Needhelp: Plasma buzzing (Panasonic ST50) - When is it not acceptabel? - Page 5

This isn't the first ive heard of buzzing due too current being drawn on a circuit...it happens. capacitors, transistors, etc will buzz...

Its a quick and easy trouble shooting to see if it lessens or subsides if they reduce the load on the circuit the tv is on during bright-white scenes. its troubleshooting esp for those that get 3 tv's in a row that are 'defective'. If you live in an old house, your electric may not be up to todays usage requirements.

Depending on the content, I can hear buzzing over normal volumes (around 20 for me) and normal distance ( 6-8 ft away).

Hey all, first post here. I just purchased the TCP55ST50 a few days ago. I set it up and as soon as i plugged it in and turned it on i could hear a buzz coming from the TV. As with what most people have mentioned, the buzz gets increasingly louder as the brighter scenes come on. I know plasmas have the ordinary hum or buzz but the sound mine is creating can be heard up to 10-15 feet away while operating at around 15 volume. As i look at the back of the television, most of the buzz comes from the top right corner and around the mid height on the left. Here is a video of mine:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7VnZkm96PI

I went to the store i purchased it from and asked the sales person if i could do a test with one of the ST50's on display. I turned off all the televisions and any electrical device around the ST50. I put a solid white screen on the television and placed my head behind the screen much like i did in the video clip. I didn't hear anything other then the ordinary hum from the plasma TV.

Now if i could i would exchange the TV, but because London Drugs is sold out of all ST50's I am going to call Panasonic tomorrow and get a tech to look at my TV. I am hoping it is one of the loose screws on one of the circuit boards as in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsicYOXVqDA

I really hope its a loose screw and an easy fix because other then the buzz which irritates the heck out of me, the TV has absolutely no issues.

I will update with what happens when the tech comes over and takes a look. If they say it can't be fixed then I will have to go get an exchange until i find one that works.

Bought 65vt50 and 2 days later buzzing came up. Took it back to magnolia and they concurred that it was way too loud. Manufacture date nov 2012. Being sent to Panasonic for repair but not sure if I will keep. My 50 inch pioneer elite kuro is a few years old now and still used every day - no buzzing. Will keep I posted on what problem is

I know on 120hz LED/LCD plasmas - like the Catleap 2B and the Tempest OC (i have one) www.overlordcomputer.com - these are 27" IPS Panels (exactly like Apple Thunderbolt displays, except can run at 100hz+) - the permanent fix is to open it up and apply either hot glue or epoxy to the two #22 diode chokes, which causes buzzing with white backgrounds at higher frequencies

http://overlordforum.com/topic/149-100hz-and-coilwhine/

Also known as coilwhine - i wonder if something like this can be done by a repair man.

My ST50 buzzes with whitebackgrounds but is acceptable for myself (and i am picky when it comes to noise - my PC is in another room)

First off, is the TV mounted against or on the wall? Is the rear of the set at least 12" away from a wall? Next, as you listen to the buzz do you find that it is louder when your ear is listening to the rear of the set?

If the answers are "yes," "no," and "yes," then you will probably need some sound absorption material behind the TV set.

If you decrease the brightness does the buzzing stop at some point? If it does then that is your max brightness; next adjust contrast and see if the buzzing comes back. If not, adjust the rest of the settings, making sure that all power saving settings are set to off.

It shouldn't matter if someone has their Plasma wall mounted or sitting on a stand - neither placement should be a factor since the TV shouldn't be buzzing in the first place. And a Plasma that buzzes so loudly that it can be heard from the couch won't get any quieter by installing sound absorbing material behind it. Many have tried this over the years and the TV still buzzed. Again, doing this shouldn't even be necessary in the first place. Repair, replace, or refund the TV instead.



This shouldn't matter either. On three of my four Plasmas, i can put them in Vivid mode, crank up the Contrast to 100%, and display the brightest colored "break in" slides and bright snowy scenes etc and what little buzzing they do cannot be heard beyond a few inches (GT50) to a few feet (PZ700U). I've also run this test on many other Plasmas of various brands that i've installed for other people and even on some that my friends already have. If maxing out the panel brightness makes the TV buzz beyond a few feet, then there's a problem inside that TV.

