so I went back to exchange.
None in stock.. two on order.
Have waited, and tonight got the call they were in.
Well... the thing weighs in at 98lbs., so I insisted on seeing the replacement working, before haulin' it in for the swap. ;)
Both the new sets displayed the same problem, in-store.

I guess my face musta' reflected my disdain, especially after the Dept. Manager waved his hand in the air, turned his back on me, while I was asking him about alternatives, and walked away.

I tracked down the Asst. Store Manager & (politely, mind you) gave her a piece of my bewildered & disgusted mind.

She ordered me a new 30PW9110D, and when it's in, she's swaping even for my trouble. :) :)
Now that's a bit of old fashioned customer service & appreciation.

Best of all, I'll now be able to plug my Oppo into a HDMI :)

My thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge. I'm seeking an HDTV that has built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners, so that I can pull HDTV, DTV and analog OTA using an antenna. The Philips 9100 appears to meet those requirements, at a good price point. Questions for the members: 1) I am correct regarding the 9100's tuners? 2) Is the 9110 the same, except for the color? and, 3) Any other suggestions for comparable sets (+/- 30", ATSC/NTSC tuners, +/- $650)? Thanks!

1)You are correct. This has two tuners, one ATSC and one NTSC. With an antenna, you can pick up OTA HD channels, and regular OTA analog channels. (even both at the same time via PIP).

2)9110 is the same, just black in color as you said.

3) can't help ya with other comparable sets as i quit looking when i bought this one.

OK... still waiting for (my) 9110D to come in....
I'm getting mixed info on this set.

Can one of you owners verify, Please, does the 30PW9110D/37 from Wally*World
do 1080i on the HDMI input or not????

It looks like the "8420" monitor does, as well as the "9100D"... but I can't seem to uncover a definitive answer on the 9110D.

yes the HDMI does do 1080i for the 9110d

yes the HDMI does do 1080i for the 9110d

Thanks :) guapinoy!

Thanks, earnold25!

Wellll, I have a hard time waiting for stuff when I decide I want it so I ended up buying a 30" 16:9 HD Ready Samsung CRT(not sure of model # now) for 539.99(marked 599 on the ticket). Upon getting it home and plugging it in, I immediately noticed a 'pull' towards the bottom and sides of the screen. It was more apparent when going from extreme dark to bright light, or vice versa - or when a picture faded in/out. I tried different cables, different ports in the back of the tv as well as my receiver, also tried another DVD player, just in case it was my xbox 360's fault. After 24 hours of messing around, i finallly called the retailer and they told me to unplug it for 15 minutes and that should correct it...i told them i would use that 15 minutes to check with walmart and see if the phillips was in. Unplugged samsung, called walmart, yep, it was in and they were still willing to honor my price match. called the store that i got my samsung at and told them i would be returning it. they said it would need to be looked over by a technician and repaired...noooo, i'm RETURNING it... purchased the phillips before taking the samsung back and immediately saw a difference. no pulling, pushing, etc. plus the phillips had a wealth of features that the samsung was lacking.

First, the ability to change screen format regardless of the signal the TV is receiving. with the samsung, if the image was coming in via the component hookups, you were forced to watch it in widescreen...changing to panorama, 4:3 or anything else was disabled. With the phillips, i can watch my family guy/simpson episodes in 4:3 if i so desire...or choose panorama, which makes peter looks just a little less obese.

Second, phillips has a built in tuner for off air feeds. important to me, as i don't have cable or dish since i don't have a ton of time to watch tv.

Third, it's balck and the samsung was silver...i would have paid and extra $100 for that alone, but luckily i didn't have to(remember, i got this $668 tv from walmart for $549 by 'asking' for a discount, try it).

I'm very happy with my purchase, to me the tv has pretty good PQ, lots of great features and at a great price. It will probably end up in my bedroom within 6 months to make room for something larger in the living room, but for now it will do just fine. I have absolutely NO idea how the speakers sound, havn't heard a thing out of them since everything is running through my receiver. I'll check back periodically to see if i can answer any questions for anyone, in the meantime, buy it!

hey,
i also picked up a 30pw9100 around thanksgiving time. i have been having problems with the regular stations... the hd looks great but the regular stations are fuzzy around the people and glichty.. i have called the cable company a few times and they keep telling me its the tv.. i have a hd box from cablevision which is my provider.. its an scientific atlanta (explorer 4200hd). i need to figure out if there is away to fix this... right now my tv is hooked up by hdcvi...

My 30PW9110D/37 finally arrived & I picked it up last evening.

Haven't yet spent a "lot" of time with it, but herein are my 1st impressions & questions...

On the positive, and as a whole, it required very little tweaking to bring it to a acceptable viewing state.
It appears to me, after reading this entire thread, that the sets in this series are possibly "not-ready-for-prime-time" and don't seem consistent, set-to-set.

I arrived at:
Brightness = 38
Color = 52
Picture = 48
Sharpness = 64
Tint = -6
Color Temp = Cool
Contrast+ = On

IMHO it's doubtful these settings will work for the next fellow's set & viewing environment, but there you hav'em.

I give Geometry an "A", out of the box.

On the High side, I have my Oppo DV971H DVD player ported into the Set's HDMI.
This gets an "A+" :)
The HDMI best displays the Oppo's 720P signal, upping to 1080i induces barely perceptable, but definite, "jitter", so... 720P it is.
On HDMI input:

480P = OK
540P = Black Screen
720P = Best
1080i = slight jitter

I do not currently subscribe to Digital/HD Cable or equivelent.

On the analog side:
My Pioneer DV-260s displays as expected (properly & acceptably) thru either S-Video or Component inputs.
Analog Cable/Antenna is where the set falls apart.
I mean Sadly!

My Std. Cable channels range from slight to annoying "ghosting".
When displaying 4.3 content there is a very slight concave pincushin on the left vertical.
Also in 4.3, all channels also display a faint vertical line, approx. 3/32'' in from both vertical edges, and on the left, between this line & the edge, any "brite" action appears brighter & rolling.

My impression is that corners were severly cut, in the analog tuner stage.

Which brings me to my questions...

1) What are you folks experiences with this set on Digital Cable?
2) Does anyone have experience with this set, utilizing an external Analog Tuner (since I really don't wish to subscribe to "Digital" at this time & happen to have another analog tuner available)??

Thanks.... :)

hate it..hate it.

waited 10 days for my 9100D to arrive...the ghosting is horrible, even with a 1080i XBOX 360 input...the text on the dashboard is fuzzy....played with the sharpness, no luck.

its really bad....colors look dull too...in the store (after i ordered mine online) both 9100D's on the floor were noticably more dull than any other CRT on display.

i had high hopes, and the price was right, but this one is on its way back and a sony KV-30HS420 is coming as its replacement.

disappointing.

Any other comments on this TV. I keep going to Wal Mart to watch it until I have the $$$$ to purchase it. I looked at other Phillips TVs at Circuit City and found that I liked the picture better than Sammys, Sonys, and the others. I have to agree with Pulliamm as far as the picture. I truly believe it is an individual taste. Although I will say that if JVC had a line of HDTVs I would probably get one of them since my JVC 32" is the best TV I have owned.

To me there is something unique and special about the Philips picture, though I can't pin down exactly what it is (maybe because it looks film-like, not digital). Every TV I have owned has been Philips, and every TV that I own in the future will be also.

The biggest concern that I have is that I do not even see this TV on the Wal Mart website. Should I put one on layaway to make sure that I can get one, if there is one at the store? Where else are they being sold besides Wally Martinez?

i got mine at Best Buy

i got mine at Best Buy


I am looking for the 9110d not the 9100d. The 9110d is black. I, unfortunately, have not seen it any where but at Wally Martinez.

Has anyone seen the 9110d any where else?

Picked a 9100 up the other day, installed it in my room last night. I noticed the ghosting was horrid and it was driving me up a wall. I took some pictures of what I am experiencing on the set itself to show people. It seems to be worse depending on whatever is displayed. From what I can tell it seems like it blurrs sharp changing edges or creates color ghosting along it. Picture is unbelievably crisp/clear otherwhise which is funny... it just seems things like small text where the flaws really "shine" look almost out of focus. Could this be an error in the velocity scan modulation? I cant turn VSM off with the main menus... but can that be turned off within the service menu? Is this something that could possibly be worked out from the service menu?
If anyone has a copy of the service menu could they email it to - tastyratz at hotmail? I am unable to open those other links as well.

*edit* I was going to post the pictures I took up online but I forgot to unload from the digicam, I will try to post them after work.

ok so I made an effort on this for the better of man kind. I called philips help, requested several things... Asked her how to turn off scan velocity modulation in the unit... got put on hold a bunch of times and then after awhile she asked me if it was the same as progressive scan :rolleyes: Also asked her about any tsb's on the unit. After some more hold time she referred me to her level up. Talked to them and mentioned it would probabbly be in the service menu...... shut down. She said they dont want to give out any information on the service menu. "if it has to do with going into the service menu, we dont encourage or provide any consumer support"

fine... next... asked about any known tsbs on the unit. The ghosting issue is not a known widespread issue with the set. There is only one tsb they claim on the set and it was on something completely unrelated to anything ive seen on mine or posted here (I forget what).

I referred to this thread several times so she assured me they search forums to find out any widespread issues people may be having.... and there was nothing documented.

Finally, I asked about getting my grubby little hands on a service manual. Again.... consumer.... shut down.

Whats next? Has anyone who has seen that link downloaded the service manual before it was killed?

Finally, I asked about getting my grubby little hands on a service manual. Again.... consumer.... shut down.

Whats next? Has anyone who has seen that link downloaded the service manual before it was killed?

Tastyratz,

Does this help? 30PW9100d and 30PW9110d User Manual (http://www.p4c.philips.com/files/3/30pw9100d_37/30pw9100d_37_dfu_aen.pdf)

JD
**Sorry, that was the user manual, which you should have, unless you are really disorganized.... :o Oh Well :D

Here's a link to a few i've got on my home pc. I've just recently put up an IIS until i can get a dedicated linux box with apache. The em1.2uaa is for my model, the 30pw850h and related models. You'll have to look at your chassis to see which of the other manuals goes with your set. the newer 9100 series are chassis starting with L.

http://12.227.129.113/PhilipsSM/

You should download all of them to your home pc, i've got no promises as to how long i'll keep the server up. Just click ok when it asks for a username and password, if that doesn't work, let me know

PHILIPS_SM_15060.pdf is the one needed for the 30pw9100d and 30pw9110d.

Thanks a lot for hosting these!!!!!

jedurocher: I appreciate the link but I already have that and it doesnt have anything useful in it.

oryan: Link works, I'm dl'ing the pdf I see there now. You cant leave username blank gotta type anonymous as the user and leave the pw blank when using xp. Thanks a ton for hosting those!!


I managed to get the tons of pics up. This will show everyone EXACTLY what I'm experiencing which is hopefully going to make it easier for everyone else to fully understand. what better way than through pictures?.

**edit it wont let me post the urls... You will manually have to assemble this:

photobucket *dot* com/albums/y126/tastyratz/hdtv

Into a url. I'm sure if you know how to set your vcr clock, then making that an active link shouldnt be any trouble.

I just went through and read most of the service manual... looks like they dont even talk about velocity scan modulation in it once :(
The manual WILL come in handy allowing me to calibrate the set so its not to waste... but it doesnt look like theres anything in there I could use to really fix this issue (as far as I could see)

Try messing with the convergence options see if that helps the ghosting. Just be sure to note what the parameters are set at first so you can go back to them if you mess it up too much.

My "9110D" problems appear resolved! :)

After spending over a hour in the freezin' cold with the Dish Network installer, as he did a survey, it was determined I have "No-Line-Of-Sight"... One lousy tree, in the neighbor's yard, and guess where it is(?)!

I went to the cable office and acquired the newest (in my area, according to the folks) Dig/HDTV Converter/DVR, and brought it home & installed it.

220 Channels... all crystal clear! (knock on wood)
No "Ghosts", "halos", vert. lines, horiz. lines, etc.

Hopefully my bliss will last :D

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread with info, advice and observations. :)

First of all, still wondering if anyone knows where else to pick up the 9110d besides Wally Martinez (Wal-Mart for those that actually are not related to my family's sick sense of humor).

Secondly, has anyone had the combination of the Sony DVPNS70H upscaling DVD player with 720p resolution working with the 30PW9110d? I have seen in TekWorm's Threads that he uses and Oppo at 720p and it rocks, but what of other dvds and especially the Sony?

Last but not least, does the 30PW9110d really do 720p?

Thanks for the input!

JD

I've been looking at this tv for about a month now and was ready to buy it tuesday, but wanted to do a little more research... I came across this forum right after finding the 9110D for 549, shipping included from a website

Yaw,

You mind if I ask what website it was that you found that price that was not a refurb?

Thanks
JD

no 720p directly, ive heard it doesnt upscale but i havent tried feeding it a 720p broadcast. does abc ONLY do 720p? I have abc over the air and that works fine (i think its chan 5.3 for me) but when I do info I cant see any information about whats streaming. As far as upscaling 720p from the dvd player I've never seen it but I wouldnt imagine it would really look better than 1080i logically since you would be re-interleaving the signal losing the progressive benefits before its sent anyways, just with a lower resolution. Unless with the way it works theres something that surpasses logic like that. Chances are its not better to make 720p 1080i than just having 1080i unless its hardware favoritism (i.e. it does a better job with outputting 720p signal processing with a better looking picture than if it had a 1080i signal.

Comcast guy brings hd dvr in tomorrow, and im waiting for my avian dvd to arrive so I can try calibrating everything on it. I will post an update if its service menu fixable for me.

There are other places to get it besides wally, like the philips site directly. I got a discount from my work and ordered a new one for my friend for 566 shipped :-P damn taxes

The set will accept a 720p input, but will upconvert to 1080i.

Exactly as Ryan states....
My Oppo simply performs best at 720p :)
I find the same to be true of my Sceintific-Atlanta HDTV Cable/PVR.
Matching at 1080i seems to cause a very "fine" jitter (but noticeable)... sorta' like if one suffered uncorrected astigmatism.
Don't know, but it would then seem to me to be a anomally of my (or the model?) 9110.

BTW: If anyone is having a problem getting this set to work properly with a Harmony Remote... (mine wouldn't toggle power, etc.)
I finally got a good profile by identifying it as a "30PW9100D/37". ;)

Thanks for all your replies.

The concern that I had about the 720p was the same as TekWorm. I wouldn't want the "jitters." I have read in a few places, that even though 1080i is a higher resolution, that you sometimes get a better picture with 720p because of the way that progessive scan lays out the picture.

I have not seen the 9110d anywhere else besides the Phillips site and the electronics site that Yaw originally referred to, but it was a refurb. Can anyone name the other places I can get the 9110d besides Wally World?

Thanks Y'all
JD

I havent tried a definite 720p signal out for sure, but when I purchased it I called philips and after confirming with 2 others there they said it wont accept a 720p signal. Someone able to output a sure 720 to confirm or deny?

yeah using my samsung hdmi dvd player i can get 720 to show up, it also works on the hd cvi and it's listed on service manual

One last thing, and probably a STUPID question, but I will ask anyway. Are there any component inputs that are digital on the TV?

Out
JD

Component is by definition NOT digital. DVI, HDMI, and Firewire are the only digital video connections used by any video hardware. But (at least) one of the component inputs is hi-def if that's what you meant.

This looks like a great tv and a great deal as well. My one question is, even though the unit has two tuners (1 ntsc and 1 atsc), there is only one RF input. I have analog cable (which I want to keep) and a UHF antenna in my attic for my digital/HD content. With this set, do I have to choose between having one or the other? Can I use a splitter and combine the two? I have noticed that other models from Samsung and LG have 2 RF inputs, one labeled cable and the other labeled antenna.

Component is by definition NOT digital. DVI, HDMI, and Firewire are the only digital video connections used by any video hardware. But (at least) one of the component inputs is hi-def if that's what you meant.

Yes Leto2, the Hi-def is what I meant. (visa vie my title of reigning HD Wanna Be :D ) I read in other threads that, for most, the component input from the HD box is 99% equivalent to the HDMI, so others are using the HDMI for the DVD.

Just a few more weeks to go before I am able to drop the cash for the TV. I am psyched. Got some gift cards from Best Buy for Christmas and I am going to use them for the Sony DVP-NS70H for my DVD use.

Thanks to all who post and answer questions. You are a great asset to the forums.
JD

from what ive read component out is a analog base but when using high def through it it is digital and the same exact thing for the picture as using a dvi passing through those lines.

gua: thanks for confirming what the rejects at philips support couldnt figure out.

Component out is always analog, even when carrying an HD signal. DVI and HDMI carry the HD signal in digital, but component, like RGB and VGA, carry the signal as an analog waveform.

That I was not aware of. I was always told digital, even the back of this tv has 2 components in. one says digital one says analog and hd can only be read on the digital one.

from what ive read component out is a analog base but when using high def through it it is digital and the same exact thing for the picture as using a dvi passing through those lines.

Component out is always analog, even when carrying an HD signal. DVI and HDMI carry the HD signal in digital, but component, like RGB and VGA, carry the signal as an analog waveform.

OK, now I am confused.......Even though the component out is not digital, it looks almost as good as HDMI?

HDMI also allows for Digital sound?

Is the difference noticable?

I know there are CVI to component cables, is there an HDMI to component?

Again, questions are coming from a Wanna Be that wants to learn before he buys.

JD :p

That I was not aware of. I was always told digital, even the back of this tv has 2 components in. one says digital one says analog and hd can only be read on the digital one.

