Panasonic 42 inch G25 buzzing issue - Page 3

Well, I follow your advice and I did call Panasonic Canada two times (to speak with two different person) and here is what they told me.

Panasonic does not consider a repair on a plasma TV except if you hear a buzzing farther than 15' or the buzzing sound is louder than the volume set at 25.

I think they set the bar pretty high. Of course when the volume is set at 25 I cannot hear the buzzing noise. But between words or during silences when the volume is set to 25, I can clearly hear it !

I did ask (following your statement) if there was a repair kit or a technical bulletin about that issue but both person on the phone told me no, this is a normal operation of a panasonic plasma tv.

It's so sad as I am really satisfied with the picture quality (SD and HD)... I need to live with it or chose another product. I've always been satisfied with panasonic products and they are well reviewed... I don't understand that they know about it but consider this a normal operation of a tv set... I mean, louder than a CRT... come on...

You're lucky to have a repair kit coming into your tv because panasonic canada does not seem to have that kit or are aware of such a repair kit...

I hope you'll be able to update your situation and maybe if you are able to provide the part number for that repair kit would be a good thing to know !

Thanks for all your advices !

My 42 August build buzzes. I called Panasonic today and the guy didn't seem to know about any fixes and because my set is 42 inches I have to carry it in to a service center! How absurd especially since the closest one is like 10 miles away.

My 46 October build does buzz too. I did call Panasonic USA this time and I've been able to receive a lot more information about this issue.

The lady was super comprehensive about the issue and she told me that there was a repair kit for that issue. The only thing is that when she asked my adress and I told her I was in Canada, she said she could not do anything about the issue since Panasonic US is a different instance than Panasonic Canada.

Panasonic Canada has never herd about a fixing kit for that issue and it's the way Panasonic plasma work. They buzz. Their solution is to raise the volume up to cover the buzz... aaaarhhhggggggg...

There is even not a possiblity for me to get a technician to verify this as it is Panasonic who need to place the service call... Since there is no problem, no need to send a technician... at least, for me, IF there would have been a problem they would have sent someone... maybe because I have the 46.

I did try another LED TV (Panasonic D2) just to see the difference but there is no way it will come close to the black level and uniformity of the G25. That is the second LED TV I try and it only reinforce my loving of plasma TV's...

If we could only get a silent one, it would be awesome... now I'm stuck with that thing... try watching some hockey where the image is all white and you always hear "buuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzz"... this is so frustrating...

Alesis if you are insistent they will send someone. Tell them it is louder than what they said it should be whether it is or not. You need to get past these clowns to get a knowledgable tech looking at it. If they say it is okay that is different IMHO. I have had mine serviced once already in which they changed the power supply but with no improvement. I just called this week & got the same BS as you & I told them there is no way this set should be buzzing this loud.

They told me the same company will make an appointment to check my set again. I even told them that this time I am not taking the tv off of the stand mount until the tech listens to it as the set is normally used. Then I'll un-mount it while they wait as I'm not doing all of this for nothing a second time.

EDIT: They are coming tomorrow (Saturday) to look at the set again. I'll report back on how it went.

I just received mine 50G25 build November last night and it does buzz also. I order it from Electronics Expo via Amazon and found out they do not take back Plasma. Any suggestions?

If you can't return it then call Panasonic & request a service or live with it. I don't think you have any other options due to your retailers policy.

So Amazon states they will exchange plasma for me. But should I exchange or call Panasonic?

I would call Panasonic first to see if they can do something or generally what they say about it. If you don't like their answer ask Amazon to send you another one but I do believe this is a more widespread issue with this particular set. Certainly some peoples don't buzz but many do.

In the end if you can't get a refund & you can't get a set that doesn't buzz delivered then you will have to deal with Panasonic anyways. So I say give em a call & see what they offer to you. Their Customer Service is better than most tv makers it seems. The other thing is it doesn't appear to be a serious problem with the sets. In other words they work fine but buzz so it is not a failure type issue IMHO it is an annoyance however.

You had the volume set at 25 and you heard the buzz. Sounds like you gave Panasonic the wrong answer!

The techs just left my house after checking the buzzing on my set. They say it is completely normal for the scan boards to buzz at the level I can hear. They offered to take the tv apart & explain how the boards worked so I would understand why there is a buzz all the time.