Legitimately probably the most uneducated consumer response I've ever read. I'm sorry, I don't usually comment but it was that bad. Sound absorption? Lol. My GT50 is hanging on the wall with less than an inch between it and the wall. So close matter of fact the power plug touches the wall. The only buzzing you can hear is when you put your ear directly to it which is the natural buzz a plasma always has. No sound absorption or a 12 inch minimum distance is required. No sacrifice of brightness either. The TV needs a repair its that simple. It's not normal no matter how many plasmas you've come into contact with that do it. Lol.
Edited by Semp1 - 1/2/13 at 7:43am

Summary of my buzzing experience:
Initially I had a 60 inch ST50 October build. The set buzzed during bright scenes but was only audible when volume was mute or very low. Really only bothersome when watching something with a bright scene and no sound, which does not happen very often. Having read many posts about Panasonic PDPs buzzing and learned that there are enough owners who report no buzzing or only buzzing when they put their head behind the TV, and having experienced this same myself at (albeit noisy environment) a store, I decided I wanted a set that has no buzzing.

So I exchanged it. The store didn't have the 60 inch in stock any more so they gave me a 65 inch panel for a little more money. This panel has a November build and also buzzed. Maybe a little louder but not much. I had a Panasonic tech come to inspect it and he, after confirming that the screws on the TV are good, concluded that there is nothing that can be done and the buzzing is normal for a PDP. Not being content with this outcome, I decided to do a 2nd exchange. And what do you know, the store again had run out of the 65 inch ST50 but they offered to replace it with a 60 inch GT50 for the same price.

The GT50 buzzed too and had a September build. This time, the store agreed to let me have the ST50 and GT50 at my house for a day so I can decide which one to keep (super kind of them). The GT50 buzzed softer than the ST50 but still it buzzed audibly from 12 feet away with no sound on. Probably the softest buzzing of the three sets I've had but the variance among all three wasn't very big.

So three sets from three different build dates and all buzzing. Again the buzzing on all three is only noticeable when there no sound or very low sound volume. In retrospect, I feel maybe I should have accepted the first TV but I am anal about my electronics so I wanted a non-buzzer.

Given that the GT50 also buzzed, I decided to keep the 65 inch ST50 with its slightly louder buzzing. 5 inches did make a big difference to our viewing experience so the slightly higher buzz level was not enough to make me keep the smaller TV. So I'm done with my pursuit of a buzz-free plasma set. I'll just enjoy my TV and the 5% or less of the time when I hear buzz, I'll just remember how awesome the PQ is and hopefully eventually it won't bother me at all. I've read of people doing three exchanges but I am too tired of this thing now and I also don't believe that the incidence of buzzing is that low among Panasonic plasmas and the chances of the 4th panel being a non-buzzer, I wouldn't bet on.

I'm surprised that buzzing plasmas is still such a hot topic these days.

I've owned 5 plasmas: 1 hitachi, 1 Samsung and 3 Pioneers. Also briefly owned a Pana. I've also helped friends install at least 5 other plasma panels. Here are the rules of plasma buzz:

1. All plasmas buzz.
2. The buzzing always gets louder as the brightness is ramped up on the display.
3. The larger the panel, the louder the buzz.

Sometimes you just get lucky and the buzz is a little less noticable, but it is always there. I've never come across one that didn't buzz, EVER. That said, I could never hear it watching a film or anything else where the volume was being played at a reasonable level. I have a 60" Pio in my bedroom.. at low volume at night I can hear it clearly buzzing at different frequencies as the scene changes.

If the buzz really bugs you that much, buy an LCD.

1000

A local TV repair tech came by today to swap out one of the circuit boards on my buzzing GT50, but the replacement board actually buzzed louder than the original. He then replaced the original board and told me to return it. Since I've already exchanged the TV once, and had Panasonic dispatch a repair tech to fix the issue and I'm still not happy, I think I'm done with the GT50 and am very disappointed. Sure, the picture on this thing is outstanding, but the invasive buzzing is a deal-breaker to my TV-watching experience.