Take another look, it's likely you are seeing HD-Component inputs, with the SPDIF digital coaxial audio output next to it.

As always, Ryan is spot-on :)
Component is analog.
It can do a fair job of displaying a upconverted HD input, but falls a bit short of digital.
How much difference you may or may not discern is dependent on your display, viewing distance and personal taste.

I just learned all this, from these forums, followed by trial & view.

So the 30PW9110D/37B is HDTV ready so all I would have to do is hook up a cable and Antenna and I would have OTA HDTV?

Chad

If you have local HD transmission.... However, I found My onboard tuners to be weak & problematic.

Picture is amazing thru the Cable Provider's converter/PVR... either HDMI or Component.

If you have local HD transmission.... However, I found My onboard tuners to be weak & problematic.

Picture is amazing thru the Cable Provider's converter/PVR... either HDMI or Component.

On top of that, I know that TWC here in Houston, the charge is the same for the HD/DVR box as it is for the Digital Cable/DVR box. The ESPN-HD and other premium HD channels are a little extra. That being the case, it almost pays to go ahead and get the box from the provider.

JD

Probably will have to next year with all the change over with the games to Espn. The main reason I do over the air is for one station - Fox as Time Warner doesn't carry it. The Packers main station for Football Games. The other is I am trying to get away from TW if possible as well. Overpriced but they have control of it all....

And you know that one stipulation in the new NFL/TV contracts is that ALL GAMES be available in HD next year!
Another NFL condition is that a game will always be available in the local market on broadcast TV. Whether of not it will be in HD, I do not know. So a local independent station will most likely broadcast a local game being shown on ESPN's MNF.

I may have found a hidden correction to problems with this TV. I loved the 30" Phillips when I got it home December 8th, but about a week ago the picture started to look a bit out of focus. I played with controls and it helped some, but even OTA HD was iffy and DVD through HDMI was iffy too. I was mad. I planned to take the TV back, but haven't gotten to it yet. I planned to do it tomorrow (Day 29 from Best Buy). Tonight, just by accident I held down (without clicking) the yellow favorite button on the remote and the controls popped up with new levels. I think that is what I did. It was purely accidental. All the channels look great again!! It is like the TV corrected itself. I was set to take the TV back to Best Buy tomorrow and now I'm not so sure. Please let me know if this, or something similar, helps you too.

I guess I only turned on Active Control somehow. But actually once I turned it on and flipped around to several channels (it auto adjusts for each channel) and then turned it back off to fine tune myself there is still steady improvement.

Can somebody tell me how i can get to the service menu with this set? I need to correct the overscan which is quite a bit in my opinion. I've tried the standard 062596+Menu with no luck.

specifically i have the 9100d (silver). also, if there's anybody that has the service manual and could provide me with a link or something, that'd be great! Thanks!!!!

I managed to get the tons of pics up. This will show everyone EXACTLY what I'm experiencing which is hopefully going to make it easier for everyone else to fully understand. what better way than through pictures?.


I'm seeing the exact same artifacts you are on my brand new set. I've played with all the service menu and user options I could find, but nothing really helps. I get the artifacts / green edge on any hard edge, on any input source (digital, analog, internal tuner, etc).

I got this set from Philips as a replacement for a 30PW8502 which had a bad image jumping issue with 480p input sources (after six months of endless hassles dealing with CS, repairs, letters to the president, etc.) I'm *mostly* happy with this 30pw9100d as a replacement, except it seems to have somewhat lesser picture quality than the 8502 did, a bit grainer and the fringing on hard edges. I don't quite understand why they would be noticably different, the 9100 and 8502 have comparable filters and specs.

I did fix the geometry issues using the service menu, but I've noticed this 9100 has some convergence issues in the upper left and middle right edge of the screen. I didn't see any way to adjust that in the service menus. It arrived in need a serious degauss too, but the delivery guys at least fixed that.

Has anyone had any luck speaking to Philips tech support about these green edge fringes? Is there some adjustments that can be made, perhaps using the computer service interface, I wonder?

Argh. Maybe I wouldn't have noticed the artifacts as much if I hadn't spent the last six months looking at the 8502's clearer picture? Now it just bugs me...(and I'm unlikely to get Philips to replace THIS set too!!!)

Can somebody tell me how i can get to the service menu with this set? I need to correct the overscan which is quite a bit in my opinion. I've tried the standard 062596+Menu with no luck.

specifically i have the 9100d (silver). also, if there's anybody that has the service manual and could provide me with a link or something, that'd be great! Thanks!!!!

I've got the same model.

062596+menu sets the tv to SDM (service display mode?)
062596+info enters the service menu

I believe these only work when you're in analog mode (viewing AV1, AV2, CVI, NTSC tuner, etc. but not digital tuner, HDMI or HD-CVI inputs). I couldn't seem to access the service menu from the digital mode inputs, even after having activated them in analog mode first. Which was awkward, because I was sourcing my test patterns from my DVD player, which is connected to the HD-CVI inputs. Oh, the service menu geometry menu's don't give you a grid to adjust with, so you'll need some sort of test pattern source.

You'll probably want the service manual PDFs posted earlier in this thread (thanks!) because the service menu's geometry menus are rather concise and only in acronyms. The manual defines the acronyms so you know what you're adjusting.

The 8502 has a much more flexible and easy to use service menu--it has a test grid for geometry adjustments, clear menus items, and many more adjustments. I guess they removed most of the useful service menu options when they added the computer service ComPair port, which doesn't help us DIY tinkerers much.

In case you can't get the service manual, here's the geometry menu abbreviations and explanations:

Horizontal
• Horizontal Parallelogram (HP). Align straight vertical
lines in the top and the bottom; vertical rotation around the
center.
• Horizontal Bow (HB). Align straight horizontal lines in the
top and the bottom; horizontal rotation around the center.
• Horizontal Shift (HSH). Align the horizontal center of the
picture to the horizontal center of the CRT.
• East West Width (EWW). Align the picture width until the
complete test pattern is visible.
• East West Parabola (EWP). Align straight vertical lines at
the sides of the screen.
• East West Trapezium (EWT). Align straight vertical lines
in the middle of the screen.
• Upper Corner Parabola (UCP). Align straight vertical lines
in the upper corners of the screen.
• Lower Corner Parabola (LCP). Align straight vertical lines
in the lower corners of the screen.
• East West S correction (EWS). Default value is “16”.
• East West Corner (EWC). Align straight vertical lines at
the top and bottom of the sides.

Vertical
• Service blanking (SBL). Switch the blanking of the lower
half of the screen “on” or “off” (to be used in combination
with the vertical slope alignment).
• Vertical Shift (VSH). Align the vertical centering so that
the test pattern is located vertically in the middle. Repeat
the 'vertical amplitude' alignment if necessary.
• Vertical Amplitude (VAM). Align the vertical amplitude so
that the complete test pattern is visible.
• Vertical S-Correction (VSC). Align the vertical linearity,
meaning that vertical intervals of a grid pattern must be
equal over the entire screen height.
• Vertical Zoom (VX, if present). The vertical zoom is
added in for the purpose of development. It helps the
designer to set proper values for the movie expand or
movie(16x9) compress. Default value is “25”.
• Vertical Symmetry (VSL). Fine tune the vertical centering.
Only perform this alignment if it is strictly necessary.
• Vertical Linearity (VL). Align the top half and bottom half
of the picture to be of equal height.

Try messing with the convergence options see if that helps the ghosting. Just be sure to note what the parameters are set at first so you can go back to them if you mess it up too much.

I had that same thought...but....what convergence options? :(

I've got the same model.

062596+menu sets the tv to SDM (service display mode?)
062596+info enters the service menu

I believe these only work when you're in analog mode (viewing AV1, AV2, CVI, NTSC tuner, etc. but not digital tuner, HDMI or HD-CVI inputs). I couldn't seem to access the service menu from the digital mode inputs, even after having activated them in analog mode first. Which was awkward, because I was sourcing my test patterns from my DVD player, which is connected to the HD-CVI inputs. Oh, the service menu geometry menu's don't give you a grid to adjust with, so you'll need some sort of test pattern source.

You'll probably want the service manual PDFs posted earlier in this thread (thanks!) because the service menu's geometry menus are rather concise and only in acronyms. The manual defines the acronyms so you know what you're adjusting.

The 8502 has a much more flexible and easy to use service menu--it has a test grid for geometry adjustments, clear menus items, and many more adjustments. I guess they removed most of the useful service menu options when they added the computer service ComPair port, which doesn't help us DIY tinkerers much.


Thanks for the note about only getting to it in analog mode, that's what i wasn't getting! Now, about the service manuals, the links posted earlier don't seem to work. Can somebody pm me with directions on how to get the service manual? Thanks!

The forums won't let me post a link till I've got 5 posts. So in just a second I'll give you all another link to the 91x0d manuals.

Stupid restrictions.

Here ya go, the manual (http://www.uoregon.edu/~tehrenkr/avs/PHILIPS_SM_15060.pdf) for the 91x0d is up on my University account now.

Use user/password "avs" to access it.

jedurocher i'm searching for that website that had the set for $549 - i know it didn't say refurb anywhere on the page i printed out.

the good: i've had the tv for a month now and still feel that i got the most tv i could hope for, for the price. i have yet to use the set for anything but gaming and dvd's(xbox 360 is set to 1080i - no jitters - also the tv DOES upconvert 720p signal to 1080i.). it's been a busy month and haven't gotten around to getting my hd antenna back to check out the PQ with that. movies look great, games are even better! viewing distance is about 8 feet, also head on w/no windo glare to speak of.

Brightness - 41
Color - 60
picture - 50
sharpness - 70
tint - 6
color temp - cool
C+ - on.

the bad: i notice ghosting on some txt, while other say the picture is great and it's just because i stare at the tv for hours in a dark room.. i don't notice it getting worse or better, it just there. i ONLY notice it with txt, never during gaming or movies. i've considered taking it back and getting a replacement since i'm extremely picky, however after seeing tastyratz pictures, i decided i didn't want to risk getting one that looked like that(that's messed up dude). every phillips set i've seen over the past 5 years seems to have unclear txt, but good picture.. there's room for improvement, even on my set, but for now i'm not all that worried about it! back to Condemned!

yea it really sucks. I went to best buy the other day to look at the display set there and it had the same thing just as bad as mine. They had no new ones in stock either I would have to order one. Any other local places that might carry these besides bb n wally?

yea it really sucks. I went to best buy the other day to look at the display set there and it had the same thing just as bad as mine. They had no new ones in stock either I would have to order one. Any other local places that might carry these besides bb n wally?


I sort of noticed that yesterday while looking at the 9100 and 9110 side by side at Wally Mart. The 9110 had a little bit of ghosting around the letters. I am unsure if there is a fix or if is an inherent problem with the TV. Again, if that is the only big downside for this TV, then you are getting a big bang for the buck.

Any other comments? I have looked at the Sammy Slim Fit, but I have read about the muriate of problems from that set. I still think it all comes back to what anyone personally wants in their TV. Sony has things that I don't like, etc.

The only true issue that I have is this TV's inability, from what I have read, to do 720p outright instead of upconverting to 1080i. :(

J:DD

I sort of noticed that yesterday while looking at the 9100 and 9110 side by side at Wally Mart. The 9110 had a little bit of ghosting around the letters. I am unsure if there is a fix or if is an inherent problem with the TV. Again, if that is the only big downside for this TV, then you are getting a big bang for the buck.

I've got the ghosting on a 9100D (not a 9110D) and yes, as far as I'm concerned, it's the only downside worth complaining about. And I really only notice it on text and graphics (but with ALL input & tuner sources) but every once in a while, I'll see some of it on any crisp edge. And if I hadn't had the 8502 first, which did clearer text, I might not even know or care to compain about the 9100D ghosting. :)

But generally, I find the PQ is fine when viewing TV & movies.

Well, other than having to upgrade my 5.1 audio system because the set's ONLY audio output is SPDIF...some analog-out / passthru jacks would have been nice... and then THAT upgrade has forced me to get a Harmony remote to deal with the remote control madness....

But for the $, I'm pretty happy with it. I view the set as an "interim" or transitional HD set, to last me 5 years or so viewing MOSTLY DVDs and SDTV, until flat screens come down in $, HD standards settle out and more HD content gets broadcast. At least it has HDMI.

I still plan on calling Philips and seeing if there's anything that can be done about the ghosting and minor convergence issues (ie: service tech visit and make adjustments I can't make myself)


The only true issue that I have is this TV's inability, from what I have read, to do 720p outright instead of upconverting to 1080i. :(


My understanding is that's true of almost all direct view CRT HD sets....

Selmo,

Thanks for the input! I am pumped about getting my TV, just waiting for my bonus in a few months from work. Until then, I go to Wally Mart every few days to drool. One of these days I will convince them to hook up a DVD to that TV and check it out. Or do it myself...the guys at my local Wally Mart are clueless.

What are people out there using to adjust the color on the set: THX on various movies, AVIA, Etc?

Thanks

Again, I have no expertise and little practical knowlege.... so these are just my personal findings, and opinions, after my own experimentation & trials....

I believe that Philips must have assumed most users of this set (9110D) would connect it to a digital/HD converter, Dish or whatever.. and skimped on the tuner(s).

Standard Cable thru the tuners produced intolerable ghosting, on virtually every channel, and sparkles or graininess on many.
I found that S-Video input (DVD) produced less, but still bothersome ghosting.

I switched to "Digital Cable" w/ the HD Tier, input thru the single HD-CVInput, and input my DVD Player to the HDMI.

The Dig. Channels all look great, and the HD Channels and DVDs are simply gorgeous!!

Bein' a rank amateur, I setup my colors (etc.) to what pleased my eye, using favorite DVDs.
I used my "touch" principle :).... IOW: if it looked "real enough to touch, to my eye, it's fine with me! :D

Due to tight budget I first bought a samsung slim fit 27" HD for $536. Didn't like the fact it was a 4:3 among other things but the picture was good(OTA).
Took it back and ordered the Phillips 30" 9110 refurb for $522-free shipping from the Phillips outlet. So far so good and it has more features and picture options than the samsung. I'm not a picture geek but i like the picture. Weekend NFL in HD will be a good test.

Phillips customer service needs nukin' though!!!!!

Due to tight budget I first bought a samsung slim fit 27" HD for $536. Didn't like the fact it was a 4:3 among other things but the picture was good(OTA).
Took it back and ordered the Phillips 30" 9110 refurb for $522-free shipping from the Phillips outlet. So far so good and it has more features and picture options than the samsung. I'm not a picture geek but i like the picture. Weekend NFL in HD will be a good test.

So no problems with the re-furb? I have read they are just as good with the same warranty, but still have reservations on something that is that expensive.

Phillips customer service needs nukin' though!!!!!

Oh do tell.

'So no problems with the re-furb?'

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahhahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. cough cough cough.

Ahem..... Let me tell you my horror story....

I went for the Philips refurb 30PW8502. What a nightmare. It didn't work from day one. Severe flickering and jumping on 480p CVI input that would come and go, plus the RGB lines flickering across the screen randomly that many people seem to have with the 8502. Philips refurb units cannot be exchanged or returned. Your only recourse is to get them serviced via warranty (which is a mere 90 days--NOT the same as a new unit at ALL).

My unit went to the repair shop, came back, still broken, THREE TIMES. Philips insists you repair the set THREE TIMES before they will even consider a replacement option--and maybe not even then. That takes forever, because each time they bring it in to repair is a few weeks, then back and forth with Philips customer support, repair approvals, waiting for parts, etc.

After the second time in the shop, I got "escalated" to their "customer care" center, who was even WORSE to deal with than their regular customer support. (rude, unhelpful, robotic, inflexible, endless broken promises and lies, conflicting misinformation, won't call back, and don't even think of asking to speak to a manager. They refuse to let you do that, claiming "we're all managers" and they report to "no one"...yah...) Awful, awful experience. I ended up writing a letter to the president at Philips, because their customer care center rep told me that was the ONLY THING I COULD DO. The letter did seem to help, a little.

It took over SIX MONTHS of back of forth with the repair center, Philips CS, etc. before they finally replaced the set, which was broken from day one. The warranty is 90 days. Do the math: they took more than DOUBLE the warranty period to get me a working set. They never took resonsibillity for the problem, never apologized, treated me rudely, and sucked up a TON of my time and aggravation dealing with it.

Had I bought it at a store, even an online store, I simply would have returned it, but that's not an option with Philips refurbs. Had I known then what I know now... sheesh...."refurbished to factory standards" HAH!!! More like "inheriting someone else's problem child and good luck!"

Maybe there's people who got a good unit from refurb. Maybe there's people the Philip's CS treated well. I wasn't one of them and I can't say I recommend it to anyone. Buyer beware.

Anyway, now I've got the 9100D, and am *mostly* happy with it, except for the edge ghosting thing. But given what I went through, I'm stuck with this unit.

'So no problems with the re-furb?'

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHahhahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. cough cough cough.




I cut out the long rant for space purposes. If we get too many of these comments here, we may have to start a Phillips Customer Service Bashing Thread. :p

So long and short of it, Re-furb 95% chance bad, store purchase good. And if you can afford it, buy the extended from the store for in home or store service without having to go to phillips.

Thanks Selma for the input!

Re-furb 95% chance bad, store purchase good.

well, can't say what the actual percentages are, but I'm 0 for 1. A store purchase would have given me more power and options when I did get a lemon.

And if you can afford it, buy the extended from the store for in home or store service without having to go to phillips.