I told them not to as I understood enough about the sets function anyways. They assured me there is nothing they can do that will change it or make it quieter. They were not aware of any repair solution some have mentioned in the G25 thread. They also said a lot of people complain about plasma buzz especially when the tv's are installed in bedrooms.

This is the second time my set has been repaired/looked at for buzzing & I think I've had enough of it frankly. I can live with it. I have an additional 4 year extended warranty after the factory warranty is done in case of any failures. A funny thing though my wife was worried I'd go & buy another tv because of this. Of course I wouldn't.......

Did you mention to Amazon, that you bought it from Elec. Expo through Amazon? (or, similarly, mentioned the order/invoice no.; that would've indicated the vendor to them)

If not, then Amazon would typically quote their own policy, not other vendors on Amazon.

I'd be surprised, if Amazon would replace a TV, that they didn't sell; because this issue has been discussed several times, and they didn't.

I have a TC-P54G25 with the same buzzing issue that everyone else is reporting. After three months of back-and-forth e-mails, waiting for Panasonic engineers to develop a solution, etc. they finally set me up with a service provider which picked up my TV yesterday.

The technician mentioned to me that the coils on two boards are going to be "re-sealed."

I should have the TV back on Monday or Tuesday and post my results.

~Mor

Let us know how it goes. I gave up on mine as noted above. I think the Concierge in Canada are no where as thorough as the one in the U.S. T.V's just aren't worth this much aggravation......

I just purchased a Panasonic G25 42" from Amazon.

The picture is absolutely amazing - nothing wrong in that aspect.

I came from a CRT and the buzzing is not nearly as bad. My CRT also had a really high pitch frequency to the point where I couldn't listen to it my ears hurt so much.

The buzzing is bearable on this TV but I am still disappointed - I'd really like a way to fix it.

I was told one way to fix it was to take off the back and screw the screws tighter.. I might give that a try tonight or tomorrow and let you all know how it goes.

The buzzing wasn't noticeable at first because I have a sound system and I was watching movies - but as soon as I play Madden 11 on XBox it is annoying.

As you all know, Football, especially gaming Football, has a lot of silences.. so before I hike the ball and what not I can really hear the buzzing and it is really annoying.

I'm sure I would have noticed it eventually but the video games really highlighted it due to the many silences in video games.

Hopefully you guys can come up with something. I'm going to open the back and make the screws tighter - I'll let you know if it works. For the record - if you are facing the back of the TV - the screws would be in the upper right.. That is also where the buzzing is the loudest.. Like I said I'll try it and update.

Location - USA

Okay so I took off the entire back.. I figured out the source and I believe there may be a fix but I'm not an expert so I don't know the danger.

First off - here is the back:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5124/...f8e14924_z.jpg

Here are two zoom ins of the UPPER RIGHT where the noise is coming from (1 with flash and 1 without):

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5248/...1267ff1c_z.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5003/...4f6cf3fb_z.jpg


The buzz is clearly coming from the upper right chip that I zoomed in on with the 4 black metal pieces and 2 blue rubber pieces.

I can't tell exactly which black metal piece is producing it, but when I put a sock/underwear over the chip - the buzzing is completely gone.

I tried putting it on just the top half and bottom half of the zoomed in circuit board and the buzzing was reduced the most when only covering the top half of the large green chip which includes 3 black pieces and the 2 blue pieces.

All of the screws were as tight as can be so that wasn't the problem..

My solution:

I'd like to put some fireproof insulation over it. Either the car dampening material or perhaps some fireproof glass wool of some sort..

I'm open to suggestions but I'm not going to put anything on it until I'm sure that

1: It is fireproof
2: Won't cause any electrical interference
3: Trap too much heat

All in all, that circuit board on the upper right is the cause. When I put a cloth/underwear over it, the buzzing is dampened to nearly ZERO.

I just have to figure out WHAT I can put over it without causing any type of damage.

Once again, I couldn't tell which black metal piece it was, but from putting cloth over it, the top half of the circuit board was the culprit.

Hope this helps!!

Hey jamor,

I did open mine too. No loose screws. The buzzing sound was the loudest from the center board (the main power supply).


I could hear the exact same noise that board emits to the other boards as you stated.

I too thought about sound proofing the inside of the tv but I thought to myself that this was going crazy when you are trying to fix something that way.

I had two concern about the insulation. Ruin the warranty and make the TV overheat as you know there is no fans inside that set.

