Needhelp: Plasma buzzing (Panasonic ST50) - When is it not acceptabel? - Page 7

Mines similar to this. I have a July build gt50. I don't think it's screws but call Panasonic to do the analysis. The reason I don't think it's screws on one board is because when I do the ir wipe, the buzz follows the white across the screen.

I honestly don't notice it thought unless I am showing the white slide, the ir wipe AND I'm within 5' of the tv without the refrigerator running and hvac off and no other electronics buzzing or fans running. With normal content it's not there. Also, only other time I noticed it is with the really bright Warner brothers logo in the clouds but all the other factors were there too: no refrigerator, no hvac and it was with no sound

These are consumer level electronics. There are going to be some defective units, variation in build quality etc. Thus some are going to buzz louder than others. One member posted taking a buzzer back to the store and comparing to another and that he and the staff could clearly tell the second one was quieter.

On top of that, people's hearing varies. So some people will hear a buzz over dialogue when others won't even on the same unit in the same room. And then there are variations on whether it annoys someone or not--especially if it's like mine was were I mostly only heard it on commercials or super bright quiet scenes. Enough to annoy me and get me to ditch it, but wouldn't bother others probably.

But I'm also not a huge videophile and should have just waited for a deal on the LED I exchanged for in the first place as plasmas aren't ideal for my needs anyway (hours of ESPN daily, lots of video games, fairly bright room and watch lots of sports on weekend days etc.). So IR and reflections (had the 55UT50) were starting to be bothersome too, so no way I was going learn to just live with the buzz when it was becoming apparent that it just wasn't the right set for me.
Edited by dmaul1114 - 1/27/13 at 9:22pm

so anybody with a st50 build from late 2012 - September and Up, with a buzzing panel replace screws and find success?
If I call a tech to come over, can I request for him to replace the coil right away? I looked inside my panel through the vent holes on the left side and saw that I do have the updated screws with washers.
So I must have a coil problem. My st50's build date is November 2012 with a -2 on the model number.

ok guys if you want to explore the insides of the st50 panel I have pictures.
check out my posting here: http://www.avsforum.com/t/1455685/going-rogue-with-buzzing-issues-for-the-panasonic-p55st50#post_22915359

Guys, don't give up on the plasma. I traded in my LED for a plasma because the LED has such light pollution in the dark scenes. LED cannot hold a candle to plasma when it comes to picture quality!! And the burn-in is no longer an issue on these new models. My boys are on the xbox and ESPN 24/7...no ghost images yet.

However...my P65ST50 buzzed as well after only 3 months, so I had a tech come out to fix it. He pulled off the back (after removing about a million screws), and immediately found the loose board. He held his screwdriver up to one of the corners of the board and was able to change the pitch and volume of the buzz by changing pressure with his tool. He tightened all the screws on all the boards (did not swap them out). I will not tell you the buzz went away completely, but it did reduce to where the only way I can hear it is if I stand next to the panel with my ear 6 inches away.

Truth be told, I would not buy another Panasonic due to the poor manufacturing QC. But, now that the issue is resolved on my unit, I gotta say the picture blows me away, and Call of Duty in 3D is just way too cool.

An interesting development. I thought I had a buzzing 65vt50 until I turned off my power amp and All buzzing went away! I am now in the process of researching ground loop hum to see what I can do. I'm not saying that plasma buzz doesn't exist, just that my particular buzzing problem isn't from my plasma.

That's interesting. I will look into that as well this weekend. MY TV, HTPC and power amp are all on the same power strip.

All of my components are plugged into a power conditioner. I am going to try a cheater plug first, then maybe a ground loop isolator.

The power strip issue only applies if your buzz is coming through the TV speakers. The predominant buzzing issue with these Pannys is vibration of the "ss" board in the upper right when looking at the TV from the back, which happens even with the speakers turned off.

In my situation, the buzzing is actually coming from my amp. I can only hear it when Both the amp And TV are ON. Very strange.

My UT50 has started making an extremely annoying, high-pitch buzzing sound in the upper left corner(when listening from the front of the set).


I can hear it no matter how loud the volume but it does seem slightly quieter when I press mute. I guess that would make sense because when the speakers are on they too require electricity which in turn makes the power supply inside the set work even harder.

Posted this in the VT Owners thread but thought I would do it here as well. http://www.avsforum.com/t/1408338/official-panasonic-vt50-owners-thread/10290#post_22968601

I have found that the buzzing I am having is not constant, rather it cycles between low and loud every three seconds when a light screen is on. It can be heard enough to be a distraction even with my surround system turned up from17 feet away.