FWIW, when I got the replacement 9100D, it came with a slip that said "pay $250 within the next ten days for an extended warranty from Philips" (it made me laugh). I was not offered that option when I got the refurb, so that's another point to consider. Refurb=90 day warranty with NO chance of extension.

However, I did buy the set with my amex card, which has an automatic free "warranty doubling" feature (up to +1 year). You might check if your credit card has something like that.

However, I did buy the set with my amex card, which has an automatic free "warranty doubling" feature (up to +1 year). You might check if your credit card has something like that.

The downside of not ever using credit cards for purchases, is that I don't get those little perks, so I would need to buy the store extended warranty. The upside is that I have no credit card debt, unlike most of America and I am not a slave to the credit card companies....but that is for another thread and more likely, forum. :D :D

FWIW: Wally*World offered me a 2yr. Service Plan for $58.88, when I picked-up the 9110D. :)

That plan takes effect after the manufacturer's warranty runs out, making it a total of 3 years of coverage

Alright, I'm a relative newbie to HD, hasn't been available in my area until just recently, so never looked into it.

I'm looking at the 9110 and I've got a progressive scan dvd player, xbox 360, digital cable box (svideo), and ps2 (composite or svideo), to hook up to it.

My questions is relatively simple, if I hook up the 360 to the composite input that doesn't use the digital tuner, would I still get an HD signal? If not does that mean I'm limited to one composite and one HDMI for HD, or is that input only for use with an antenna that doesn't have a set top box? Obviously right now the only HD I have is the 360, but will I be able to get progressive scan outta my dvd player through the SD tuner? Or can someone just break down what resolutions each input can support? thanks in advance.

Basically, the i/o on the TV looks like this, as I understand it. Someone please correct if if I'm wrong. The TV seems to have two distinct brains, a digital side and an analog (NTSC) side.

Digital Brain:
internal HD Tuner / ATSC / QAM Tuner : various forms of digital TV, including HD content, but also including SDTV, EDTV, etc. Signal can be over the air, or via cable. 75Ohm connector.

HD-Component Video In: Analog signal for various SDTV & HD resolutions like 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, etc. This input also has an analog audio input.

HDMI: Digital HD signal with audio in an integrated connector. HDCP.

SPDIF Out: Audio output from any of the three digital brain sources. Coax, not optical.

Analog Brain:
* Composite / S-video input with analog audio: two sets of these, one of the back, one on the side. Side jack also has headphone out.

* Component Video In with analog audio: for 480i, possibly 480p video in. No HD-resolutions in. (note: the set up guide recommends not using the rear composite/s-video input if this input is used. ymmv)

* internal cable Tuner : SDTV, uses same input for the cable / antenna feed as the HD-tuner

NO AUDIO OUT / PASSTHROUGH for these inputs.

-----------

There's two sets of CVI inputs--one takes HD resolutions, one doesn't. Your Xbox can go into the HD-CVI input. The other CVI input *might* take 480p, or it might only take 480i, I'm not sure. The manual and set up guides do not say, and I haven't tried it.

I'm fairly positive that the non HD component input is 480i only.

You are correct. :)

alright, got the tv, got it all hooked up, tweaked the image, have the 360 running in 1080i, and the dvd player in 480p, aside from the fact that there are no audio outs for the analog signals (suck! can't use the tv as a passthrough for the home theater system anymore), no problems. wanted to thank you guys for the help with my question.

but then I realized, why not run my 360 in surround... well I have a small problem, and figured you guys could maybe just give me a little help. from what I've just read, you have to use the optical out on the 360 to get surround, the only digital out on the tv is coax, and my dvd home theater system only has the old school dual rca jacks for inputs. I'm s.o.l. on getting surround outta the 360 then, correct? is it even possible to use the old school rca/composite jacks for surround? if not, why would a company like panasonic bother to make a 5.1 surround system that doesn't have any digital ins? yet again up until now, I had no need for surround for anything other than dvds, as most ps2 games don't even support it, and with the dvd player being built into the home theater system, never had to look into it. so someone want to school me, or even just point me to a thread or faq that would do it for you? thanks.

With regular analog stereo inputs you can play "surround" sound by using dolby pro-logic. It attempts to encode surround information in the analog signal. It's not that great, but that's probably what your panasonic can do if it's a surround system without any digital inputs. I don't know whether or not a 360 can do dolby pro-logic encoding, but I doubt it.

What you need to do now that you've got the HDTV is upgrade your stereo system. If you want you could probably keep the 5.1 speakers you already have and just buy a new amp/receiver. But judging by what you've said so far about the panny that you have I doubt the 5.1 speakers it came with are all that great, you should probably upgrade those down the road as well if not at the same time you get a new amp.

The Onkyo home-theater-in-a-box systems are pretty popular and a good deal. Of course if you want to go for higher quality stuff you can, just get ready to spend more money or more time or both.

sorry to stray so much from the topic, but the help is appreciated. the home theater system is a panasonic sc-ht670. upon further inspection, you're correct the home theater system uses dolby digital pro logic 2, and dts. so I decided to tweak the 360 a bit, and find it does support dolby digital pro logic 2 (you have to go to the dashboard and go to the system setup and pick the analoug output), but still I get no surround from it, the left and right icons on the home theater system are all that lights up. so is it possible that there's a stereo and a surround version of pro logic 2, or do I have something screwed up? anyone have any suggestions?

edit: nevermind: I did some more research and found out the pro logic 2 can only be used with a dvd/cd, and will simulate surround from a stereo source. so there's nothing but simulated surround focus on the machine to help me out. so I guess I try and get back my old sony surround I gave to my mom that had an optical input (at the time I let her have it I wasn't using the optical and the five disc changer of the panasonic appealed to me for 24 marathons).

Sorry to continue off topic..

From Amazon.com description:
Built-in DTS and Dolby Digital decoders deliver 5.1-channel sound from select DVDs and CDs, while Dolby Pro-Logic II generates 5.1-channel sound from any stereo (2-channel) source, whether movies, TV shows, or music.

For the built-in DVD player it will do dolby digital and DTS (the two DIGITAL surround sound encoders). For any source it can do Dolby Pro Logic. What you may not realize is that since DPL is through an analog source there's no way for the receiver to automatically detect the DPL encoding. It just looks like a regular stereo signal. You have to turn on the DPL decoder, either using the remote or perhaps somewhere on the amp itself. But I'm sure you can enable it for the input you're using with your xbox.

On your remote, just below the "return" button, is your "DD PL II" button. This will enable the Dolby Pro Logic decoding.

thanks for tryin to help leto, but I already tried it. here's what the instruction manual says about that button "Only when "DVD/CD" is selected as the source." when I press it when on tv/vcr/aux which are the only sound inputs the receiver has, it just says error and doesn't do anything. the dumbest part is when describing the settings for pro logic II in the manual it says "Movie: Use this mode when playing movie software, especially videotapes, recorded in Dolby Surround" which is of course impossible. But I think whoever wrote the manual was confused and was using the description that was supposed to be for Super Surround, which is a simulated surround that just mirrors the front audio to the back but quieter. so that's what I'll have to use to simulate surround with this setup.

what is your value for AGC on the SAM menu? I was messign around with it but I forgot what it was.

Ghosting issue resolved possibly by setting the sharpness between 70-75. This seems to only work during HD reception and playing video games through component. SD will still be "blah" All those that havent taken their sets back try that and let me know what your result is. It works well for me. DVD movies and OTA reception dont ghost and I keep my sharpness up at 70. when i play my games i set it higher around 75, however its still bearable with the sharpness at 70. just try it.

Hey there guys, I'm new to this forum. Found it Friday by googling "30pw9100d sucks" while waiting for my next class to start at school and finally got the chance to sit down and read through the whole thread just now. As you can tell by my search words, I'm not overly satifisfied with my purchase.

I bought the Philips 30pw9100d back on Dec. 19 at Best Buy, loved it after finally discovering the digital mode ("why won't this look sweet like at the store
?!") a few hours after getting it home that night, but only recently has it started to give me problems. My gripe is that when I change channels in digital mode--I can only watch local digital broadcasts, don't have digital cable--a kind of subtle fuzz/blurriness/double vision comes over the whole picture. I don't know if this is the ghosting you guys are talking about (again I'm a total n00b) but you know how the remote has a button called AutoPic? If I cycle through all the settings (Movies, Sports, Multimedia, Weak Signal, you know) and come back to my own Personal setting, the fuzzines disappears and the picture looks crisp again. The blur also goes away if I quickly switch the Active Control on then off, but if I change to another channel the picture looks like ass again. This only seems to happen when changing between channels that are labeled HDTV by the program guide, not the SDTV channels.

I think this started happening after the first time I turned on the Active Control just to see what it did. I'm also using some rabit ears and not an outdoor antenna, could that be the problem? My video games also don't look too hot on it--in Halo 2 the backgrounds seem very blurry, much blurrier than on the 1997 (that's the year, don't have model number handy right now) 27" RCA in my room that I play games on. I thought maybe the TV is so kickass that it's actually showing the imperfections in the game itself or something, after all it did look like this on my parent's Magnavox LCD too (also Philips, I know). The text in Animal Crossing was all blurry too.

I called up Philips last Tuesday I think asking them about this--the lady I spoke to had no idea how to correct it and after 20 minutes of awkward silences and "looking it up on the computer" told me to contact a local Philips authorized repair center about it, how they could send somebody to my house to check out my TV. She then asked me if I had any other questions, I asked how do I get it to do 480p with my DVD player. She was like, "What's that?"...OMG. Called the service center the next day (The Video Hospital, which we had dealt with in the past with a busted GE TV) and the guy said that they had no appointments for people to come out to your house until Feb, and advised me to unplug the TV for a while to let it discharge and see if that does anything, otherwise bring it in. Yeah right, the next place I'm lugging this back to is the store, that is if I can return it (long story short, I am the previous owner of my open box item). Unplugging it didn't resolve anything, unless if I didn't do it for long enough maybe?

And damn tastyratz, I think I can get my TV to look like that if I turn the sharpness down to 0. I feel for you, dude.

A long first post, I know, but I had to vent!

alright guys, I'm back for more. got around the panasonic home theater problem (all of their theaters in a box lack digital inputs), I'm gonna pick up a sony. Then today while playing condemned I noticed a problem... convergence. Especially on the ammo counter and health bar. it appears that green is off a bit, or the red. I just can't tell, but one of them isn't lining up with the other two. so, how do I go about getting to fix convergence on this unit? as stated by others it's not in the menu, and I sure can't make heads or tails of that tech manual. thanks.

That sounds like the "ghosting" issues that everyone else is having.

Ghosting issue resolved possibly by setting the sharpness between 70-75. This seems to only work during HD reception and playing video games through component. SD will still be "blah" All those that havent taken their sets back try that and let me know what your result is. It works well for me. DVD movies and OTA reception dont ghost and I keep my sharpness up at 70. when i play my games i set it higher around 75, however its still bearable with the sharpness at 70. just try it.

For me, the ghosting doesn't really change much with the sharpness setting. SDTV sources start to look very grainy / noisy for me with sharpness > 65 or so, and things look badly blurred below 30. But the ghosting is pretty much there across the range. I've got the brightness, picture, sharpness tuned to minimize it (30, 70, 60 respectively, at least for my eyes and set) but it's far from gone at that setting. I've played with all those values across their whole ranges and with all input sources and it never went away completely.

My minor convergence issues, while still visible, seem somewhat improved over the past two weeks, perhaps through the normal degaussing on power up. The convergence seems to be a separate issue from the ghosting. The ghosting seems worst when I'm looking at black text / lines on a white background, where I will see a "shadow" of the black edge about 5mm to the right of the actual edge. Or a green fringing on the right. However, I don't see much or any ghosting when looking at white text on a black background.

Also, when looking at 4:3, the left edge of the screen has a bright double edge whereas the right edge has a dim double edge (but the picture between is pretty clear). Odd.

To me, it looks like there's some sort of signal echo WITHIN the set (on all inputs), which would be odd, or, more likely, some sort of contrast / edge enhancement "feature" is overzealous and needs to be smacked down a couple notches.

The ghosting looks slightly better on composite input than s-video, although that's offset by a bit of horizontal crawl on the composite input that's not there with s-video. The comb filter, I presume.

For me, the ghosting doesn't really change much with the sharpness setting. SDTV sources start to look very grainy / noisy for me with sharpness > 65 or so, and things look badly blurred below 30. But the ghosting is pretty much there across the range. I've got the brightness, picture, sharpness tuned to minimize it (30, 70, 60 respectively, at least for my eyes and set) but it's far from gone at that setting. I've played with all those values across their whole ranges and with all input sources and it never went away completely.

My "ghosting" issue went away, when I hooked-up to Digital/HD Cable Service, or IOW when I ceased useage of the onboard tuner & signal was provided by the Set-Top Box/PVR... draw what conclusion you may, about the Philip's tuner (9110D).

I do still see slight ghosts on "some" overlayed text.

Also, when looking at 4:3, the left edge of the screen has a bright double edge whereas the right edge has a dim double edge (but the picture between is pretty clear). Odd.

Likewise, the cable change deminished this to a personally tolerable level.
Can't see it on HD channels, and it is faint on Std. Dig.

alright, so I called philips about the convergence thing I was seeing. they of course, referred me to a local service tech. I called them today, and the philips certified service tech points out, convergence is only on projectors. says it's the tube itself, because of some cheap part they're using that gets deformed. he then tells me my best bet is to just take the tv back.

(now I stray from topic as usual)

so I decide to just go for broke and get a sony, now I'm back to my original question about tvs that have HD tuners built in. I went to the sony site and compared their two 30 inch tvs, KD-30XS955 and KV-30HS420. from what I can tell the 955 has a tuner, a cable card slot, can read memory cards, and has a small woofer built in. otherwise the tvs are identical, the cabinets are different colors, but the exact same mold, and they have all the same inputs. so if I'm using the tv for a 360, and later a ps3 and hd dvd player, but don't intend on getting hd by atenna anytime soon and am willing to rent a box from my cable company, the 400 dollar difference is just a waste correct? all I'm getting are those few functionalities, and the ability to use a cable card or antenna to get hd?

god I can't wait to just be done with this. I found the 955 for a grand shipped to my door (just worried about getting it shipped by a freight carrier), but know I can get the 420 at best buy this weekend for right at 800. thanks for the help.

the philips certified service tech points out, convergence is only on projectors. says it's the tube itself, because of some cheap part they're using that gets deformed. he then tells me my best bet is to just take the tv back.

sounds like you got a lazy tech who didn't feel like making a service call. :) I'm glad you got a satisfactory replacement tho.

FWIW, convergence is an issue on any color CRT, similar but somewhat different than convergence on a projector. Projectors need to align three separate monochrome guns (RG&B) to land together on the screen. CRTs need to align the three electron guns INSIDE the tube so their electron streams hit the right color phosphors through the shadow mask. A shadow mask inside a tube can be deformed, through various forms of abuse (like VERY strong magnets), which may be what the tech was referring to. (and permanent deformation of the shadow mask is mostly unfixable, but it's rare). Minor magnetism of the shadow mask will cause bad convergence, but is usually corrected by the degaussing coil on power up (may take many times, or may need a higher power degauss from a manual coil). Basically if the electron beam isn't exact, it will land on the wrong phosphors and cause color fringing or blurring. On older low res displays with coarse dot pitch it may not be that noticable, but many high res color TVs and monitors still have a convergence adjustment option because fine adjustment of the electron guns is usually necessary, esp with flat tubes.

The philips TV spec claims to have some sort of digital convergence management feature, which presumably allows it to maintain good convergence over the whole span of the flat picture tube (flat tubes are harder to converge on than traditional curved ones). So convergence adjustment is definitely NOT limited to projectors.

Put up a test pattern of a thin line white grid on a black background on your display. Look at it closely, in all corners. If you see red, green or blue on the left or right edges of the lines, then that's a convergence issue. (the tube has its phosphors arranged in vertical strips, so there shouldn't be a vertical convergence issue) It will likely not be even across the whole tube, but more likely aligned in some areas and a bit off in other areas. The corners of a flat tube are probably the hardest areas for the set to maintain proper convergence, the center the easiest.

On my set, I saw red fringing on two distinct areas of the screen, which has improved somewhat over the past two weeks, so it's probably lingering magnetism on the shadow mask--a degauss issue.

But that's separate from the fringing / echo that most of us are seeing with the 30PW9100D...that's even across the screen.

Has ANYONE gotten any answers / solutions / clue from Philips customer / tech support or gotten a tech to come out and look at the set? (or even, hope against hope, FIX the problem??)

sounds like you got a lazy tech who didn't feel like making a service call. :) I'm glad you got a satisfactory replacement tho.

A shadow mask inside a tube can be deformed, through various forms of abuse (like VERY strong magnets), which may be what the tech was referring to.

yeah that's what he said, the shadow mask is probably warped. he then went on to say that when philips was bought out, they started making the tubes in brazil and since then he's had to do a bunch of tube changes. I know it's not just in the corner because when I hit menu, I can see it on the brown box in the middle on both sides of the screen. and the power on degauss doesn't seem to have any affect on this. so I'm gonna go check out that sony, but I still can't get a direct answer from anyone on the tuner thing. with a hd monitor, do you get hd through all inputs that are component or better? if so, why can't you use the other components on the philips for hd? is it that the inputs on monitors don't run through the analog tuner? and on the philips one goes through the analog and the other through the digital?

I still can't get a direct answer from anyone on the tuner thing. with a hd monitor, do you get hd through all inputs that are component or better? if so, why can't you use the other components on the philips for hd? is it that the inputs on monitors don't run through the analog tuner? and on the philips one goes through the analog and the other through the digital?