The best way I had thought of insulating this was to use a 1/4 inch foam pad that has a sticky back. I could have stick that in the back cover beying carefull not to block the hundreds of vent holes. You still need air circulation.

I just try it without sticking anything and it did improve. The thin metal sheet back cover did not resonate metal sound anymore. If I had continue with this idea, the foam pad would have absorb also a lot of sound (specially high frequency). The insulatation would have been right over the noisy area but still, I had like 3/4" of clearance from the heat sink to the foam. Air could still circulate.

If I would have continue this idea, along sticking foam on the back cover, I would have stick also that foam on any other area where there is no boards inside the tv but I was not sure how critical "insulating" the back of the panel display could affect it from the heat.

All in all, I still think it would have made the temperature rise inside the set and I abandon the idea. Put everything back and return the tv.

I had a little bit left over from THAT ACOUSTIPACK PRODUCT. I think it would have made the job done pretty good and silence that tv near silent even with the air vent holes.

But still again, I was not sure about the over heating and be sure you don't mind voiding your warranty when you stick that foam pad inside the tv.

Tell us what you decide and how it turn out !

Good luck !

I have a Panasonic TCP50V10 and have been having the same obnoxiously loud buzzing issues for about a year now. I finally got fed up and got in touch with Panasonic a little while ago. Despite my 1-yr warranty having just run out they were still able to provide some help. They had some local technicians come out to take a look and they diagnosed that one of the boards (the one in the upper-left when facing the front of the TV) needed to be replaced.

The techs came over and replaced the board yesterday morning and things seemed to be ok -- that is until I got home last night. The buzzing was not only back but was louder and this time seemed to come from the right side of the TV. I had paid the technicians $220 for parts and labor so rather than go back down that road again I identified where the buzzing was coming from by pressing down lightly on the case. Once I had a good idea I took the case off. I cut a kitchen towel in half and folded each piece and placed it over the board in the middle and over the board on the right. I screwed the case back on and voila - no more buzzing sound. Problem completely solved.

I'm not too worried about overheating as the towels aren't that thick and there are four fans in my TV but I definitely share jamor's concerns about having cloth near the electronics.

My question for the AVS community: Is this solution acceptable or is my tele going to go up in flames? Can anyone propose an alternative approach that's less risky?

I seriously doubt it would catch fire (if it's what you meant). Rising the temperature of electronic component, probable...

When electronic components overheat (really high temp), they can fail (open/short/burst) or run outside their uptimum specification and could operate so that the product is not working properly or give false results.

Your's seem to have fans which I think is a good thing. The G25 (42 and 46) does not have any fan so I think these models would suffer more than yours of overheating.

I'm not a technician... I'm just giving my thoughts...

Good if you solve your issue.

I have my G25 coming tomorrow. Seems that everyone has the buzzing issue. Ugh. Paper towels in the frame? Unscrewing the back? What the...?

Hmm, I was thinking about pulling the trigger on two 42G25 sets for the bedrooms, but after reading this thread, I think I'm going to pass. Even though the price is good from Amazon ($798), I have very sensitive hearing and can hear high-frequency buzzing from my 36" HD-CRT in the living room. So with the 42G25 going into (smaller) bedrooms, then it would probably drive me nuts. With CES right around the corner, I guess the best thing to do is just wait and see what's coming out, and then once their released see if they have the buzzing issue.

Yeah, don't ask.

Hello everyone I just thought I'd post my experience so far. I'm glad all of this information is posted as it gave me plenty of ammunition when calling Panasonic. Thanks for all of the details people.

I received my 42 G25 (November build) around 12/14 and noticed a loud buzz that varied depending on brightness. I could hear at volume 25+ at around 10' viewing distance. Heck, I could hear it at 15'+ at above volume 30! (also, that's Panasonic's soundbar, not TV speakers. not the best home theater experience but they push a lot more sound than the TV)

I knew something was wrong right considering my brother has the same model and it's pretty much silent (have to stick my head behind the set to hear anything). I was running break-in slides and could hear it no matter what the color but could hear it clear across my apartment when on the whites.

I gave it one week and called the next day after setting up my mom's Christmas gift, a 42 C2. Again, like my brother's, silent. Having seen two like-models in action REALLY demonstrated just how loud my display is (hopefully was, when I get it back).