Interesting thing is it goes away when 1080p24 content is on and the tv is set to either 48 or 96. (60hz still produces a buzz). Might explain why some posters say they don't hear it on blu-ray. Even with cable if I set my receiver to up-scale to 1080p24, the buzzing goes away unless the TV is set to 60hz.

Just opened a case with Panasonic, I'll keep you posted with how it goes.

Update: after some more troubleshooting I have found that the buzzing is actually coming from my powered sub-woofer. And is must be coming from the power circuit, as I can disconnect the RCA jack and it still buzzes. I tried a different outlet in the same room and still buzzes. Then used a 40 ft extension cord to an outlet on a different circuit and voila the buzzing goes away.

@mnc - I'm very interested in what your resolution is as it sounds like the same problem. My amp does not buzz thankfully, just the sub, a Von Schweikert VR-S1.

My question is it an issue with the TV? I had an LED before with no issues, but since the plasma uses more power particularly when displaying bright screens, I may not have hit the threshold before.

I guess I can manually turn off the sub, unless I'm watching blu-ray with the 96hz setting, but a bit of a PITA. No way the wife will o for an extension cord down the hallway.

Is there anything that can be done to effectively act like it is on its own circuit, without actually getting one? (Have a huge entertainment center which would need to be moved to get that work done).

Thanks

Hi All,
I have a 55ST50 that I got back in late July from BB. I broke in the tv using d-nice's slides and used his recommended settings. When I initially had the tv I did not hear any buzzing at all. Now recently about a week ago I started to hear buzzing. I hear it on lighter colored scenes as others have reported. I do not use the speakers from the TV. I use the speakers connected to my denon AVR. I have a HTPC hooked up to the AVR and then to the TV. No other connections. I have the TV wall mounted and can hear the buzzing from about 8ft away even with the speakers at a decent volume. I do not think I got any kind of warranty through BB so I assume I'll have to contact Panny to get it looked at?

I have returned two Pana 50" ST50 and one 50" GT50 because of the buzz. It is not acceptable for me in 2013, when panasonic earlier had serious issues with buzzing. (Panasonic G10 among many others...)

i've owned a couple of low-end panasonc plasma's and they didnt have the issue. Why should i then have the trouble with the mid-end / high-end? I have bought my last panasonic tv-screen ever. Obviously it is not just one faulty tv, but all of them. 3 tvs in a row with the same extreme buzz from 4 metres away is just bad.

- I am an experienced plasma-tv owner, had panasonic, lg, samsung, and these pana 50's has been the worst by far.


- Probably going with a samsung 2013 plasma instead. Shame on you panasonic.....

I was surprised as well that this still existed. This is my first plasma and had not heard about this model having the issue though it was probably early before these reports started to trickle in.

Hopefully it gets fixed as I am still under the manufacturer warranty.

You may just be extra sensitive to hearing that frequency of buzz. Every plasma I've been around (two I've tried, a couple friend's sets etc.) I've heard buzzing from the couch (6-10ft depending on person/place) in bright quiet scenes. Mostly Panny's, but one Vizio and one Samsung.

I think I just have bad luck and my ears really tune into that frequency and it drives me nuts. You may be similar, though you do note that you haven't heard it on other brands/past models. I'm bad about being annoyed by a fridge or other appliance buzzing too and my girlfriend can't hear it.

Has been mostly moot for me since I found out quickly that plasma's don't work well for me anyway since I watch a crap ton of ESPN and play a lot of video games so stubborn IR was a major annoyance on top of the buzzing I seem tuned into hearing.

As much as I love the PQ of a plasma this may be my first and last one if they all exhibit this buzz noise. I assumed that by now this type of issue would be ironed out. I understand IR is still there but I don't watch much sports on my plasma. I leave that to my bigger tv for that.

Well I have a repair scheduled for next week so hopefully that will resolve the issue at least for a while.

If you think excessive buzzing is normal and that they all do it then you really haven't read this thread at all.

My ST50 has a light buzz I can hear when my ear is directly next to the panel. This is my first plasma as well and I don't consider it a loud buzzer. From reading this forum, it seems some plasmas buzz louder than others. Since you indicated it did not originally buzz you are doing the right thing by having a Panasonic tech come and check it out.

Well I agree they all do not do it but I just got the raw end of the deal. The tech came by today and replaced the screws/washers. We'll see if that fixed it. He said this is the first step that they have to do. If it comes back then he'll come back and take a look at it again.

I have a 60GT50 and after owning it for about two months it is buzzing when there are bright or all white images on the screen. I can hear it from 8' away with the volume at moderate levels. With the sound muted it is quite easy to hear from even further away. I'll be giving Best Buy a call to setup a service call. I think I will stress to Best Buy that the tech bring all the possible parts needed so I do not have to go through multiple service calls.

Bill