I'll try to answer your question, but I'm not sure I completely understand what you're asking. It sounds like you might be a little confused as to what the function of the 'tuner' is. :)

The philips has a set of HD / digital inputs which will accept HD-component or HDMI input sources (HD cable / sat box, Xbox360, etc.) You do not need to use the internal HD tuner to watch in HD if you have an external HD tuner / source available. When using an external HD input source, the internal HD tuner is not involved.

It also has a set of analog SDTV inputs which will accept non-HD input sources (480i, component, s-video, or composite). These input sources do not go through the analog tuner either when used.

The TV's internal tuner(s) are only involved when you're watching broadcast TV over cable or antenna and you are not using an external video source (xbox, ps2, sat / cable box, tivo, dvd, vcr, etc.). If you are using an input (other than the 75ohm cable/antenna input), there's no need for the tuner's function and it's not involved. Other circuits, like the comb filter, etc. may or may not be processing the input source, but not the tuner.

Does that help?

alright, that does answer my question, so it's the other circuits that would be the reason that you can have two components but only one is high def. that's the one thing I just didn't get, why the hell make an hd tv with two components, but only one can be used to display hd? of course, I also wonder why anyone makes a new model 1000 watt home theater system without any digital inputs, but I guess the companies just want to keep the prices/cost down and the features as slim as they have to be to sell. thanks for the info.

I just went to circuit city to check out this model.. they didn't have the 9110 or 9100 but they did have the 30pw8420. Everyone on here said that model didn't have the ghosting problem so I thought, great a better picture (I don't need the internal tuner for now) at a good price..

check out philips outlet if you want the best price right now.

Anyways, I compared it to the good HDTVs in the store and there is a definite ghosting problem, VERY noticeable with text, especially the outer right edges. I didn't see anything better on black and white text compared to color. Also, the edges of objects (people or stationary) didn't seem nearly as clear as other tvs, especially in moving scenes. It could be a convergence problem like you said, but I wasn't able to differentiate the problem.

If it was a convergence problem, maybe the ones that philips sells are calibrated better, or even better have a new tube without these problems.

Also some people mentioned setting the sharpness to around the 70 level? When I went into the menu on this model, I could only get 0-7 (or maybe 0-9 or 0-8), so that must be for the other models.

The sound did sound great on this tv, much better than the sony right next to it, don't really care tho as my surround sound system is much better.

On another note about ghosting:

I do know that there were originally problems when hdtv tuners were first introduced into the hdtv sets. And that was when you were watching cable the hdtv tuner was picking up another signal (OTA) and slightly showing it, thus producing a ghosting problem. This doesn't seem to be the same thing, but it might be a similar situation and the internals of the tv might not be "clean" signals.

Anyways, was disappointed how bad the problem actually was and now think I will be looking at some other options.

First, this is my 1st post, so go easy on me! :)

I just found that my local Wal-mart has the Black 30 PW9110D37 side by side to the silver 30" WS and has both of them mark for Clearance for $549.00. No Remote, No Owners manual. and unfortunately I am told they have no more. You look at the tag and its definitely for the silver model, but both of them share the same clearence tag and are verified by the Dept or store Mgr. as 549.00. :D

I have been following this thread for several weeks and I am also one wanting to jump in and purchase this TV, but I have a few questions I'm hoping someone can help me with.

1. Remote? I found a universal Philips remote also at Wal-mart, how close to the original is this one? Will it work? Maybe good enough for a wife or kid remote?
2. Can I order an official 30 PW9110D37 remote? If so Where would I go through?
3. Can I program my Marantz RC 2000 or my Philips TS 1000 learning remotes to this TV and get the buttons I need?
4. Isn't the 30PW9110D37 New? and Wal-Mart should still be carrying this? Why am I told it wont be restocked? Sure I would want an unopened box if they had one but our local Wal-marts that have them in stock wont pricematch this Wa-Mart.

Thanks! :rolleyes:

Steve

I just went to circuit city to check out this model.. they didn't have the 9110 or 9100 but they did have the 30pw8420. Everyone on here said that model didn't have the ghosting problem so I thought, great a better picture (I don't need the internal tuner for now) at a good price..

check out philips outlet if you want the best price right now.

Anyways, I compared it to the good HDTVs in the store and there is a definite ghosting problem, VERY noticeable with text, especially the outer right edges. I didn't see anything better on black and white text compared to color. Also, the edges of objects (people or stationary) didn't seem nearly as clear as other tvs, especially in moving scenes. It could be a convergence problem like you said, but I wasn't able to differentiate the problem.

Jay,

If you're talking about the Philips 30PW8420 with your ghosting comment, I have to say that mine has no such problem. It's clear as a bell. Everything looks great on it, especially HD broadcasts that are so clear and colorful that it looks like you could step right into the action. I got my 8420 from the Outlet store online, and I couldn't be more pleased.

well guys, looks like today I'm takin the philips back, was a nice little tv, just that convergence issue was getting to me. not so much the ghosting, to which there wasn't much of an issue after I calibrated.

last night I walked into best buy to try and find a sony 30xs955 or a 30hs420 display to see how they looked. looks like I lucked out, they had a 30hs420 that was returned thursday, salesman claimed because it wouldn't fit in the cabinet, but the tv was manufactured in july 2005. so I doubt that, but I couldn't find any real issues with the picture, no ghosting, convergence or bending. willing to bet they kept it for close to 90 days, and decided they wanted a bigger picture or they found an issue I couldn't see. the only thing I saw was when a picture that was wider than 16*9 there was a little bending/color issue with the very left edge of the black bars, but every tv there seemed to have it so I think it was the source. anyway, open box price on the tv was 674.99 so I decided to purchase it, take her home and tweak it some more, see how my sources look on it, and I've got 90 days to make my decision. long story just to say, hopefully I'm done with the hell of tv shopping for now, and thanks to all you for your help. if I have any more problems I'll be over in the sony threads from now on. thanks again.

CAnnot get the TV to recognize the HDMI input from my Oppo. What is the deal? Any Suggestions?

I think that I figured it out. The TV is only recognizing 480P from the OPPO. Now that is just horrible. I thought that it accepted 1080i. It does from the OTA broadcasts. If this is the case, I am going to be severly disappointed that I am going to have to buy another TV b/c I like my OPPO too much. :( :( :mad:

Exactly as Ryan states....
My Oppo simply performs best at 720p :)
I find the same to be true of my Sceintific-Atlanta HDTV Cable/PVR.
Matching at 1080i seems to cause a very "fine" jitter (but noticeable)... sorta' like if one suffered uncorrected astigmatism.
Don't know, but it would then seem to me to be a anomally of my (or the model?) 9110.

BTW: If anyone is having a problem getting this set to work properly with a Harmony Remote... (mine wouldn't toggle power, etc.)
I finally got a good profile by identifying it as a "30PW9100D/37". ;)
Do you think that the 9110 does not accept 1080i from the Oppo. I can only get it to pic up the 480p. What is your trick?

UPDATE: Found this in the service manual so I am unsure why it would not be working.

"The ATSC Tuner and 1fH to 2Fh conversion is performed on the ATSC module. Component inputs for the CVI HD and HDMI are located on the ATSC module. This input can accept 480i, 480p, 1080i, or 720p signals. The ATSC module converts whatever signal is applied to a 1080i format. The ATSC tuning system can tune all channels in the VHF, UHF, and Cable bands."

Makes since because I can see FoxHD which is broadcast in 720p.

Newbie here - Philips has changed the service doc online site to, I guess a certified tech only site.

Anyone have a cached copy of the service manual?

Thanks,

Newbie here - Philips has changed the service doc online site to, I guess a certified tech only site.

Anyone have a cached copy of the service manual?

Thanks,

Check here:
Here's a link to a few i've got on my home pc. I've just recently put up an IIS until i can get a dedicated linux box with apache. The em1.2uaa is for my model, the 30pw850h and related models. You'll have to look at your chassis to see which of the other manuals goes with your set. the newer 9100 series are chassis starting with L.

http://12.227.129.113/PhilipsSM/

You should download all of them to your home pc, i've got no promises as to how long i'll keep the server up. Just click ok when it asks for a username and password, if that doesn't work, let me know

And make sure to use anonymous if you have xp for the user. It is slow because the manual is HUGE, but it still works.

THANKS ORYAN again for hosting this :D

Does Philips 30pw9100d/37 supports 720p resolution?

Does Philips 30pw9100d/37 supports 720p resolution?

It accepts 720p, but upconverts it to 1080i. Most, if not all, CRT televisions cannot display 720p as a native resolution.

The ATSC Tuner and 1fH to 2Fh conversion is performed on the ATSC module. Component inputs for the CVI HD and HDMI are located on the ATSC module. This input can accept 480i, 480p, 1080i, or 720p signals. The ATSC module converts whatever signal is applied to a 1080i format. The ATSC tuning system can tune all channels in the VHF, UHF, and Cable bands.

I have searched and i can't find an answer to this question: I have recently purchased this TV (electonicsnation) and I love it. The picture quality is great. I am using an OTA antenna to watch local HD channels. Is there a way and if there is what is the cheapest way to record these shows so that i can watch them later? I have normal Disn Net. and i dont want to pay 300 for a new receiver and $50/month for 20 HD channels when all i want to do is what locals. thank you very much

I have searched and i can't find an answer to this question: I have recently purchased this TV (electonicsnation) and I love it. The picture quality is great. I am using an OTA antenna to watch local HD channels. Is there a way and if there is what is the cheapest way to record these shows so that i can watch them later? I have normal Disn Net. and i dont want to pay 300 for a new receiver and $50/month for 20 HD channels when all i want to do is what locals. thank you very much

ptab,

The cheapest way I know is to use a standard VCR. If your set has video and sound out, you can connect to the ins on the back of the VCR. I'm not that familiar with the 9100, as I have the 30PW8420, which doesn't have a built-in ATSC tuner. I use an LG HD tuner for that purpose. The LG has VCR outs that I have connected to our Panasonic VCR. When I set the VCR to "L1" it receives the tuner's digital broadcast.

The resulting quality is pretty good -- much better than recording in analog mode. Since the tape isn't digital, the image is not as good as the original, but by setting the TV to "AV1" the VCR is able to play back the recorded show. That's the cheapest way I know to record.

It won't be HD.

It won't be HD.

Yup, that's what I was saying. I guess it would have been clearer if I had said, "...much better than recording from the TV's analog mode..."

Is the 30PW9110D cable card capable?

Is the 30PW9110D cable card capable?

Nope.... :( sorry.

In case you can't get the service manual, here's the geometry menu abbreviations and explanations:

Horizontal
• Horizontal Parallelogram (HP). Align straight vertical
lines in the top and the bottom; vertical rotation around the
center.
• Horizontal Bow (HB). Align straight horizontal lines in the
top and the bottom; horizontal rotation around the center.
• Horizontal Shift (HSH). Align the horizontal center of the
picture to the horizontal center of the CRT.
• East West Width (EWW). Align the picture width until the
complete test pattern is visible.
• East West Parabola (EWP). Align straight vertical lines at
the sides of the screen.
• East West Trapezium (EWT). Align straight vertical lines
in the middle of the screen.
• Upper Corner Parabola (UCP). Align straight vertical lines
in the upper corners of the screen.
• Lower Corner Parabola (LCP). Align straight vertical lines
in the lower corners of the screen.
• East West S correction (EWS). Default value is “16”.
• East West Corner (EWC). Align straight vertical lines at
the top and bottom of the sides.

Vertical
• Service blanking (SBL). Switch the blanking of the lower
half of the screen “on” or “off” (to be used in combination
with the vertical slope alignment).
• Vertical Shift (VSH). Align the vertical centering so that
the test pattern is located vertically in the middle. Repeat
the 'vertical amplitude' alignment if necessary.
• Vertical Amplitude (VAM). Align the vertical amplitude so
that the complete test pattern is visible.
• Vertical S-Correction (VSC). Align the vertical linearity,
meaning that vertical intervals of a grid pattern must be
equal over the entire screen height.
• Vertical Zoom (VX, if present). The vertical zoom is
added in for the purpose of development. It helps the
designer to set proper values for the movie expand or
movie(16x9) compress. Default value is “25”.
• Vertical Symmetry (VSL). Fine tune the vertical centering.
Only perform this alignment if it is strictly necessary.
• Vertical Linearity (VL). Align the top half and bottom half
of the picture to be of equal height.


Which of these will help put things in focus? When I go into service mode I dont see whatever pattern this thing is referencing.

is there a newer model of this set scheduled to come out this spring?

HELP! My local Walmart just did a price rollback on the 30pw9110d. Down to $526! Is it worth it? Should I get it?

HELP! My local Walmart just did a price rollback on the 30pw9110d. Down to $526! Is it worth it? Should I get it?

Besides the slight geometry problem that I have, which is only noticeable when I have the TWC menu up, I love my TV! I wish that I could have gotten mine that cheap. It is the best bang for the buck. If you look through this post, you will see many different ideas on how good/bad the TV is.

Some issues include:
*weak internal antenna
*slight geometry problems

Plus sides:
*to me, no noticeable difference between HD component input and HDMI input (I have a SA 8300HD going in component and Oppo DV971H to HDMI)
*great ability to adjust the picture (there are some suggestions on the post)

Any issues that I have noticed with blocking on the picture have come from the lack of a good processor on the HD box rather than the TV. I never have that type of problem with my Oppo. Picture is great!

The best way to look at it is this..buy and if you don't like it, return it. But those that understand that you are getting a pretty good TV, for a great price. Each individual has his own tastes for what they like in their picture.

That is the best that I can say, TEKWORM may chime in too.

Z07, I am in the same boat as you. I just finished reading this thread and here is my recommendation: Get the TV if it is not going to be your primary one (I plan on using it in the bedroom). Look carefully for the ghosting issue that has been discussed in detail in this thread. If it is reaaly bad for you then try returning it for another. If it is still a problem (I think this will come down to personal preference, it seems to bother some more than others) return it and get a different model.

I hope to pick mine up Wed or Thurs, the price is right and I will see if I can live with the ghosting.

Oops, looks like jedurocher beat me to the reply.

Only ghosting problem I had appeared to come from internal tuner(s).
Once on the Dig/HD cable box (SA8300HD) or on the OPPO DVD, no problem.

Same setup... PVR on HD-CVI, DVD Player on HDMI.
Current best input results from 1080i on the DVD (HDMI) input and 720p on HD-CVI (which I believe is also the limit the CVI will pass).

Only ghosting problem I had appeared to come from internal tuner(s).
Once on the Dig/HD cable box (SA8300HD) or on the OPPO DVD, no problem.

Same setup... PVR on HD-CVI, DVD Player on HDMI.
Current best input results from 1080i on the DVD (HDMI) input and 720p on HD-CVI (which I believe is also the limit the CVI will pass).

I have my box set at 1080i. I had not heard that one, and I have not had any problems with things. Guess I need to check the service manual again.


I hope to pick mine up Wed or Thurs, the price is right and I will see if I can live with the ghosting.

I have never seen any ghosting, but then again, I have never used the internal antenna.

Hope all this information helps.

Ive posted pics in this thread of exactly what you need to keep your eyes open for. Find my post and look for that. Maybe see if you can buy a demo unit you can see running first or see if you can try the set in the store first.

note: My ghosting was on any input but I was able to see it on digital sources more just due to the crappy ghost sticking out like a sore thumb with the extra clarity. This was not limited to the internal tuner or sharpness but showed on analog/digital sources as well as hdmi or internal tuner for me.

Hi everyone,
I have an HTPC (GeForce 6200 64bit 128MB DVI) hooked up to my phillips 9110D
directly and when I switch to the HD CVI to watch another source, and switch back, my TV has "lost video connection" so to speak, with the DVI port on my video card it seems.

Does anyone know if this could be a faulty HDMI-DVI cable or could it be a graphics driver issue? Or the TV itself?

Thanks
Reagan

Hi everyone,
I have an HTPC (GeForce 6200 64bit 128MB DVI) hooked up to my phillips 9110D
directly and when I switch to the HD CVI to watch another source, and switch back, my TV has "lost video connection" so to speak, with the DVI port on my video card it seems.

Does anyone know if this could be a faulty HDMI-DVI cable or could it be a graphics driver issue? Or the TV itself?

Thanks
Reagan

Just guessing, here... but I've noticed my unit seems slow to sync to new input signals..
For instance.. often, when switching to my DVD player, I need to either switch the player off/on (again) or cycle the input (ie: from HDMI to HD-CVI, then back again) before it will catch it & sync.

Of course, this happens mostly when inputs are being switched, and added to the mix is the possibility that the Philips is still processing a previous signal :D and misses the sync.

Hi everyone,
I have an HTPC (GeForce 6200 64bit 128MB DVI) hooked up to my phillips 9110D
directly and when I switch to the HD CVI to watch another source, and switch back, my TV has "lost video connection" so to speak, with the DVI port on my video card it seems.

Does anyone know if this could be a faulty HDMI-DVI cable or could it be a graphics driver issue? Or the TV itself?

Thanks
Reagan

Also, Reagan, WELCOME TO THE FORUMS! I hope that you can get your questions answered here and in other areas. There is a pretty knowledgable community here. :p

HELP! My local Walmart just did a price rollback on the 30pw9110d. Down to $526! Is it worth it? Should I get it?