Just had a repair technician at the home for the buzzing issue on my 65VT50.

He repairs this on a daily basis on Panasonic plasmas. The issue is loose screws on the main board and extension board. The screws gets loose that ground the boards and cause an electrical arc, and that's the "buzzing" sound that you are hearing. He states this is a well know issue from Panasonic and the fix is with updated screws with lock washers. However, if you look at the backside of your display and see the model tag with a (-2) after the model, that more than likely means they were replaced at the factory already. This was the case with mine, but he forgot one and that was the cause of the issue. And, the hole was stripped. Now, i'm currently out of a plasma until Panasonic figures out a fix for this or replaced my set.

On my GT50 the buzzing is not coming from the screws, or the electrical arc from a shorted screw. Those two issues were identified by Panasonic and they put out a bulletin regarding the fix. On my unit, the buzzing is coming from the two sets of coils on the circuit boards. Sure, it appears that some buzz issues were due to the screws on other sets, but not on mine. My opinion is that Panny went with the cheapest electrical components possible, which will have a large variation in tolerances and performance; this may explain why some don't have any buzzing, why some don't have buzzing at first but then it starts a few months in, or have buzzing right out of the box. I imagine the electronics between the ST50, GT50, and VT50 aren't all that different, so the panel lottery applies to all models.

So just to update my previous post. I had a tech come over to take a look at the TV. He came in saying he knew exactly what it was and proceeded to remove the back panel. When he got the panel off he realized that they had already replaced the screws on the boards (i am assuming right from the factory). He re-tightened all the screws to the proper torque and put the back panel on. When we turned the TV on he said that the buzz was acceptable and there was nothing else he could do. Even with the tightening of all the screws on the boards, I didn't notice any difference and the buzz was still annoying. It was coming from the same coils as the one video i posted before.

I took my TV back to where i bought it and got them to bring in a new one so i could compare the TV's side by side. The difference in the two TV's was easily heard when we had them side by side with the same settings and same image on the screen in the store. Needless to say I took the new TV home with me. So far so good and no noticeable buzzing like from before.

For my situation I am going to say that it was from the copper coils on the boards, and am guessing that by luck I managed to grab a TV that just buzzed less.

Kudos .. . couldn't have written that better myself.

As has been stated by me and others . . . . "plasma TVs should not buzz and if it does, then it's DEFECTIVE"!!!

So by your's and other's belief this industry is blatantly selling defective equipment to thousands and thousands of customers?

Disturbing that they get away with this. Too much trouble and resources lost to recycle circuitry that isn't up to quality standards I guess? Defective components should be scrapped.

I really hope these companies get their act together because I'm sure myself and others are sick of this panel lottery every time we go to make a new television purchase. Unfortunately I'm a cynic and I'm sure that 5 years from now when I go to make a purchase I'll go through the same rigmarole. Here's to hoping somehow in the future OLED technology avoids stupid issues like audible buzzing from 10+ feet.
Edited by UrbanConquest - 1/13/13 at 11:08am

Good thinking and thanks for the update. Hopefully this will help some of the people that are having throuble sorting through the hyperbole and venting in this thread.

Did the store have any kind of reaction or comment on there being a distinct difference between the two sets?

Basically, they're selling products with some probability of each unit being defective (buzz excessively)...Even if it is defective, some customers won't be bothered by it. And for those who are bothered by it, they hope the positives about this TV will outweigh the negative. They did their math and decided what was acceptable probability of their units being defective...It is a business after all.

What upsets me is when they try to say it's "normal"...Yeah, it's only "normal" because you decided to make that "normal" on a large number of your sets. It's BS.

^ *SMH

They ALL buzz. People with good hearing will hear them buzz and people with not the greatest hearing won't. This isn't that complicated.

BUT THEY ALL BUZZ.

Buddy of mine had buzzing on his ST50, he called Panasonic and was on the phone with them for 10 minutes, they sent a tech out a few days later. Turns out there was a loose screw on one of the boards inside the TV.