The next day, I called Panasonic and spelled it out for them how well I could hear buzzing using numbers found in this thread, as they applied to my situation, and then some. One of the things the rep wanted to know was whether the buzzing occurred without anything plugged into the display. I explained that it happened with nothing plugged in, each item plugged in alone, and with everything plugged in (talking cable box, HTPC, gaming systems, etc). When I told him I could hear the buzzing while running a slideshow from an SD card (no sound), coupled with the extreme distance I could hear the noise, that pretty much sealed it and he gave me a case for the local service center (here in NE Ohio, Electra-Sound).

Then, I called the center and arranged to drop off my TV. I guess all manufactures, not just Panny, consider 42 and below a carry-in (lame). I wish I would have read some updated entries in this thread before calling Panasonic; I would have demand on-site service. Lugging my TV from a 2nd floor apartment to the back seat on my 4 door was horrendous.

I got to Electra-Sound and they took down my information, asked to explain the problem, and assisted me in getting the TV out of my car (onto a pushcart) and into the shop. That was the Tuesday before Christmas, 12/21, and I'm still waiting to hear back. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt that there was a large volume of repairs going into the Holidays coupled with holiday hours.

I'll follow up with the outcome of this whole debacle, good or bad, when I get my TV back. Sorry for the long read, I'm just guessing that interested parties want the whole rundown of what to expect.

Thanks for your response, Alesis.

Based on how hot my Plasma was getting after running for a while, I deemed it unwise to put anything behind there since it would most likely wouldn't be covered under warranty if anything happened.

I am inside my 30 day window so I am having the TV exchanged.

They will be dropping my new P42G25 on January 13th and picking up the old one.

I'll let everyone know if I still get the buzz.

Your reacting is perfectly understandable... I felt the same way too when I removed the cover of my G25 and told myself "what the?..."

I still beleive that the picture quality was excellent but I was so disapointed by the noise it was making and I did try really hard to let go and enjoy the tv as much as I could...

Specially now that ces has started, there is no more G series... it is replace by the GT and there is no smaller size model available...

Seems that it's going to be another G25 as price go really low when newer models come out and live with the fact it is buzzing...

Hope your's won't bother you too much... I think you made an excellent choice for PQ...

You're welcome !

I have got that offer too but I when to the store and listen in the back of all G25 and I could still hear it (little less in the noisy store).

I wish you good luck and hope you'll get one that works for you with a low noise level...

On my part, it seems there are not a lot of choices as the G series has been discontinued and replaced by the GT series and there are no 42 or 46 in that new serie...

Thanks!

So I'm at home now and I can't recreate the buzzing anymore. It's almost silent - I even put it on "Game mode" on Madden where the buzzing was the absolute worst..

This is just strange. I will give it 1 or 2 more days and if it stays silent I guess I'll have to cancel the exchange.

It's not supposed to ship for another few days.

I'll keep you guys updated. Oh the drama!

I wanted to get in on the buzzING! TOO!

My 54G20 buzzes like mad. Called Panasonic. They put in two new boards (X and Y power boards) the two to the sides in the picture.

Still buzzing like crazy on basically all content. Super happy. I'm gonna call them again tomorrow.

Jamor? What made your buzzing go away?

Wow ! that is some good news !!! What did you do exactly ?

Mine was pretty loud when it was really bright... so your set is now silent even with bright images ?

Can you check the manufacturing date on your tv and also check the firmware revision and tell us these details ???

I'm happy it worked out for you !

After 125hrs of break-in, I calibrated and actually watched the TV (P42G25) last night. There is definitely a buzzing and very high pitched squeal. I think I will be able to get past it as it's not too distracting. Certainly annoying and very disappointing, but damn that PQ blows the doors off the LED/LCD alternatives.

I will be dealing w it. Thank you sir, may I have another.

I did try two LED tv's prior this G25. The Sharp Quattron 46" and a Panasonic D 42". I can't beleive people go crazy for these tvs... You have to look at a black picture to understand this... These LED tvs have an aweful light repartition and the blacks... what blacks ???

That G25 you got there has the best PQ you can get for the price... I have not try all the LED tvs out there but I am pretty sure no LED tv will ever come close to the uniformity and black level of a plasma tv specially the G25... price for price that is...

I'm glad you can get over it... I thought I could too but the temptation of satisfaction and curiosity made me open the back cover just in case... but like you say "what the...?"...

Enjoy it !