I got the deal from my local WM about a week ago and I like the digital tuner but like reported elsewhere, analog is not good. My walmart said they were out but I found one stashed with some A/V equipment above the bulk paper towels, etc...
I say go for it (if you have not already). Good TV for the price because our budget was definately limited (wife said around $500 and that's what I got)

I discovered that we get a crazy amount of digital stations with our standard $14 comcast. I'm thinking we're seeing others digital signal? but I'm not asking. We get all our local HD's and a host of others (some HBO, music choice....) with the coax directly plugged in/ no box or digital subscription.

BTW
thanks AVSforum for all the the info- discovered this in my shopping for new TV and now I'm hooked. :rolleyes:

I got the deal from my local WM about a week ago and I like the digital tuner but like reported elsewhere, analog is not good. My walmart said they were out but I found one stashed with some A/V equipment above the bulk paper towels, etc...
I say go for it (if you have not already). Good TV for the price because our budget was definately limited (wife said around $500 and that's what I got)

I discovered that we get a crazy amount of digital stations with our standard $14 comcast. I'm thinking we're seeing others digital signal? but I'm not asking. We get all our local HD's and a host of others (some HBO, music choice....) with the coax directly plugged in/ no box or digital subscription.

BTW
thanks AVSforum for all the the info- discovered this in my shopping for new TV and now I'm hooked. :rolleyes:

Glad to hear that it is working out for you. I just use the box because I am hooked on everything else. My signal strength on the internal tuner via coax for all the digital channels left a whole lot to be desired. That is the main reason that I continued on with my DVR.

Enjoy and I agree, AVSForum is more addictive than crack, or so I hear :eek:

hi, I am a newbie. Is there anybody who has some experience about the 26 in one(26PW9100D/37). after I have ordered one, I saw this thread, so many bad reviews of ghosting and pq things. really worry about the tv..

hi, I am a newbie. Is there anybody who has some experience about the 26 in one(26PW9100D/37). after I have ordered one, I saw this thread, so many bad reviews of ghosting and pq things. really worry about the tv..

First off, WELCOME to the FORUM! Sorry it has taken someone so long to get back to you.

I think if you read through the thread, you will notice that the PQ issues that do arise can be blamed on various things. Most of the problems people seem to have deal with the internal antenna. I am not sure if the 26PW9100D has an internal tuner for OTA broadcasts, but the tuner in the 30" leaves a little to be desired. Most folks that have an HD tuner hooked into their TV are not having that many picture problems and the ones that I have are usually due to poor conversion quality of the internal components of the HD receiver and not the TV. I believe this because I NEVER see any of the issues that I do watching my HD receiver while watching my Oppo DVD player.

Hope that this helps. ;)

Though I have the tunerless version of the 9100D, the 30PW8420, I can attest to the fact that connected to a separate external tuner my version of this TV produces awesome PQ. I continue to be amazed at the clarity and definition provided by this set. I believe it's essentially the same as the 9100D, with the exception of not having the internal tuner.

It's got to be a bummer to buy a set with an internal tuner, only to discover this ghosting problem. I wonder if an external antenna would eliminate most of the problems reported by owners of this set.

thank you guys

Though I have the tunerless version of the 9100D, the 30PW8420, I can attest to the fact that connected to a separate external tuner my version of this TV produces awesome PQ. I continue to be amazed at the clarity and definition provided by this set. I believe it's essentially the same as the 9100D, with the exception of not having the internal tuner.

It's got to be a bummer to buy a set with an internal tuner, only to discover this ghosting problem. I wonder if an external antenna would eliminate most of the problems reported by owners of this set.

I still would have bought it, even though I do not use it, because I wanted a BLACK tv. $30 more to get something I really want than something I would always be looking at and say, "I need to paint that." :D

The Black really helps with the widescreen 2:35.1 and 2:40.1 movies as well as the SD programming on the receiver.

JD,

I'm just not that hard to please, though I know a lot of folks want stuff to match. My setup would bug you: silver TV, HD tuner/DVD player: black AV receiver, VCR, center speaker. Having raised three children (one still a teenager at home) and paid for private Christian school for all plus miriad sports fees, I know how to be thankful for what I have, and how to find a bargain! Color is less important.

I have the 30PW9100D model and I tried getting in the service menu by entering 062596 following by the menu button and it didn't work... was i looking at the wrong manual?? how do i get into my TV's service menu???

Anyone having success using this with an HTPC - I'm looking at hooking it up with Sagetv for Basic tv/movie watching for the family on the cheap. If your hooked up, what rez are you using and how is the readability? (I'm assuming we would be using an hdmi to dvi adaptor). Thanks in advance for any input.
Mike

Anyone? Bueller...

I was able to use an hdmi to dvi and can output 640x480 to this set which looks umm - well okay - the video is good, the text/desktop so so . What I can't do for some reason is feed this TV anything other than 640x480, I'm trying all sorts of different settings in Powerstrip to no avail, so if anyone has some settings that work, please share (while I still have some hair left on my head) :)

Anyone? Bueller...

I was able to use an hdmi to dvi and can output 640x480 to this set which looks umm - well okay - the video is good, the text/desktop so so . What I can't do for some reason is feed this TV anything other than 640x480, I'm trying all sorts of different settings in Powerstrip to no avail, so if anyone has some settings that work, please share (while I still have some hair left on my head) :)

GOVGEEK,
I have been trolling the forum and seen your post, but I do not have any experience with it. I thought there were issues with my display in the beginning with my Oppo, but it was the Oppo and a remote issue.

I know, as I have posted previously, that the TV does accept input from 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i and converts to 1080i. I am not sure why your TV is only accepting that resolution. The picture may not look good because the components in the TV don't do a wonderful job converting to 1080i so I try to set any input at 1080i so my TV doesn't have to do it. (My experience)

Sorry this may not help, but maybe it is a start. :(

Thanks for the info, I hope it is just my display, the pc is using an older ti-4200. I have a 9800pro on the Projector PC, I could bring up to try. I was thinking about picking up the dvi-component ati dongle, but didn't want to spend money needlessly if it won't work.

walmart claims they should be getting more 30PW9110D's in and they will be sold for $526. I don't think Philips has announced a successor for this TV...pretty good deal to pass up.

walmart claims they should be getting more 30PW9110D's in and they will be sold for $526. I don't think Philips has announced a successor for this TV...pretty good deal to pass up.

Oh YEA!! I wish I could have waited about a month before that price started. :eek:

Still love the TV and a $526, probably one of the best deals out there right now. I am sure that the newer model will have a better internal antenna...oh well.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I decided to go ahead & buy it for $526, but when I went back to WalMart, they were sold out. :( I checked a few other stores, but they didn't have any either, & claimed they weren't getting any more. Then lo & behold, my wife found two of them at a smaller WalMart, put one on layaway 'til I could get there, & I've had it for about a week now. No problems or complaints so far, but I only have a DVD & Dish Network satellite hooked up to it. Now I just have to figure out what the best/most affordable way to get an HD signal is. I live out in the sticks, & can't get an OTA HD signal.

Thanks again.

First off, hello to everyone... i just bought the 9110d, i was very impressed with the display model @ the local circuit city.... i dont know much about high definition , 480p or 1080i... it all seems greek to me, well anyway, i hooked it up to my directv... through the A/V jacks (red,white,yellow) the picture doesn't look all that good, so then i tried the s-video input, the pq improved but it still looked nothing like the display model @ CC... i just ordered component cables from Monster hoping that it would improve my pq... can anyone help me with the best settings, cables, or devices i need to get the best possible pq, thank you very much

First off, hello to everyone... i just bought the 9110d, i was very impressed with the display model @ the local circuit city.... i dont know much about high definition , 480p or 1080i... it all seems greek to me, well anyway, i hooked it up to my directv... through the A/V jacks (red,white,yellow) the picture doesn't look all that good, so then i tried the s-video input, the pq improved but it still looked nothing like the display model @ CC... i just ordered component cables from Monster hoping that it would improve my pq... can anyone help me with the best settings, cables, or devices i need to get the best possible pq, thank you very much

FWIW, a friend of mine at work bought a Toshiba HDTV, with expectations that his experience would be as good as what I had told him about what I was getting with my Philips 30PW8420. I don't have cable but he does. He came in the next day and said he was disappointed with the results, so he called the cable company. "Oh," they said, "you need to subscribe to HD cable." Maybe that's your problem.

BTW, if you're not using the internal HD tuner, you may need an HDMI connection from box to TV. That type of connection provides best PQ.

First off, hello to everyone... i just bought the 9110d, i was very impressed with the display model @ the local circuit city.... i dont know much about high definition , 480p or 1080i... it all seems greek to me, well anyway, i hooked it up to my directv... through the A/V jacks (red,white,yellow) the picture doesn't look all that good, so then i tried the s-video input, the pq improved but it still looked nothing like the display model @ CC... i just ordered component cables from Monster hoping that it would improve my pq... can anyone help me with the best settings, cables, or devices i need to get the best possible pq, thank you very much

FIRST OFF, WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

One of the biggest mistakes that most noobies make, and a problem in the industry, is that most people are sold an HDTV and are not told what it takes to watch HDTV programming.

First, if you bought the TV from CC, then you probably have the 9100d not the 9110d. The only place that I have found to buy the 9110d is at Wal-Mart, and a few, and I stress A FEW, online retailers. Knowing that...

Since the 9100d model does not have a built in tuner, you will need an external tuner to translate the HD programming that is then displayed on your TV.

Second, to watch HD with Direct TV, you must have 2 things: 1.) and HD tuner, and 2.) HD service.

I am not very familiar with the HD tuner for Direct TV, but it should have at least a DVI or HDMI output from the box that you would plug into your TV for the HD programming. Some Set Top Boxes actually have HD COmponent video out, but I am not sure if direct TV is one of them.

I actually have TWCable and have not had too many problems with my HD programming and there is a decent selection for programming.

I hope this helps answer some of your questions and gets you thinking about a few other thing. Congratulations on your new TV. You will really love HD programming and find it hard to ever watch standard definition programming again.

First, if you bought the TV from CC, then you probably have the 9100d not the 9110d. The only place that I have found to buy the 9110d is at Wal-Mart, and a few, and I stress A FEW, online retailers. Knowing that...

Since the 9100d model does not have a built in tuner, you will need an external tuner to translate the HD programming that is then displayed on your TV.


Actually, CC did start carrying the 9110d.

Also, the 9100d DOES have an internal HD tuner. Philips models ending with d have a digital tuner in them. The only difference between the 9110d and the 9100d is the case color of black vs. silver.

YEAY!!!! Post #1000, man I've wasted a ton of time on this forum!

Actually, CC did start carrying the 9110d.

Also, the 9100d DOES have an internal HD tuner. Philips models ending with d have a digital tuner in them. The only difference between the 9110d and the 9100d is the case color of black vs. silver.

YEAY!!!! Post #1000, man I've wasted a ton of time on this forum!


Thanks for the correction, thus my signature, "Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise." Proverbs 19:20

The news of circuit city and the tuner is news to me :)

In that case East_Los_EMT, the added information would be to buy an Over the Air (OTA) antenna for your local channels and plug into you TV to get local HD programming. The same still holds true if you are looking at HD programming other than local.

well, that clarified a few things, oh and by the way... i was messing around with the options and i got it to look pretty damm good, out of the box settings were horrible, i was reading in the earlier posts about people having "ghost" issues with the tv, I've noticed it with my set as well, but only a few times and with very very small text, but now i am starting to feel very good with my purchase, thanks to everyone for your input, but i guarantee you will be hearing "alot" more from me ;) .

I just purchased the philips at my local walmart for 526!! Couldnt pass up the deal. Yeah I have been reading this thread and saw all the mixed reviews, but Im really happy with it so far. Hopefully I wont get any ghosting issues. Right now my xbox 360, xbox, and ps2 are hooked up to it, and all look fine to me. Especially the 360 in all its HD glory! Havent hooked up comcast to it yet, that will be later this week. Ill have a report on that after its done. Thanks for all the info, it really helped me make an educated decesion(the price didnt hurt either!) For me personally, I feel this is great tv! Its designed well, and I like the fact that its black. It looks 1000 times better than the toshiba 30 inch widescreen that Im taking back today (sorry cant remember model number). The toshibas HD looked like SD in my opinion. Anyway, thanks again for all your info. Im glad I found this site, and this is my first post.

WOW!!! i just hooked up my 9110d to my brand new hd receiver (directv) it looks gorgeous, add to the fact that i just received my new monster component cable (from Ebay $7 i kid u not)HUGE difference... i was ready to return this tv this morning...but i started toying with all the settings and ended up with a big smile on my face and the feeling that i got a steal for what i paid...hdmi cable is next on my list...

does anyone know a good dvd player/surround sound that would go good with this tv...thank u and thank god for high definition

does anyone know a good dvd player/surround sound that would go good with this tv...thank u and thank god for high definition

Great to hear you're so pleased with your TV. I sure am with my Philips.

Concerning the question about DVD players and surround sound, I use a Sony STR-DE635 from several years back that does a great job of providing 5.1 sound. As far as DVD players go, I have a combo LG HD tuner/DVD player that I'm very pleased with. Since you have a satellite tuner, however, from what I've read, you might want to check Oppo units. They seem to get the most raves on this board.

I just purchased the philips at my local walmart for 526!! Couldnt pass up the deal. Yeah I have been reading this thread and saw all the mixed reviews, but Im really happy with it so far. Hopefully I wont get any ghosting issues. Right now my xbox 360, xbox, and ps2 are hooked up to it, and all look fine to me. Especially the 360 in all its HD glory! Havent hooked up comcast to it yet, that will be later this week. Ill have a report on that after its done. Thanks for all the info, it really helped me make an educated decesion(the price didnt hurt either!) For me personally, I feel this is great tv! Its designed well, and I like the fact that its black. It looks 1000 times better than the toshiba 30 inch widescreen that Im taking back today (sorry cant remember model number). The toshibas HD looked like SD in my opinion. Anyway, thanks again for all your info. Im glad I found this site, and this is my first post.

The only draw back is, when individuals like yourself, have numerous, possible HDMI/DVI components, but there are only 2 HD inputs on the set. Otherwise, I agree. I really like it and with the $526 price, which I did not pay, :mad: I have been referring people to it.

WOW!!! i just hooked up my 9110d to my brand new hd receiver (directv) it looks gorgeous, add to the fact that i just received my new monster component cable (from Ebay $7 i kid u not)HUGE difference... i was ready to return this tv this morning...but i started toying with all the settings and ended up with a big smile on my face and the feeling that i got a steal for what i paid...hdmi cable is next on my list...

does anyone know a good dvd player/surround sound that would go good with this tv...thank u and thank god for high definition


I agree with John and have the Oppo setup on this set and it is amazing. Picture, most of the time, is even better than the HD channels. The only draw back is that you have to play with the input on the Oppo when you switch to HDMI because of a sync issue that the set has.

My receiver is listed below. Lower end model from Sony, but it does the job and I have not even updated to the 6.1 by purchasing a new speaker.

Enjoy the set. It is a great bang for the buck! :D

I'm looking for a set with a QAM tuner in the $500-$600 range. I saw the Sanyo HT30746 today at Wal-Mart but I see it's got some really bad reviews here.

I'd rather pay $50 more and get the Phillips 30PW9100D or 30PW9110D (I prefer black) from Wal-Mart for $526. The one local store I checked today didn't have it.

How bad is the ghosting problem some have here? I'd be using basic cable (that's why I want the QAM tuner... for free local HD from my cable co).

Would I be able to hook up an OTA antenna too and use both the digital cable tuner AND the OTA antenna easily at the same time?

My setup would be:

Gamecube using composite
ReplayTV using component or composite
TiVo using Svideo
coax for cable
maybe a small OTA for HD locals not on my cable lineup

I got a deal and got the 9110d for $450 at walmart. Bought it on 04/06/06 and i'm very happy with my purchase. I'm able to get all of my hd channels and some digtal cable and on demand channels that I don't pay for and the basic cable channels look great with just cable line ran into the set. the only con is that the vcr looks like crap but don't realy care about that I never use it have not tryed to hook it up with better cables yet the dvd player look great. this set is a great buy even at the $526 I was willing to pay.

I have a Philips 30PW9110D/37, and have noticed that when I turn up the volume
I get a 'flicker' or 'roll' on the screen. Mute the sound and it goes away. I guess the built in speakers aren't shielded like they should be.

Anyone else have this problem? Any fixes?

Can someone please post the nvm settings for the philips 30pw9110d/37. Just hit
062596 info on remote and scroll down. I think mine got changed.

ok, i am officially addicted to high definition, i just received my monster hdmi cable, HOLY S#!t... picture looks absolutely beautiful,my ps2 looked like crap at first, but then i bought component cables for it, huge difference, can't wait till ps3 comes out...this tv is great

Do the newer builds of this set still have the ghosting problem? My Dad really wants to get one, but I don't want to recommend a set that will not produce a clear picture. The best way to check, is to open the menu and see if the text has a yellowish ghost to the right.

I have yet to notice any ghosting problems with this set. Ive had it just about two weeks now, and I can honestly say I have no major complaints. Im running comcast cable with just RF connection for now(my HD receiver is on back order from comcast). That pic obviously could be better, but no fault of the TV. Oh, I also hooked up some surrond sound speakers and a receiver and am now in gaming heaven!! For my purposes as mainly a gaming tv, (xbox 360, xbox, and ps2) and the size of the room that its in (small to medium) its perfect. If anyone is considering buying this tv, I say go for it!! Especially if you can get it at Walmart for 526 or elsewhere for cheaper!!

I am planning to buy one of these if the Wal-Marts around here ever get them in. Does anyone know if both component inputs support 1080i. I would assume they would, but I've read things about other Philips TV models that only display 1080i through HDMI, and the component inputs only support 480p.