Bill

I may have to give them a call then. My 55" UT50 has a decent buzz. Noticeable particularly in commercials as many have a lot of white on the screen and not much audio for stretches. Seldom notice it during shows, movies or games (other than pause menus or loading screens where there is no sound.

Part of it is probably that I just tend to pick up buzzes (i.e. common for me to complain about the DVR or Fridge buzzing etc. when other people in the room can't hear it or only hear it if they get a lot closer etc.

In any case, I can live with it if it's not fixable. I got it from Amazon so exchange would be a hassle--plus probably not an option since they're sold out. And the picture is amazing for the $850 I paid for it. So not a huge deal to have a buzz I don't notice 99% of the time when actually watching something.

I kind of doubt it's just a loose screw though as if I get close the buzz is audible from the vents on both top sides and in the middle (though quieter there) so it seems the whole panel just hums.

It's not about whether they all buzz to some degree (we know they all do), it's about how different the level of buzz is between units. I mean, I had the technician come in and say: yes, this buzzes more than some other GT50s I worked on. How do we explain that? Please let's not do the carpet/no carpet thing and all that, he was right next to the unit.

Also, some people here report listening to two units side by side and noticing a significant difference. Some also say they cannot hear anything unless they are REALLY close- and my buzzes loud enough that you'd have to be deaf pretty bad not to hear it. Sorry, but I just don't see what you have to support your argument other than "some people hear better than others". This is not some unbelievably low level of buzz that one would need perfect hearing to notice it...

Agreed. I really thought the guy above that had two units side by side and implied that the difference in buzzing was distinct would hush up the "you don't have good hearing" crowd. I'm just going to chalk it up to trolling and hope that people with legitimate issues can see around it to the useful info.

Went ahead and called Panasonic. They'll send someone out to check it out. Have to wait on a call back to schedule the appointment.

It is trolling. He keeps posting the same "they all buzz" crap despite all the evidence to the contrary. He claims to own two new Panasonics that buzz loudly but instead of getting them fixed or exchanged (like so many people here have done successfully) he just comes here and says they all buzz. He doesn't believe any of us who say ours doesn't buzz, and says we must have bad hearing etcetc. Someone that angry about it would surely fight and kick and scream to have them fixed or replaced (like so many here have also done) or at least join in the discussion to get to the bottom of it, and not just accept loud buzzing and yell about it on forums.
Edited by RandyWalters - 1/16/13 at 3:04pm

just got a 55ut50 and sadly it buzzes pretty loud when any bright areas are on screen. the buzz is noticeably less on standard mode, but standard is way to dark for me....even when i watched nfl channel the left and lower header was enough to cause a loud buzz.

When you say they shoudlnt buzz at all, does that mean even during a super white bright scene you shouldnt hear anything?
On my tv i hear a slight buzz, but its not too annoying and i can only hear it if the tv is muted. Does this mean my TV need to be looked at?

Probably not. It does seem they all have some level of buzz on very bright screens (and that people are different in at what level/distance they can hear it). Seems the quietest reports are people who can only hear it on a solid white screen with no sound and from a couple feet away.

The problem is more when you can hear it over audio or from say 12 feet or further away as then you've gotten one with a buzz way louder than usual. But if you literally never hear it when watching TV/movies I wouldn't worry about it.

I still haven't gotten a call back from Panny to schedule the service appointment yet. I'll definitely post back as to whether they are able to do anything to make it quieter.

i have the vt50 its a great tv i really enjoy it alot a few problems though even though i dont use it much when i watch content in medium motion smoother figures get a wavy watery like flow behind them and it happens when they are moving its very weird and cant be right .anyone experience this issue anyways to the buzzing issue i have its very loud you can hear it over the tv volume and its gotten louder. i have had it since june and its wasnt loud at all when i first got this unit you could bairley hear it and you had to be closer than a foot . it sucks cause i dont want it getting serviced cause i will be heart broken if its gone from my livingroom.

Call Panny. They'll send a tech to your house and work on it there. I don't think they take TVs away. If they can't fix it they'd have to do a warranty exchange.

But if it's gotten worse, definitely call. Could be some screws have gotten loose, or could be a part going bad and needing replaced.