Philips 42" Plasma (42PF7320A) - Page 3

Casey Jones I'm not sure if I understand what you are saying. You are saying that the new set won't look any different and that the problem is caused by a bad signal meaning my cables or players?

Casey Jones can you please explain your last post to me?

I bought the Sanus systems VMPL3 wall mount. It needs no additional add ons like most of the others out there.

I am very happy with it.

Casey Jones do you mean that I may have bad component cables?

I have the 42" model, and have had no issues with the picture so far. I have my contrast and brightness set to about 45 right now. I'll up it later on. I noticed that keep the sharpness not high seems to help. Overall, the picture is great with DVD's and amazing with Comcast HD channels (really has to be see to be believed). Not sure what the problem could be. I also have the DNR and Pixel Plus all truned on, so I don't think it's that.

Wow, my grammar sucks today

So here's another weird thing that happened. I put in a thumb drive to try and upgrade the software and right away the picture looked amazing. I'm talking about the menu for the software upgrade. There was no noise at all. Then I turned off the TV with the remote witch I found out means the software didn't get installed cause I had to turn it off from the TV itslef. So when I go to put back in the USB drive it says there is nothing on it and the picture is full of noise again. Also the zero button on my remote turns the set on and off.

bump

I just purchased this tv over the weekend and hung it on the wall using the Sanus universal tilt wall mount at Target, it worked really well and was only $129.99.

fester,
which model sanus was this? i searched on targets website but did not see any sanus wall mounts.

Same question.

What's the model # of the Sanus mount, please?

EDIT: Just went to www.sanus.com/mounts/ and it now had the 42pf7320a listed in the drop down menu. Results showed models: VMDD, VMPL2 plus the VMB1 adapter, VMPL3, VMPL plus VMB1 adapter.

Also spoke with one of the big mount stores in Boston, and they recommended the Peerless ST660 or SF660, which can be found rather cheaply thru the usual price engines.......

anyone figure out how to remove the anoying yellow frame around the screen with sound. I did get a little burn in from having it set on PIP

Thanks

I mounted mine a couple weeks ago using OmniMount Plasma Tilt Wall Mount (U3TILTMOUNT). It fits close and real nice. Ordered it from Amazon:

Link

Just spoke with Peerless CS. Even tho their website doesn't list it, they are now confirming that they have mounts to fit the 42pf7320a:

flat: SF660, plus adapter/extension ACC920

Tilt: ST660, plus adapter/estension ACC921


Trouble is, the adapters are VERY had to find; most sites that sell mounts don't even list the adapters. Buy.com lists the 921, but I can't recall if it was even in stock; they don't even list the 920 (I'm not sure, but I wonder if they are the same part just with different numbers for tilt and flat). mountsandmore.com and racksandstands.com both have both adapters available, but they are much more expensive for the actual 660 mount.

HTH.....

Can anyone tell me if the speakers are detachable and, if so, what's the width with out them?

The speakers are not detachable.

Hello,
Just picked up the 42PF7320A. So far im very happy tho its hard to tell the PQ right now being i have brightness and contrast low (Contrast 60, Brightness 40 is that low enofe for break in?) And just how long is break in anyways? I have an Avia disc on its way right now. Another question is what other settings should be on or off? Like Pixel plus or Dynamic contrast? Im not to sure. What eles do i need to know about this tv?

This is a great TV why no one talk?

I bought this from CC online on Thanksgiving day. My primary target was Panny
42PD50U (ED), which is very very hot right now. My local BB didn't have it in stock.
Fry's and CC actually raised their prices on Black Friday !

I set it up yesterday. Overall, I am satisfied with its picture quality. HD is good.
480P from my budget DVD player is pretty sharp and crispy with component inputs. Some SD (480i) cable channels from big TV stations are good. Others
are poor (e.g. Home Shopping Network).
Black level is good enough for us (maybe not as good as Panny).

When I was watching 'Toy Story' yesterday, I paused it and switched Pixel Plus on and off.
The difference is pretty clear. It enhanced the edges of objects on the screen.

Dynamic Contrast is on. DNR is on. I haven't done any tests on those yet.

Here are some cons of the unit(Manufactured in Oct. 2005 with firmware 1.0.8 ),
which I don't like:

1. Setting menu is POOR.
Pressing 'OK' button of remote on a sub menu will close the sub menu and goes back to
the parent menu. Use right arrow to drill down to the sub-menu of current item,
not OK button ! Who designed this?