After a little more than 9 months, my 30pw9110d/37 had a major melt down. I bought it at BB and of course I did not buy the service plan so I will be stuck with the labor charge. The repair department that BB sent me to (since I did not purchase the service plan they didn't want to service it) had to order a new chassis for the set and the part is on backorder until May 19th. If this set ever gets repaired, it will have spent 2 months in the shop. I contacted Philips and they told me sorry nothing I can do. I contacted BB and they said sorry no service plan, no service. I don’t know if these sets are prone to problems, but I would think twice about buying another Philips. :mad:

what do you mean when you say major melt down? I doubt you meant your set actually melted, so what failed then?

what do you mean when you say major melt down? I doubt you meant your set actually melted, so what failed then?

Figure of speech. The set would not turn off. Or I should say I turn it off, it turned itself back on. I finally got to the point of having to unplug the set to leave it off. The repair shop tried to fix it, but told me that it needed to be replaced.

Is there any way to get rid of the ghosting on dvds? this is where i've noticed them the most. It is actually worse than regular cable. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I have the 30PW9100D model and I tried getting in the service menu by entering 062596 following by the menu button and it didn't work... was i looking at the wrong manual?? how do i get into my TV's service menu???

I had a Philips 30pw9100D- I say had because after 5 service visits it finally died completely 6 months after I bought it. It had so many problems, I ended up devoting an entire web page to it! It's noe sitting on the floor of my living room, pending my filing in small claims court to try to get Philips to give me my money back!

Anyway, assuming software is similar, the trick is TV has to be in ANALOG mode (just 1 of the many software bugs in this series). If TV is in digital mode, you can't access service menu. Push the A/D button on remote to get TV in analog mode first. I think there is 1 other button you need to push before entering the numbers to get into service mode, might be ENTER or something like that. There is also a user diagnostics mode on it as well, if I remember right, it's activated by pushing 123456 while in digital mode. Pops up a whole screen full of data like bit error rate, signal to noise ratio, coding, etc.

Good luck
Tom

So dumb question. When I had the 30" Sanyo, I had the cable plugged into the analog tuner, and the antenna into the digital tuner. Logic behind this was I could pick up both Baltimore and DC OTA HD stations, which is great during football season when they show different games. The Philips 30pw9110d looks like it has only one coax in for both the ATSC and NTSC tuners? How could I hook it up so that I can continue to use my antenna for OTA and cable for other channels? Or will I have to switch to QAM for the locals in HD and lose access to the DC stations. Help an AV retard out.
This was asked way back on post #153 but I never did see any kind of an answer.
If you want to watch regular analog cable and local OTA HD via antenna with a single 75 ohm f connector input, what can you do to bring both in at the same time and toggle between them?

You'd have to use an A/B switch on the incomming coax lines to physically switch the lines. Then, you'd have to do a channel scan after you switched. It can be quite a pain. The other option is to get the HD box ( and possibly an HD-DVR) for the cable channels in HD, then use the built in tuner for the antenna.

Hey, everyone

First-timer here. I have the 30pw9110d from Wal-Mart, and I was quite happy with the HD picture considering it was my first HDTV, but I am bummed about the ghosting (as I should be).

Here's the dilemma that has unfolded before me recently. My roommate asked me if I wanted to play some Super Mario World on the SNES, and I was like HELL YEAH. So we plugged the SNES into the coax on the TV and turned the system on. MAJOR choppiness in the picture. Mario is ten feet from a goomba, then he's dead by the goomba and we didn't even see it coming (literally). So, my question is, has anyone experienced this problem? If yes, how did you fix it (if it can be fixed)? This is a big bummer as we don't want to let go of our old systems.

Maybe when I start making tons of money I will be able to afford the giant Sony plasma or something...

I went yesterday to Wal-Mart to see what they could do about a re-imbursement for the price drop they did shortly after I bought my 30pw9110d/37 for $668.00. I figured that the worst they would do is say, "Nope."

I was pleasantly surprised. The Assistant Store Manager said, "Sure, take your receipt to customer service and we will refund the difference." Supposedly, according to the AM, there is a 90day policy for refunds like this at Wal-Mart.

Needless to say, I walked out of Wal-Mart with $142.00 + tax credited to my credit card. The downside, I spent $150 on food. :)

Well the beast is back from the service shop. 6 weeks waiting for a new board and $190 worth of labor, I am back in business. Since Philips only covers labor for 90 days, I got stuck with cost of labor. The tech told me that it was the 3rd board that he had replaced in the past few weeks. Now the question is what will go next?

Here's the dilemma that has unfolded before me recently. My roommate asked me if I wanted to play some Super Mario World on the SNES, .... So we plugged the SNES into the coax on the TV and turned the system on. MAJOR choppiness in the picture. Mario is ten feet from a goomba, then he's dead by the goomba and we didn't even see it coming (literally). So, my question is, has anyone experienced this problem? If yes, how did you fix it (if it can be fixed)? This is a big bummer as we don't want to let go of our old systems.

I hooked up our SNES for the first time in years, just to see if we had the problem you describe. The only difference was that I connected to the composite ports on the side of our Philips 30PW8420. We don't have Super Mario World any more, so I stuck in Yoshi's Island. It worked fine and looked better than ever. Maybe the side red/white/yellow connections made the difference. Try that.

I hooked up our SNES for the first time in years, just to see if we had the problem you describe. The only difference was that I connected to the composite ports on the side of our Philips 30PW8420. We don't have Super Mario World any more, so I stuck in Yoshi's Island. It worked fine and looked better than ever. Maybe the side red/white/yellow connections made the difference. Try that.

Thanks, harpeth.

As of right now my roommate only has the coaxial, so I will see if we can get a hold of the composites (which is what I would prefer anyway). That should work.

I do know that through our cable box the HD channels look excellent while the regular cable channels are choppy as hell. This occurs mostly when the set is first turned on, then after viewing the HD channels for a while, the choppiness tends to fade with the regular channels. I have no idea why it does this, but maybe it's related to the situation with the SNES. My neighbor has a plasma and has none of these problems, but that set also cost a hell of a lot more than mine!

Thanks again.

Thanks, harpeth.

As of right now my roommate only has the coaxial, so I will see if we can get a hold of the composites (which is what I would prefer anyway). That should work.

I do know that through our cable box the HD channels look excellent while the regular cable channels are choppy as hell. This occurs mostly when the set is first turned on, then after viewing the HD channels for a while, the choppiness tends to fade with the regular channels. I have no idea why it does this, but maybe it's related to the situation with the SNES. My neighbor has a plasma and has none of these problems, but that set also cost a hell of a lot more than mine!

Thanks again.

doublej,

It's been awhile since I connected a Nintendo set with a coax cable. I'm thinking that there was an intermediate RF filter you have to use too when connecting via coax. Did you do that?

We don't have cable, just OTA, which is clear as a bell on every channel, both HD and SD. Seems like I remember reading other posts on here where cable users talk about trouble with SD channels, so apparently your experience isn't all that unusual. You might check some Comcast threads to see what you find there.

Harpeth, or anyone, what does it mean when I try to get digital tv on my Philips and it says weak signal? I thought the tv came with a built in tuner? I currently don't have a digital cable box, I just plug the cable into the tv directly, could that be the reason?

Novastar,

I presume you're using a 9100D or 9110D with built-in ATSC tuner. My 8420 doesn't have a built-in tuner, so I use an OTA set-top box. Generally speaking, a "weak signal" message just means that your tuner can't get a strong lock on a given station. Are you getting that on all stations, or just one? If just one, it sounds like you're too far from the tower. Do you have an outdoor or attic-mounted antenna? That's how I receive broadcasts, and it works great for towers within 30 miles or so.

Harpeth, or anyone, what does it mean when I try to get digital tv on my Philips and it says weak signal? I thought the tv came with a built in tuner? I currently don't have a digital cable box, I just plug the cable into the tv directly, could that be the reason?

I have this on all my channels because HD currently is only available through a company (we have Charter) in my area. If I lived in the Twin Cities, which is more than an hour away, then perhaps I would have something on this. If you get this message on every channel, then chances are there are none available near you.

Harpeth,and X double J. I get it on every channel. None of the digital channels work. I have the 911od (the black set). I guess I need to go ahead and get the digital cable box so that I can get the digital channels. I am currently viewing all of the channels in analog, is there a big difference in the digital channels as opposed to analog?

Harpeth,and X double J. I get it on every channel. None of the digital channels work. I have the 911od (the black set). I guess I need to go ahead and get the digital cable box so that I can get the digital channels. I am currently viewing all of the channels in analog, is there a big difference in the digital channels as opposed to analog?

Yes, there is a big difference if you're talking about HD vs. SD. Your internal tuner should be providing what you need, though at least one poster in this thread has said the internal tuner isn't all that good.

Did you see my earlier question, i.e., do you have an antenna? Without that, your reception is going to be minimal unless you're really close to the signal source.

Yes, there is a big difference if you're talking about HD vs. SD. Your internal tuner should be providing what you need, though at least one poster in this thread has said the internal tuner isn't all that good.

Did you see my earlier question, i.e., do you have an antenna? Without that, your reception is going to be minimal unless you're really close to the signal source.

I am sorry I missed that part of your post. I don't have one. I use the cable as the antenna. Are you saying I need to get an antenna in addition to the cable hook up? What kind of antenna should I get?

I am sorry I missed that part of your post. I don't have one. I use the cable as the antenna. Are you saying I need to get an antenna in addition to the cable hook up? What kind of antenna should I get?

I don't know about cable, as I've never had it. Presumably your tuner should pull in the cable signal. I just don't have any experience with that. I don't know if an antenna would help or not; at best, it might improve your local channel reception.

In my case, fifteen years ago I bought the biggest outdoor antenna that Radio Shack had that would also fit in my attic. I bought it to improve our over-the-air reception out in the country. That antenna is still in our attic and now pulls in broadcast programming and unscrambled cable in crystal clarity. Broadcast HD is awesome to see.

I guess it would still depend on where you are located. If you can get regular channels with your antenna, then possibly consider getting one for your digital. However, I don't know if spending the money would be worth it. Like I said, it depends on your location.

Hi guys! I'm new here (and a HDTV n00b).

I just got a 30PW9100D from Philips as a replacement for a TV we bought around christmas that was mislabeled. The TV we bought was labeled as HDTV, but was not so they sent us the next model up. It just took them forever and a day to resolve it (their support is absolutely horrific).

We have this TV strictly for playing video games and occasionally watching a movie and some standard cable TV. We have an Xbox 360 and it is hooked up to the component inputs.

Anywho the edges of the picture are cut off pretty bad and I hear that is called overscan. Is there any tutorial on how to fix it, or can one of you fine people give me a few pointers? I'm pretty tech savvy.

Also, we have some ghosting which makes some of the text pretty hard to read. I think its called ghosting (there is a shadow a few pixels to the right of the text and other high color contrast edges/lines). Is there any way to fix this or minimize it?

Thanks in advance.

I just got a 30pw9100d a couple of days ago and I'm ready to take mine back. The ghosting is awful. It is very hard to read. I've been searching on the net since i plugged it in for a way to reduce the ghosting but I've come up empty handed. I've also noticed the PQ is kind of grainy.

what does PQ mean?

Hi guys! I'm new here (and a HDTV n00b).

I just got a 30PW9100D from Philips as a replacement for a TV we bought around christmas that was mislabeled. The TV we bought was labeled as HDTV, but was not so they sent us the next model up. It just took them forever and a day to resolve it (their support is absolutely horrific).

We have this TV strictly for playing video games and occasionally watching a movie and some standard cable TV. We have an Xbox 360 and it is hooked up to the component inputs.

Anywho the edges of the picture are cut off pretty bad and I hear that is called overscan. Is there any tutorial on how to fix it, or can one of you fine people give me a few pointers? I'm pretty tech savvy.

Also, we have some ghosting which makes some of the text pretty hard to read. I think its called ghosting (there is a shadow a few pixels to the right of the text and other high color contrast edges/lines). Is there any way to fix this or minimize it?

Thanks in advance.

That is the second posting I read with ghosting issues. The only time that I have had that problem was when I used the internal tuner. With the SA8300 HD and the Oppo DVD, my picture is awesome. The only problem that I have is that the geometry is slightly, and I mean slightly off, and only noticeable with the menu up on the DVR. I am pretty tech savvy, but afraid to mess with things. One day I will call a tech out to adjust things.

If you look through this posting, there are a couple of places that list the codes to get into the service menu and there may still be a link to the service manual somewhere.

I hope that things get better for you. I have been pretty pleased with my television. :)

I just got a 30pw9100d a couple of days ago and I'm ready to take mine back. The ghosting is awful. It is very hard to read. I've been searching on the net since i plugged it in for a way to reduce the ghosting but I've come up empty handed. I've also noticed the PQ is kind of grainy.

I see the grainy aspects on certain channels and usually I see it if the show is not shot in HD, but upconverted by the TV or the cable box to the 1080i setting I have. If it is broadcast in HD, I have rarely, if ever, seen the graininess. Sorry that you are having so many problems. I will ask what I did before, "Are you using the internal tuner, or are you using a cable box?" That, for me, seemed to be the reason for most of my ghosting problems.

Good luck, but always remember, if you are not satisfied with it, return it. HDTV will drive you absolutely nuts and you will never enjoy it if the picture quality is not what you expect regardless of your expectations.

what does PQ mean?


Picture Quality ;)

oh, thanks guys.

I have only noticed the ghosting when I play video games (which is the main purpose of this TV). I'm gonna call the tech support people up. Maybe I can get them to swap it out for a new one.

The reason I asked about the grainy PQ is that I played Xbox 360 Ghost Recon last night. A lot of the textures in that game had a "grainy" appearance. I thought it was because of the higher resolution just showing some imperfections. Other games do not look like that.

oh, thanks guys.

I have only noticed the ghosting when I play video games (which is the main purpose of this TV). I'm gonna call the tech support people up. Maybe I can get them to swap it out for a new one.

The reason I asked about the grainy PQ is that I played Xbox 360 Ghost Recon last night. A lot of the textures in that game had a "grainy" appearance. I thought it was because of the higher resolution just showing some imperfections. Other games do not look like that.

I am not familiar with games, but I know that some are actually high def. It goes back to the conversion by the TV and if the game is not high def, you run into this type of problem...the imperfections become very noticeable. Although, I have noticed on movies that some directors film this way and it is normal....go figure. :o

I see the grainy aspects on certain channels and usually I see it if the show is not shot in HD, but upconverted by the TV or the cable box to the 1080i setting I have. If it is broadcast in HD, I have rarely, if ever, seen the graininess. Sorry that you are having so many problems. I will ask what I did before, "Are you using the internal tuner, or are you using a cable box?" That, for me, seemed to be the reason for most of my ghosting problems.

Good luck, but always remember, if you are not satisfied with it, return it. HDTV will drive you absolutely nuts and you will never enjoy it if the picture quality is not what you expect regardless of your expectations.

I see the ghosting and graininess while watching DVD's. I don't see the ghosting so much when there is action on the screen. I have my component cables plugged into the Component HDTV inputs with a progressive scan DVD player. (Progressive Scan is enabled) I played around with the internal tuner last night with an OTA antenna. I was watching Late Night in HD and it just didn't do it for me. Conan was playing spin the wheel with George Brendt and reading the wheel was like looking at one of those "i'm stoned" t-shirts where the writing is all hazy. The tv also looked like it was bleeding the reds of conans hair. I've looked over the other posts and tweaked to the recommended settings but find that it just bugs me too much. I may check out the toshiba 30fh66.

This isn't my first HDTV. I have a 65" Mitsubuishi rear projection HDTV that I've been REALLY happy with. I just want a CRT to play video games and enjoy some films in a smaller room in the house.

Hopefully I can remedy my "buyers remorse" by finding a 30" television that suits what I'm looking for.

I see the ghosting and graininess while watching DVD's. I don't see the ghosting so much when there is action on the screen. I have my component cables plugged into the Component HDTV inputs with a progressive scan DVD player. (Progressive Scan is enabled) I played around with the internal tuner last night with an OTA antenna. I was watching Late Night in HD and it just didn't do it for me. Conan was playing spin the wheel with George Brendt and reading the wheel was like looking at one of those "i'm stoned" t-shirts where the writing is all hazy. The tv also looked like it was bleeding the reds of conans hair. I've looked over the other posts and tweaked to the recommended settings but find that it just bugs me too much. I may check out the toshiba 30fh66.

This isn't my first HDTV. I have a 65" Mitsubuishi rear projection HDTV that I've been REALLY happy with. I just want a CRT to play video games and enjoy some films in a smaller room in the house.

Hopefully I can remedy my "buyers remorse" by finding a 30" television that suits what I'm looking for.

Good luck with your search. I do not have any problems with my Oppo being grainy, I think again it is the TV not doing a good job of taking the 480p and upconverting it to 1080i. Running Oppo at 1080i is better than most OTA, through my cable box.

You have to be happy with what you have and I am sorry to hear that you are going to have to shop around, move the TV, etc. That, especially for a CRT, can be a pain.

Good luck with your search. I do not have any problems with my Oppo being grainy, I think again it is the TV not doing a good job of taking the 480p and upconverting it to 1080i. Running Oppo at 1080i is better than most OTA, through my cable box.


If it were only the grain issue I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. I could live with and love this television if it were only that. It's the ghosting issue that bothers me. Do you have the ghosting problem or know the secret to fixing it? I've searched these boards amongst others and came up empty handed. Some have said they can tweak the PQ settings to minimize it. Others have said the answer may reside in the service menu but haven't found it.

