30PW850H37A - Lines when scene is dark or black

[PradHand]

Hey all - I've had my 30PW850H37A 30" widescreen for about a month now and I have a question. When scenes are dark or black, I see what I think are the scan lines of my TV. They are slightly brighter than the background and go across the tv. I hope these aren't burn lines, but I don't know enough to know for sure.

I haven't set up the TV properly with AVAI yet, but plan to ASAP after reading about it here.

Please let me know if these lines are normal or if my set has a problem. All the sets I look at in the store all have very bright pictures, so I can't see if they have the same lines.

PradHand

[Ratman]

Do you have cable TV?

Have you seen this with DVD's?

Do they move?

If you have cable and see it with DVD's, remove the cable TV coax from the TV/STB and watch a scene with a DVD where you could see the lines. If they are not visible with the cable coax removed, then it may be a 'ground loop'.

Call your cable provider to resolve properly.

[PradHand]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Do you have cable TV? YES

Have you seen this with DVD's? YES

Do they move? NO

I do have cable running directly into the TV, but I dont think that's the problem. I see these lines no matter what input I use. Also - I'm not doing any splits on the cable or anything like that and I used this cable with my older TV with no problem.

The lines look like the scan lines

they do a horizonantal - then a lighter diagonal to the next horizontal

-
/
-
/

kinda like that (but not to scale). If I brighten the picture up (>= 50 brightness) I don't see them in the dark scenes.

Thanks again!

[Ratman]

Humor me... disconnect the cable TV coax and see what happens.
(It can't hurt! ... and I won't rest! :) )

[PradHand]

I'll try it tonight when I get home from work :)

but what I'm gathering is you don't have these lines...

[Ratman]

No, not all... I don't have this TV! :)

Just trying to eliminate a potential cause based on the symptom. And it's the easiest to try first.

[PradHand]

hehe thanks.

I'll give it a try tonight.

Do you have one of the Philips Flat tube TVs?

[Ratman]

Nope.

I have an RCA F38310 for my HD needs.

But! I have an 18 year old 27" Philips that never had one problem still works great. A 19" in the bedroom (TV that is... ) and a 25 year old Philips turntable that works great though! And probably a light bulb somewhere... :)

[PradHand]

I unhooked everything from my TV but my DVD player hooked up via the component cables. The lines are still there :/ I looked at the same model on display at wal - mart tonight and i didn't see the lines.

I'm going to call customer service and see what they have to say. If u guys have anything else - please let me know.

[PradHand]

well - i called customer service and it looks like my TV has issues :sobbing:

I'm going to call costco and see if I can't return it. I've had it exactly one month today. If i can't return - they do have on site service - so it'll be fixed either way.

I did take some digital pics of what my TV is doing if any of you are curious. Caution - the Images are large:

http://www.gibalot.com/images/philipsTV002.jpg
http://www.gibalot.com/images/philipsTV003.jpg
http://www.gibalot.com/images/philipsTV004.jpg
http://www.gibalot.com/images/philipsTV005.jpg

Thanks and expect to see a lot more of me around here!
PradHand

[island_runner]

I have the same TV...we probably both bought it during Costco's $599 deal a month back or so.

Anyways, I don't have that issue but ask that you post how Costco is going to handle it. I've been a Costco member for 20 years but had a problem last week returning some jeans because I didn't have a receipt, they wanted to give me a cash card. WHAT?!? :boxer: Thats something that never used to happen.

[Ratman]

The lines are still there .

Oh well... that pretty much narrows things down! ;)

It was worth a try. Anyway... good luck with the return/repair.
(Hopefully the problem still occurs when you get it to the tech! Problems always seem to disappear when you get things to a shop. Then the tech looks at you like you have two heads! :) )

[PradHand]

I'm trying to decide if I should just exchange it for a new TV (which means hauling the beast back to costco) or just calling one of the techs to come fix it. It's free for the tech to come repair since I haven't had the TV for 90 days - philips covers parts/labor and does on site work if you have a problem in the first 90 days.

I was concerned lastnight because the only complaint I've heard about these TVs is that Philips has terrible customer support. My experience (so far) has been good - hopefully that'll keep up.

Island_runner: we did get the same TV at costco :) Have you been happy with it? I'm not a costco member, but my fiance's mom is and she was with me when we bought it. This might be another issue since she lives in Canada and I live in Indianapolis. We'll see...

Thanks again for your help!

[island_runner]

Yes I am happy with it so far. I had a Panasonic 4:3 HDTV before and my panny had a better HD picture. I only got rid of it to go to 16:9 widescreen and couldn't afford $1000 and up for a Samsung or Sony.

One thing that is really beginning to annoy me however is that there is no option, like with my Panasonic, to turn off the display for volume, channel, etc. If I raise or lower the volume on the philips that damn display stays on there way too long, it is not transparent, and the box is huge!

[PradHand]

Bah

I called costco and they'll take the TV back no problems. But the issue is - I paid $599 for the TV w/ a $100 off cupon - now the TVs are up to $699. They'll only give me the money back and won't honor the coupon.

I'm going to call the tech now :/

[PradHand]

welp - the tech is coming out friday morning to fix the issue - he seemed to have an idea of what is wrong.

I'll let u guys know the issue and the resolution we come to. good thing i'm a laid back guy ;)

[Ratman]

Got our fingers crossed! Hope it works out in your favor.

[island_runner]

Why don't you just swap out the TV's with a new one at Costco?

[PradHand]

I asked - they said they would only refund the $ I paid for the TV :/

K - next question - this is an HD monitor so it's not HD ready - what tuner do you guys recommend? I primarly want it for the OTA chans.

[PradHand]

Welp everything is good to go!

It was just a minor adjustment the tech had to make - wasn't a problem - the set just wasn't set up properly from the factory. The screen was up too high - he popped the back - made and adjustment and all is well :)

[island_runner]

Good Deal!!!! So I was hesitant buying a Philips because after all the research I did, it seemed the biggest problem with them was their customer support, etc. of their product.

All in all, how would you rate your experience from beginning to end. Seems like your issue was resolved pretty quickly.

[PradHand]

actually that was my big fear - their customer service - but they did really well for me.

I gave them a call - we diagnosed the problem - they agreed there was a problem with the set. At that time the tech gave me a few local numbers to call for shops that do Philips warranty work. All I had to do was provide the tech w/ a photocopy of the recipt. He came to my house asap and fixed the problem.

I'm very satisifed with the turn around time on this issue.

I'm really more disappointed in Costco in all of this - they refused to exchange the set - they said they'd only refund my money. The problem is - the set is selling for $100 more now cause the coupon is expired and they wouldn't give me a set at the same price :/

so there you have it!

[craftsman882]

My red lines have gotten so bad that this has become the worst TV I've ever watched.

Can you talk me through the minor surgery that the tech performed on your set? It sounds like the exact problem exept it seems to have gotten progressively worse over the last year or 2.

Thanks

PS - the red face isn't necessarily to show anger....just the way my screen looks.