2. The layout of menu is not easy to navigate. I have hard time to locate the
menu to search all TV channels.

3. OSD (on screen display) is POOR.
OSD has two options: Normal and minimum.
Normal:
the new channel # is still displayed on the screen long after the channel is switched.
Another post on this forum said it would go away after 10 minutes.
Why not 10 seconds?

Minimum:
It does get rid of the channel # above. But, it does not display the speaker volume either, when it is changed. (You will find other posts on this forum,
which is complaining the very same thing.)


Hopefully, Philips will fix those problems in furture firmware releases. Firmware
upgrade is very easy.

The Sanus VMSA (from BB) works fine . . . If you buy two 36" pieces of 1" OD steel tubing to replace the two 32" tubes supplied with the mount. Which I did. This mount is pricey but is stout as can be. I'm pleased with it.

I bought this TV at CC on BF. They were all sold out but I found an open box model at one local stores at a sweet price. I only have the TV hooked up to some rabbit ear antenna's and my Samsung 6610 home theater dvd player with component cables.

The local channels with a strong signal look pretty good. The weaker channels look like crap as you can imagine. I'm currently comparing Satellite and cable providers and their HD packages.

In watching dvd's, I've also found some solarization and blotchiness in dark scenes. Especially skin tones. In brighter scenes the picture is just fantastic though. I put in the first season of LOST DVD and the picture blows me away. When I put in Star Wars 3 I can really see the blotchy skin tones in the darker scenes. I tried re-setting the factory default settings, then boosted up the brightness to about 55 and turned down the color setting a bit and it seemed to help but not completely. Any other thoughts on this? Could it be an issue of cables or dvd quality or is it just a function of the TV itself. Anyone else notice this with their set? Also, I'm probably one sitting 7-8 feet away. (too close?)

I've also noticed that the the picture didn't change much (if at all) when I turned off the progressive scan function of the dvd player. I then found out that the TV has it's own progressive function. Cool.

I really like the auto zoom function to keep the black bars away. (yes I'm burn-in paranoid). For the most part I think the speakers are fine. They're not high-end audiophile quality but for daily tv watching I think they are more than adequate. I do the think the whole menu system takes a little to get used to. Not the easiest to navigate but not awful either.

The next thing I'm working on is mounting this above my fireplace. After I brought the tv home I went wall mount shopping. I picked up the Sanus fmpl50 at Walmart for 129. (target has the same one) When I came home I went to the Sanus website and looked up the mount model and it didn't come up as compatible with the 7230 tv. So back it went and I picked up a Omni Tilt mount at CC for 250. Any advice on using this mount onto a brick fireplace? Has anyone tried to use that Sanus model from Walmart/Target? Success?

Well there's my quick review so far. As I do more with the TV I'll post my findings. If anyone can help with my questions that would be great. In summary they are:

1. What is causing the solarization/blotchiness in the dark scenes? What can be done about it?
2. Am I just too close to this tv?
3. Any advice on the Omni tilt mount installation? Anyone try the Sanus FPML50 model?

Thank you.

Dave

Dave,
Have you upgraded your firmware yet?

The latest is 1.0.8, which is available on philips web site.

Some posts mentioned PQ improvements after firmware upgrade.

You need a USB drive formatted in FAT file system. (No FAT32 or NTFS.)

Hi Everest. I have not done that. I have to ask - is it an easy thing to do? Never done something like that before.

Dave

is there a way to check what version of the firmware is on the tv? mine was manufactured in oct '05.

I bought this plasma at Costco and have been generally pleased. It's a great value and with Costco's return policy I don't think you can go wrong. My thoughts-

PQ on HD is excellent, and SD isn't too bad either. (I'm using component inputs on Adelphia's Moxi HD DVR box.)

DVDs, I've had some issues with loss of detail in the dark scenes. But I think this issue relates to my Samsung HD841- I'm going to try the highly rated Oppo player to see if this resolves the problem. (I did all the hacks on the HD841 but no difference.)

Menu - as others have stated it is poorly designed. The volume not being displayed is annoying, but I've left it on the minimum setting since I don't want to see my input choice displayed. I also wish there was a dedicated button to choose among inputs, instead of having to cycle among them.

Picture settings - Contrast 75, Brightness 45, Color 45, Sharp 5, Color Temp Normal, Pixel Plus on, Dynamic contrast medium, DNR medium, Color enhancement on, Tint 0, Active Control maximum. (I'm ignoring the burn-in recommendations and using what looks best.)