Could someone that understood the sevice manual and correctly calibrated their 30pw9100d please post their geometry?

If it were only the grain issue I wouldn't have a problem with it at all. I could live with and love this television if it were only that. It's the ghosting issue that bothers me. Do you have the ghosting problem or know the secret to fixing it? I've searched these boards amongst others and came up empty handed. Some have said they can tweak the PQ settings to minimize it. Others have said the answer may reside in the service menu but haven't found it.

The only time that I had any issues with ghosting was using the internal antenna tuning into my digital channels with my cable. I actually have not had that issue since hooking up my SA8300HD. Tekworm has agreed with me on this one:

Only ghosting problem I had appeared to come from internal tuner(s).
Once on the Dig/HD cable box (SA8300HD) or on the OPPO DVD, no problem.
__________________
TekWorm

But other users, like TastyRAtz, have had your problems:

Ive posted pics in this thread of exactly what you need to keep your eyes open for. Find my post and look for that. Maybe see if you can buy a demo unit you can see running first or see if you can try the set in the store first.

note: My ghosting was on any input but I was able to see it on digital sources more just due to the crappy ghost sticking out like a sore thumb with the extra clarity. This was not limited to the internal tuner or sharpness but showed on analog/digital sources as well as hdmi or internal tuner for me.

Also check out posts 304 to 306. There may be some information here regarding the service menu.

I also do not have that problem with my Oppo. So, unfortunately, I have not looked into the service menu to adjust stuff. I, personally, would call a tech, because I am not "that" technically inclined. :o

Like I said though, you are like me. If I buy something, no matter how inexpensive it may be, I want it to work. If it is something that I really pay attention to, it would drive me nuts and I would have to fix it, i.e., my yard.

Hopefully I can remedy my "buyers remorse" by finding a 30" television that suits what I'm looking for.

As JD has posted, the internal tuner seems to be the problem with the 9100/9110. He and others have solved the problem with an external tuner.

In my case, I read about the ghosting problem before buying, so I ended up getting the non-tuner version of this set, the 30PW8420. Connected to an LG HD tuner, this set produces beautiful PQ, both on broadcast and DVD sources. I don't think I could be any more pleased with any other set.

As JD has posted, the internal tuner seems to be the problem with the 9100/9110. He and others have solved the problem with an external tuner.

In my case, I read about the ghosting problem before buying, so I ended up getting the non-tuner version of this set, the 30PW8420. Connected to an LG HD tuner, this set produces beautiful PQ, both on broadcast and DVD sources. I don't think I could be any more pleased with any other set.

Thanks for the input, John. :D

I had planned on getting the Insignia 27" for $380 at BestBuy just for a quick fix for my xbox 360 gaming, so I went there last night. They didn't have it so my gf and I were looking at other TV's.

We were looking at the Samsung 30" slimfit and I mentioned to her that my buddy just got the 27" a little while ago. Then we saw the Phillips 30PW9100D and it look a hell of a lot clearer. The Samsung had all sorts of ghosting/artifacting but the Philips was crystal clear. We both liked that one and decided on it.

Now I come to this forum and a lot of people are saying it is crap after a few weeks or months, so now I don't know what to think. Also I don't see how or why it would have overscan since it is a widescreen TV, but I am a newb so what do I know?

Anyways, my main purposes for this tv would be as follows :

-regular tv viewing -- just plugging the coax from the wall right into the back, I don't have a cable box or anything

1). Since this is a widescreen, how will the format look? Crappy? will there be bars on either side? If so does it look all that bad and does the picture look better from a standard definition tv?

2). Will I be able to pick up Over the Air HD signals and how is that done?

-Xbox 360

How does it look? I have GRAW, Burnout, Battlefield 2, Oblivion and Halo 2. Now how is Halo 2 going to look? I am a bit wary on this one....will it look distorted at all? Do you guys use different settings for different games?

Damn, this TV looked spectacular in the store compared to the other TV's that were getting the same signal, but like I said, I came here and saw doom and gloom

:(

i just got a 30PW9110D/37B for 499 delivered from the Phillips Outlet.

I did a lot of thinking before i bought this tv, and so far i am happy. I am using comcast digital, and their hi-def will be installed in a couple weeks. I cant wait for the hi-def. It looks great playing dvds using the component vid inputs.

No ghosting and no grain issues :)

i just got a 30PW9110D/37B for 499 delivered from the Phillips Outlet.

I did a lot of thinking before i bought this tv, and so far i am happy. I am using comcast digital, and their hi-def will be installed in a couple weeks. I cant wait for the hi-def. It looks great playing dvds using the component vid inputs.

No ghosting and no grain issues :)

Glad to hear it and welcome to the forum!

HD is awesome and you will never want to watch anything else again. :D

This is my first post. Love the forums, lots of good info here. I own my own custom-pc company, and I have seen lots of high-end tv's, monitors, projectors, etc, and I just purchased this set for myself. Walmart, black set, $526.00. Of course I could have bought it wholesale from a couple of distributors... and saved $6.00, plus pay shipping! Not a whole lot of mark-up on these TVs, FYI. I can't compete with Walmart's buying power...

Anyways, hdtv works perfect, even off-air with the 25 dollar antenna from Philips purchased at Walmart. It works so well, in fact, that somehow I've been receiving free pay-per-view from the local cable company, and I only subscribe to basic...

If you're interested in HDTV, and you have the kind of life that keeps you busy enough not to stay home watching your 1080i all day getting all pale and lazy... then this is your set. It does the job, saves you a ton of money, and competes just enough to hang with the lighter, thinner, flat panels. :)

This is my first post. Love the forums, lots of good info here. I own my own custom-pc company, and I have seen lots of high-end tv's, monitors, projectors, etc, and I just purchased this set for myself. Walmart, black set, $526.00. Of course I could have bought it wholesale from a couple of distributors... and saved $6.00, plus pay shipping! Not a whole lot of mark-up on these TVs, FYI. I can't compete with Walmart's buying power...

Anyways, hdtv works perfect, even off-air with the 25 dollar antenna from Philips purchased at Walmart. It works so well, in fact, that somehow I've been receiving free pay-per-view from the local cable company, and I only subscribe to basic...

If you're interested in HDTV, and you have the kind of life that keeps you busy enough not to stay home watching your 1080i all day getting all pale and lazy... then this is your set. It does the job, saves you a ton of money, and competes just enough to hang with the lighter, thinner, flat panels. :)


All I have is my coaxial cable plugged in and the picture is just alright. Can you give a link for this thing? Would it be worth it for me as well?

This is my first post. Love the forums, lots of good info here. I own my own custom-pc company, and I have seen lots of high-end tv's, monitors, projectors, etc, and I just purchased this set for myself. Walmart, black set, $526.00. Of course I could have bought it wholesale from a couple of distributors... and saved $6.00, plus pay shipping! Not a whole lot of mark-up on these TVs, FYI. I can't compete with Walmart's buying power...

Anyways, hdtv works perfect, even off-air with the 25 dollar antenna from Philips purchased at Walmart. It works so well, in fact, that somehow I've been receiving free pay-per-view from the local cable company, and I only subscribe to basic...

If you're interested in HDTV, and you have the kind of life that keeps you busy enough not to stay home watching your 1080i all day getting all pale and lazy... then this is your set. It does the job, saves you a ton of money, and competes just enough to hang with the lighter, thinner, flat panels. :)

WELCOME to the Forum and congratulations on the new TV. I could not have said it better myself. :D

I came home last Saturday night & turned on my 30PW9110D, heard a loud pop or crack, the screen had a lovely rainbow effect to it, & finally heard what sounded like something heating up, it was pinging like an exhaust system on a car, with the pings growing faster. I immediately turned it off & unplugged it. Bummer! My wonderful, two month old Philips HDTV was shot. The next day, I called the Wal-Mart where I bought it & they told me to bring it back. They gave me a full refund, including the two year extended warranty that I bought for it, without any hassle whatsoever. I guess Philips will have another refurb to sell.

I guess I was just one of the unlucky ones that got a bad one. Now I have $625 burning a hole in my pocket. Any suggestions which HDTV to buy? (It needs to be relatively small, & please don't say a 30PW9110D!)

Thanks everyone for a very informative thread.

All I have is my coaxial cable plugged in and the picture is just alright. Can you give a link for this thing? Would it be worth it for me as well?




The antenna is a "Philips MANT510". If you google it, you will see the Walmart results. Got it at Walmart for $26. (Looks like the website has it for 3 bucks more.) I hope it works for you, if you get it. The box opens and closes cleanly if you needed to return it... It's an amplified antenna that will take your cable coaxial connection and amplify it too. It's worth a try for the HDTV reception I'm getting. Good luck in getting the antenna/reception thing worked out.

Thaks for the antenna info :)


So I went through the AVIA home theater guide but it wasn't really a lot of help. Can any of you guys who did it or another video calibration post your numbers? I saw some earlier but I wanted to see if any other people have different results.

Anyone?

I came home last Saturday night & turned on my 30PW9110D, heard a loud pop or crack, the screen had a lovely rainbow effect to it, & finally heard what sounded like something heating up, it was pinging like an exhaust system on a car, with the pings growing faster. I immediately turned it off & unplugged it. Bummer! My wonderful, two month old Philips HDTV was shot. The next day, I called the Wal-Mart where I bought it & they told me to bring it back. They gave me a full refund, including the two year extended warranty that I bought for it, without any hassle whatsoever. I guess Philips will have another refurb to sell.

I guess I was just one of the unlucky ones that got a bad one. Now I have $625 burning a hole in my pocket. Any suggestions which HDTV to buy? (It needs to be relatively small, & please don't say a 30PW9110D!)

Thanks everyone for a very informative thread.

Well... Guess who's 5 1/2 month old 30PW9110D did the same thing, tonight :mad:

Came in & turned it on...loud 'snap', rainbow... then nuthin' but smell of burnt selenium. :(

Wally*world is saying they'll work something out with me on a trade-up to a bigger LCD based set.
They haven't got a tube-based widescreen in the store, save a year-old 9110 on display.

Sh*t!!

Well... Guess who's 5 1/2 month old 30PW9110D did the same thing, tonight :mad:

Came in & turned it on...loud 'snap', rainbow... then nuthin' but smell of burnt selenium. :(

Wally*world is saying they'll work something out with me on a trade-up to a bigger LCD based set.
They haven't got a tube-based widescreen in the store, save a year-old 9110 on display.

Sh*t!!

I feel your pain. :(

I'm still looking for something to replace mine.

Okay I just got the RCA ANT 525 hdtv antenna for this tv and I get about four channels. Some crappy PAX channel, TWO worship/christian channels and some other random one. I thought I would get some of my local ABC/NBC/FOX whatever but this is it, it seems.

Is that it really? I am in "digital" mode on my tv and did the auto-program. Is there something I am missing? Should I fiddle around with the antennas or something? What's the deal?

Why would anyone buy this piece of hardware in the first place, unless they lived really close to a TV station? Should I just take it back?



edit : you see, all I have is my coaxial cable plugged into my TV, so I unplugged that and plugged in the coax coming from the antenna into my tv. Do I need a cable box or something?

Damn, I was sure I could have been getting about half a dozen local HD channels

:(

Well... Guess who's 5 1/2 month old 30PW9110D did the same thing, tonight :mad:

Came in & turned it on...loud 'snap', rainbow... then nuthin' but smell of burnt selenium. :(

Wally*world is saying they'll work something out with me on a trade-up to a bigger LCD based set.
They haven't got a tube-based widescreen in the store, save a year-old 9110 on display.

Sh*t!!

Sorry to hear that. I guess I will start planning ahead and stake out what I want to get from Wal-Mart in case mine dies too. But the whole moving the TV, going through the set-up again. Man, that will hurt and always does. :(

So if there's ghosting, there's nothing I can do. Right? Except take it back.

Never heard from Wally*World, so went there from work.
After some squirming over who was gonna' talk to me, they sent out the manager I spoke with on Saturday night.
The one who said they'd work out a trade-up deal with me...

Store manager decided to contradict this and sent him to tell me She'd send the set off to repair.
I called Wal-Mart Corporate, recited the entire history, and was told to sit tight for a few days.
Short of it is.. more I thought about all of it, the more disgusted I got, so.. It's refund time!
I went elsewhere and picked-up a Sharp Aquos 32".

Believe it or not, I got home & installed it to find it's DEAD outa' the box!
The video Gods hate me, this week! :D
Back I go, tomorrow.

Saga continues...

Returned the 30PW9110D to Wal-Mart.
Got a new Asst. Manager, gave me a ration of crap about returning it.
After about 15min. of altercation, he decided they would give me a credit...
Another 5 min. and I got the cash.

Returned to the dealer with the dead-in-the-box Sharp, and after reading in the LCD threads that it was made by Orion (the brand that started it all, by popping & flaming in my parlor), I swapped to a Sammy LN-S3251D which... so far.... seems awesome.

Now I gotta' hop upstairs to the LCD board & start readin' & studying, all over again..LOL!

Oh, well.. it's been a really enlightening experience.

I have been searching for a few hours for a 30pw8420 service manual. I am sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this. I saw a dead link I believe in this thread for one. If anyone has one or know where to find one please PM me. Thanks

Same for me. I need to find the service manual for every crt hdtv made by philips in order to check if the chassis version is the same as mine 32PW8422.

The first line in SAM is

00044 L05LS1 1.4 PLS1 1.1

I think the chassis is L05

Does anyone have a Tv with this chassis ?

Can someone post the settings that would be best for this tv....On HD.

hi.. new here seeking help with my 30pw9100d

the tv powers on, and i see an outline like the image wants to come on screen then it goes off and starts clicking. the blank image that shows up is only about 60% of the size of the screen.

i bought this from the philips factory store in feb., and it's was already in to the shop for a new board and new tube within the first few weeks of owning it. the picture looked awful first time before it died in feb., and even with new components, it still looks awful now... the geometry is horrible. the 4 corner circles in widescreen circle test patterns look(ed) like deformed eggs and my picture seems to suffer from ghosting like ive seen people mention in this thread (and yes, it's the ghosting of green objects as well, and i even see it with th HD component inputs when using my xbox in high def!)

so, back to the current issue.... is there a way to factory reset the geometry? im assuming the "clicking" i hear after the pic goes back out is some sort of protect mode because the geometry in the picture was set too far off or something? i may have tweaked a setting too far im my attempt to fix the picture... please help, i don't want to haul this thing back into the shop again and i dont know what philips will do as far as warranty, since its 3 months labor / 12 months parts, so ill probably have to bite for the labor this time.

im thinking though i should just return it and get my money back.

once again, any help is appreciated.

does anyone know how to fix horizontal bow? I see it at the bottom and middle of the screen most noticible in letterbox mode. ANy help would be greatly appreciated.

Can someone post the settings that would be best for this tv....On HD.

Here is a culmination of some settings on this post. Some of the fields are not listed, but it should give you a good start. I started with someone else's, ran THX from The Incredibles, then adjusted to what "I liked." Be aware that there will be slight differences in what the programming looks like because each station adjusts color levels a little differently.

Mine

Brightness - 40
Color - 35
Picture - 80
Sharpness - 50
Tint - 1
Temp - cool
Contrast - +on


Another User

Brightness - 40
Color - 47
Picture - 50
Sharpness - 58
Tint - 1
Temp - cool
Contrast - not listed


Xbox

Brightness - 37
Color - 55
Picture - 80
Sharpness - 42
Tint - (-3)
Temp - not listed
Contrast - not listed


PS2

Brightness - 40
Color - 35
Picture - 55
Sharpness - 65-70
Tint - 6
Temp - cool
Contrast - +on


Hope this helps anyone who is interested. :D

does anyone know how to fix horizontal bow? I see it at the bottom and middle of the screen most noticible in letterbox mode. ANy help would be greatly appreciated.

I have slight bows on the left and right on the 4:3 view through my cable box. Nothing major. It is probably from the box, because my Oppo does not do that.

I would check the input device, try adjusting the geometry from the regular menu, and if that does not work, call for a tech. ;)

factory reset for this set? anybody? :confused: otherwise im gonna just return it.

it seemed like a great deal, but just not worth the hassle in the end. bad picture to begin with, picture goes out, 2 months in the shop (Philips is VERY slow to send parts by the way.. i had to keep calling and asking the guy at the shop and he had to keep bugging Philips about it), bad picture again (horrible geometry), goes out again, gonna be in the shop for who knows how long again....


(update)
well, i called phillips.... i asked about labor and they said it's out of the 90 day warranty, but if its within 30 days from when i got it back from the shop the shop should warranty the labor or something? anyway, of course it doesn't matter that a month+ of the warranty was wasted with the tv sitting in the shop waiting for parts from Philips, and they said that i need to bring it back to the shop for repair. then they will only take the set back if the shop can't repair it. :mad: :mad: i already see this leading up to me having a $600 paperweight a few months from now....

that's what i get for buyying stuff from the philips outlet i guess.....

It seems like everyone who has a bad experience with these sets posts the results and his dissatisfaction on this site. I guess that's appropriate, in the interests of helping those who are shopping to know what they might be getting into.

On the other hand, just about every brand of HDTV has its posts here about one problem or another. I think it's mainly indicative of the state of quality control with the manufacturers. The drive to push prices down and the necessary relocation off-shore of manufacturing is probably largely to blame for this situation. It just says we take a chance when we buy whatever brand we choose.