Sound is definitely average to below average periodically. I wish the speakers were detachable. I'm going to play around with the settings to see if I can find something more optimal.

I looked to upgrade the firmware and though the generation dates were different on my TV's firmware and what I found on the Philips website, the versions were the same, BX23U-1.0.8.0_00, so I did not upgrade. You can check the firmware in the menu under installation, then software upgrade, then current software info.

Anyone get the PIP to work? I'm not sure how to set it up with my cable box.

Bottom line: great PQ with some minor annoyances, along with great value. I'd love to hear other owners experiences.

Unlike this brave soul i still got some break in time left. Tight now it seems like a great TV. Love it

Bookmark the following URL, which is the front page of 42PF7320A.
http://www.consumer.philips.com/cons...37_US_CONSUMER

You can get this URL from Philips site:
1. Select country: US (English)
2. Search 42PF7320A in the search box.


The following URL leads to the online document:
http://www.p4c.philips.com/na4/4/42p...37_dfu_aen.pdf

You can get this online doc from the front page of this product (1) click 'Product Support'
link (2) Click 'Directions for Use' link
To check your current firmware verion: (Page 40)

Verifying the version of the TV software
Before starting the software upgrade procedure, it is advised to check what
the current TV software is.
1. Select Software Upgrade in the Installation menu.

2. Press the cursor right.
The Software Upgrade menu moves to the left panel.

3. Select Current Software Info to observe the version and the description
of the current software.

To Upgrade your TV:
1. Read the 'Readme' file first. Download a zip file from the 'Product Support' page, 'Software' Section.

2. unzip 'autorun.upg' file to root directory of a USB flash drive. The USB drive must be formatted as FAT file system.

3. Follow instructions on Page 41:


Automatic software upgrade procedure
1. Power off your TV and remove all memory devices.
2. Insert the USB portable memory that contains the downloaded software
upgrade.
3. Switch on your TV with the POWER button on your remote control.
4. At startup the TV will scan the USB portable memory until it finds the
update content.The TV will automatically go to the upgrade mode. After a
few seconds it will display the status of the upgrade procedure.
Warning:
You are not allowed to remove the USB portable memory during the software
upgrade procedure!
In case of a power drop during the upgrade procedure, don't remove the USB
portable memory from the TV. The TV will continue the upgrade as soon as the
power comes back.
If you try to upgrade to a software version lower than the current version, a
confirmation will be asked. Downgrading to older software should only be done in
case of real necessity.
If an error occurs during the upgrade you should retry the procedure or contact
your dealer.
( When the software upgrade was successful, remove the USB portable
memory and restart your TV with the POWER button on your remote
control.
Your TV will start up with the new software.
Note: Once the upgrade is finished use your PC to remove the TV software from
your USB portable memory.


-----------------------------
Updated on 01/18/06:

Reported by some people on this forum:
If the TV has the same firmware version as the one on the USB drive, TV simply
ignores it and starts normally.

Check your existing version before the firmware update.

I've had this tv for about 4 days. The picture quality is better on some channels than others, and it is annoying to have to adjust the settings to get a better picture for the different signals. On some HD channels, the quality is not that great for some reason. I have an Adelphia Moxi HD box. I notice some pixelation especially on scenes with objects that are very close to eachother like bleacher seats or a wall with a square pattern; the pixels look like they are moving along the edges of these objects. Is it possible I may be sitting too close to the TV? My couch is about 8 1/2 feet away. I noticed something today that I thought was odd - I put the tv on mute and the volume came back on by itself in 30 minutes or so. Also, I'm not sure if the picture is supposed to have very narrow black lines around all four sides? It didn't seem like they were there when I first set up the TV. These lines are right behind the black lines on the edges of the glass; they are a little less than 1/4" wide, does anyone else have this?

i havent them black lines as well. Seems to have been there since i set it up

Everest, thank you for all the good info. Have you upgraded yours yet? Any difference?

Dok - The issue your having with the dark scenes on dvd's sounds like the same one I'm having, and I also have a Samsung dvd player. If you wouldn't mind I'd like to hear how the other player works for you.

Oh, and I also have the 1/4" black lines around the screen. All in all I think this is a great tv and I can't wait to get HD service. I'm considering the Dish network HD package - any one out there using it? Any more info on wall mounts for this model?

Dave