I'm truly sorry to read about the problems that have been described here recently. Having something expensive break or fail to perform is a bummer, for sure. I hope the guys who are unhappy with these sets find an answer, either with another Philips unit, or with another brand altogether. I'd just say, don't be in a hurry, do the research, and maybe you'll do better next time around. Though some, like JD, have had good success with the 9110/9100 models, the ghosting problems I read about were what led me to buy the tunerless 8420 model. So far, after six months of ownership, my experience with this model has been great.

yeah, i hear you, and i don't want to come off like im b**ching either, but i am frustrated by having to keep hauling this thing off. not to mention the frustration of finally seeing some test patters and just how bad the geometry was on this set... i just hope someone on here can help me out in some way, otherwise it's back to the shop and possibly not having the labor covered under warranty now :(

Please can anyone post the error codes for this TV ?

I have been searching for a few hours for a 30pw8420 service manual. I am sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this. I saw a dead link I believe in this thread for one. If anyone has one or know where to find one please PM me. Thanks

Same for me. I need to find the service manual for every crt hdtv made by philips in order to check if the chassis version is the same as mine 32PW8422.

The first line in SAM is

00044 L05LS1 1.4 PLS1 1.1

I think the chassis is L05

Does anyone have a Tv with this chassis ?

Hi,

I think the following Service Manual comes pretty close to the one specifically for your chassis types. Both TVs are mentioned in this Manual:
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/1760/philipslo510eo.jpg

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/9513/philipslo526tt.jpg

You can get it from here:
http://www.mytempdir.com/728505

Please can anyone post the error codes for this TV ?

The Error Codes are also suitable for the 30PW9110D.

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/5402/philipslo530gm.jpg

CRTfreak

Hey Guys,

I'm thinking about purchasing either the 9110 or Sanyo's HT30746 ($476) from Walmart. After reading some of u guys post about the 9110, im rethinking my decision to buy the 9110. What should I do. I specifically want the tv for my 360. How big is this ghosting problem being talked about. I really don't wanna waste my money on a crappy tv. Any responses are welcome. Help!!!!

I bought the Sanyo HT30746 a few weeks ago, mainly for my 360. The picture was the worst I have ever seen. I have digital cable, and the basic cable channels looked fuzzy and snowy, just awful. It also had a line running up and down the middle of the screen, not to mention the moving lines (kind of like a barber shop pole) that would scroll sideways at an angle from the bottom right to the top left of the screen. However, you could really only see the lines if the game was dark, like Oblivion at night, or Call of Duty 2, or when watching a dvd with a night scene. If it was bright, you couldn't see it. The cable channels past 100, I guess the real digital cable channels, starting with Dixcovery and all those, looked perfect, except of course if it was a night scene. I finally couldn't take it anymore, and took the TV back to good ol' Wal Mart. I put that money down on the Phillips 30PW9110D/37, which I will pick up Thursday from Layway. Now I find this forum, and it worries me. i will say the Phillips in the store is on display next to the Sanyo, and the phillips looks perfect, much better colors, but if you get right up on it, I can see a tiny bit of ghosting on the tv, a white line to the right of the object, but not on all objects. The Sanyo there has some of the same problems mine did, just about 75% less. I changed the channel on it to just the basic 03, with no signal coming in, but you can see the black lines I had on it. Didn't happen with the Phillips. When I had my Sanyo, I tried different outlets, and when I unplugged all systems from the back, and turned it to channel 3, it did have the crazy lines on it. I guess I got a really bad one. I hope the Phillips is better. Guess I will post back after Thursday.

yeah, i hear you, and i don't want to come off like im b**ching either, but i am frustrated by having to keep hauling this thing off. not to mention the frustration of finally seeing some test patters and just how bad the geometry was on this set... i just hope someone on here can help me out in some way, otherwise it's back to the shop and possibly not having the labor covered under warranty now :(

I would hate to just have to haul it around. That this weighs a ton and going down my stairs with it would hurt.

I though that the tech would come to your home to work on the set? Maybe I was wrong or thinking of BB or something.

... I finally couldn't take it anymore, and took the TV back to good ol' Wal Mart. I put that money down on the Phillips 30PW9110D/37, which I will pick up Thursday from Layway. Now I find this forum, and it worries me. i will say the Phillips in the store is on display next to the Sanyo, and the phillips looks perfect, much better colors, but if you get right up on it, I can see a tiny bit of ghosting on the tv, a white line to the right of the object, but not on all objects. The Sanyo there has some of the same problems mine did, just about 75% less. I changed the channel on it to just the basic 03, with no signal coming in, but you can see the black lines I had on it. Didn't happen with the Phillips. When I had my Sanyo, I tried different outlets, and when I unplugged all systems from the back, and turned it to channel 3, it did have the crazy lines on it. I guess I got a really bad one. I hope the Phillips is better. Guess I will post back after Thursday.

...and the stuff you read here is anecdotal, and not a scientific survey. Somebody in one of these threads noted that unhappy users are more likely to post than happy ones, and I think that's probably true. One longtime poster on this board has said Sony is the worst for problems and he'd never buy another Sony product. That's counter to what most Sony fans here say, but it makes the point that all manufacturers put out equipment that fails.

OT a little, but I just got back from Sam's. While there I looked to see if they still had any HD CRTs, which they didn't. What they did have, however was lots of LCDs and Plasma sets, plus an ILA set. In the LCD and plasma categories, the Philips sets were hands-down winners for best image. I looked at the back of a 42" Philips plasma set, and it was connected via component, and was producing a beautiful 1080i image. It and its LCD brother looked a lot better than the comparable Sony sets, which maybe weren't adjusted right.

That's my two cents.

Thanks CRTfreak! DL it now. CRTfreak is the hero of the day!

The ghosting on this set is a real issue. Yes the picturte was good, but the ghosting was horrific. I noticed it most while playing my Xbox360. I picked up the Sanyo and I couldn't have been happier. The picture is not as good, but at least there's no ghosting.

Spoo, glad I could help :)

Thanks, still not sure what hdtv i will purchase but its starting to give me a headache. I like the price range of the 30pw9110d/37 and the Sanyo ht30746. Why don't philips or any other company just do a recall if so many people are having problems? It sucks that i've seen more bad reviews about the 9110 than I've seen good. Anyone know any similar hdtv's around the same price range as the philips and sanyo, and approximate size.

Well guys, I am from Brazil and here we have the 32PW8422 which uses the same chassis as 30PW9110D with the same boards and features. These info I got from the service manual,

Here in Brazil we are having lot of problems with this set. The most boring one is that the TV looses the signal from DVD when in 480p through component input. This is happening to almost every TV and only happens while the movie is a DVD not a DIVX film. have you noticed that on 30PW9110d ? In HDMI there is no report of the fail.

Another one. Everybody knows that HDTV tvs are not good for standard signals. But here we have noticed too much blur in images which are in motion. This is very easy to see when some static image starts to change by a camera movement for example. It is something like the TV loosing definition of the scenes, here we notice that in soccer games when we pay attetion to the grass for example. Does it occurs to your TV ?


Cole.

Well, just got the Phillips 30PW9110D, and right out of the box the TV is perfect. My TV expert friend came over, ran all the THX tests, tried different 360 games, and DVD's and it looks great. Nothing like the crappy Sanyo I had a few weeks ago.

Well, just got the Phillips 30PW9110D, and right out of the box the TV is perfect. My TV expert friend came over, ran all the THX tests, tried different 360 games, and DVD's and it looks great. Nothing like the crappy Sanyo I had a few weeks ago.

Glad to hear it, and if no one has said so, or maybe I did, or maybe not, WELCOME TO THE FORUM! :eek:

Well, just got the Phillips 30PW9110D, and right out of the box the TV is perfect. My TV expert friend came over, ran all the THX tests, tried different 360 games, and DVD's and it looks great. Nothing like the crappy Sanyo I had a few weeks ago.


Can you post your numbers for brightness/contrast/picture and all that? That would be extreemely helpful Dashl, if you could.

thanks :)

Sure, No problem. This is what we set it for on the THX tests on Finding Nemo.

Brightness 31
Color 70
Picture 100
Sharpness 76
Tint 0
Color Temp Cool
Contrast on

I've been thinking about this TV, it has everything I want features and pricewise. Consumer Reports trashed it in their March ratings, it was at the bottom of the list and they actually rated it poor for SD. (They almost liked the 8402, but when it comes to CRTs, they only give high marks to Sony.) I know nothing about TVs, but in areas I know a little about (video, computers), I've come to realize CR can miss the mark, even badly. Does anyone else think this? I've come to think it's impossible to judge TVs in a store (CC, in this case), but next to the Samsung 30" and the Sony 970 (34"), I didn't think the 9110 looked bad. The biggest thing that is holding me back at this point is CR rated DVD quality much higher for the 8402 than the 9110, and watching DVDs is what I will mainly be doing. I think I can still find a used or refurb 8402. Speaking of refurb, Philips won't send direct for Electronics Nation anymore, so if you want the lowest price, you have to go Philips Outlet.

I paid 526 at Wal Mart for the Phillips 30PW9110D. The Sanyo was next to it for 478, and in the store you can tell the Phillips was better, picture wise. The Phillips also has PIP, the Sanyo didn't. I should have bought the Phillips first, since I had the horrid problems with the Sanyo. I got it mainly for my 360, and for DVD's in my bedroom, I am waiting until the end of the year to get the uber-giant HDTV for the living room. I just wanted something to hold me over until then. Wal Mart also had a 27 inch RCA HDTV, but it wasn't widescreen, which looks odd, and it was less than 400 bucks.

I've been thinking about this TV, it has everything I want features and pricewise. Consumer Reports trashed it in their March ratings, it was at the bottom of the list and they actually rated it poor for SD. (They almost liked the 8402, but when it comes to CRTs, they only give high marks to Sony.) I know nothing about TVs, but in areas I know a little about (video, computers), I've come to realize CR can miss the mark, even badly. Does anyone else think this?

bob,

Yes, on the subjective side, CR can be way off. I use their reliability ratings, but the "quality" rankings, once they get away from objective measurements, are not very useful. Many times I've bought products well down their list and have found the items to be much better than I expected.

I've got the 30PW8420, the tunerless version of the 9100D/9110D. I use an external LG tuner. I've been saying for months that the PQ on this set is first class. As I posted a week ago, at Sam's the Philips sets are in line with other brands. They don't have CRTs any more, but the Philips plasma set had a much better picture than the other sets.

The Error Codes are also suitable for the 30PW9110D.

http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/5402/philipslo530gm.jpg

CRTfreak

I was in the service menu and noticed mine says it has error 11, anyone know if thats bad or how to clear it?

Hey, on the philips outlet site, they also have a Magnavox 30MW5405/17B, which I'm assuming is pretty much the same model as the 30PW8420? Or would it match up with an older model, in which case why is it more expensive?

Oh, do any of these TVs (or any TVs comparable in price) have an RGB input?

I was in the service menu and noticed mine says it has error 11, anyone know if thats bad or how to clear it?

Hi,

perhaps you have disabled the "black current loop" in the Service Alignment Mode (SAM).

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/1802/philipssam9xq.jpg

http://img391.imageshack.us/img391/9483/philipsakb4cx.jpg

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/2571/philipserrorbuffer8dk.jpg

Does anyone have a link to the service manuals, and do they explain all the error codes and how to fix them?

I got into my service menu before but didnt goof around with it, but I think I did see some error code there...

This is my second week with 9110d.



3. Geometry
By adjust service menu using AVIA, you can get perfect geometry on this set.
Here is my setting:
Horizontal:
HP 7
HB 7
HSH 94
EWW 86
EWP 23
EWT 77
UCP 31
LCP 9
EWS 0
EWC 16

Vertical
VSH 67
VAM 44
VSC 39
VX 0
VSL 116
VL 16




I did this and it doesn't look right on my tv.


Anyone know of a way to get the defaults back? I didn't write them down :(

I have gone back and forth between FOX news/CNN/Weather channel to get the scroll-bars at the bottom to look right but then I go to other channels and it just looks wrong.

Can someone else post their numbers?



edit, I have the 9100D not 9110D, maybe that is why mine is different?

Actually can someone just do this ?

If you haven't messed around with your geometry at all on your 9100 (not 9110) can you list your numbers? That would suffice.

Thanks in advance

I have a question, I am getting a 5.1 receiver in a few days and I want to know if I connect it to the digital coax jack on the back of the set will I get sound from both the analog and digital sides of the TV or just the digital side?

Thanks

Actually can someone just do this ?

If you haven't messed around with your geometry at all on your 9100 (not 9110) can you list your numbers? That would suffice.

Thanks in advance


I called Phillips, and I even called a local t.v. repair man... Phillips couldn't help me, and the t.v. repair man said, that if the default horizontal/vertical settings aren't in the repair manual (which they are not-- I checked-) then he can not help me. :(

So, PLEASE if anyone, (I beg) has not messed with their horizontal/vertical settings, could you look at, and post yours, so I can get mine back to normal?!?!? THANK YOU!!!

hey everyone. i plan to got to my local wal-mart in a couple of days to pick up the 30pw9110d and i just have a few questions. it will be my first hdtv and my first tv over 20 inches and im really excited about it. i actually just experienced watching content over component cables on an sdtv and i was amazed (family doesnt like to upgrade unless something breaks). i decided to upgrade to hi-def since the Sanyo sdtv i just bought broke. anyway, here are the questions. thanks in advance!

1. how is the picture quality concerning hd and dvd material?
2. how are the black levels, brightness, color saturation, and clarity?
3. What can i expect when i first turn on this set and watch SD content on it? will shows be stretched to fill the screen or will 4:3 content be displayed with the black columns on the left and right sides of the screen. Are tv shows that have the black bars on the top and bottom automatically switched to widescreen and automatically fill the screen?
4. Will this didplay my dvds in progressive scan even though i dont have a progressive scan dvd player and can this be done by connecting my dvd player through CVI instead of YPbPr?
5. Just a preference, but how loud is the tv when it turns on?
6. Are the controls for adjusting picture settings extensive, or just the basics.
7. How prone is this set to "burn-in"?
8. Is the picture over HDMI noticably better that through YPbPr?
9. Is PIP windowed or split-screen?
10. Will the tv automatically switch from the widescreen modes if proper widescreen material is being viewed. (ie. watching sd content that is in 4:3 and bing stretched to fill the screen through one of its widescreen modes and then switching to HD content in 16x9. Will the tv automatically take itself out of the widescreen mode used to watch the SD and display the native 16:9 content properly?)
11. Just another preference. when adjusting the volume, are there bars on the OSD to let you know how high the volume is?
12. Is there a noticable difference when playing videogames through YPbPr?
13. Even though the set doesnt handle 720p natively, will 720p content still look awesome when upscaled to 1080i?
14. what do you like most about this set? What suprised you the most about it? what are some of this set's shortcomings and what are some of its problems and annoyances?
15. How long is the warranty and how helpful is customer support?
16. Ultimately, would you recommend buying this set?
17. is picture better watching OTA HD through an antenna or watching HD through a separate HD tuner?
18. How easy is it to switch and navigate through content coming through cable and content over the antenna?
19. After buying this set, will i need anything else to be ready for the digital transition in 2009?

From reading the thread It seems things very from set to set, but I'll answer based on mine. I skipped the ones I didnt really know how to answer.

1) Picture looks great on HD and DVD material, but theres alot of other factors that can affect those (quality\type of the signal\player), but for me everything looks good.
3) The TV can either display it in its native format (4:3) with black bars on the sides to compensate, or it can stretch the image to fit the entire screen. Theres a couple others, but those two seem to be the most practical.
4) I dont beleive so, since the incoming signal will be interlaced I dont see how it can turn it into a true progressive signal, but someone more technical might be able to give a definite answer
5)Volume wise it is at whatever you left it at when it turned off, electrical wise it degauses itself whenever you turn it on, so just think of the sound you get when you press the degauss button on your monitor, thats what you'll get when you turn the set on.
6) The settigns you get are brightness, color, picture, sharpness, tint, color temp, and contrast+. You can adjust the cuts and whatnot in the servie menu.
7) I accidentally left my set on my HTPC's menu screen (which is static w/ no screensaver) when I went to work one day and when I came back (~9 hrs later) there wasnt any burn in, so I guess thats good.
9) It can do both windowed and splitscreen PIP
10) Not sure if I'm reading it right but I think the answer is no, if you have it set to 4:3, it will be 4:3 regardless of the source, it wont automatically switch.
11) Yes, it also has a numerical value next to it.
14) I liked the price the most (got mine off ebay for $350 shipped :D ). One thing I dont like about it is that only one of the component inputs is HD (the other only supports up to 480p). Also you cant have an Antenna and a cbale line hooked up at the same time.
16) I would, but I also say take a look at it in the store and compare it to the other models, you might find one that you like more for its features / picture but I think this is an overall solid set.
18) thats one of the catches, you only get one or the other (unless theres somethign I dont know about), theres only one cable/antenna input in the back that is shared by the standard side of the TV aswell as the digital (HD) side of the TV. This isnt too big a problem for me because comast broadcast all of the HD stations I can get OTA over the cable line (along witha bunch of others), but if your cable company doesnt do that then I could see it being a problem.
19) As far as I know it should be good to go, it has a digital tuner and I think thats really the only requirement, but I guess more things could come up between now and then.

Hope I've been of some help.

thanks alot. it was a great help!

Just came across another problem, maybe someone can help me out. I got a Dolby digital decoder today, and I connected it to my TV via the Coax jack on the back, but there is a major problem. The sound cuts in and outs. When I am watcing soemthing over the analog tuner everything is good, but via the digital tuner the sound will cut in and out randomly. I thought it was my decoder at 1st but my DVD player and Xbox360 both work fine with no skips. Anoyn know what might be causing this or how to fix it?