New 42" TV buzzing?!!?

Johnny Bitte

Hey all,
Serious issue with a brand new tv I got on Friday and just wanted to ask ye'r opinion.

The tv was working fine, brought it up to Dublin with me and last night I started to hear a loud electrical buzzing sound coming from inside the tv.

I ve listed closely and its not the speakers.

I m freaking out cause I ve literlly on got it on Friday.

I know its under warrenty but with its size its so hard to move around it will be a nightmare to transport.

Anyone any idea what this might be or how it can be fixed?

The Ritz

It's a bit difficult to guess what might be causing the effect you describe without seeing/hearing it in person, a few more details might help - what model tv is it and where id you buy it, was the tv making the noise before you transported it, how did you transport it and how far, is it the noise of fans or is it an actual electrical buzzing, does it get louder or change when you turn up the sound or change the channels on the tv etc, exactly how loud is the noise - is it clearly audible when the tv is operating at normal listening levels.

If it's an electrical buzzing that is constant, is audible over the tv sound at normal listening levels and wasn't there when you first operated the tv, then the chance are that something is amiss and you'll need to return it for repair/replacement.


Ritz.

Johnny Bitte

Thanks Ritz
Its a Philips 42PFL7603D/10
Bought it from Pixmania.
There was no noise before I brought it to Dublin.
I packaged it back up with the original box and foam and drove it fro Laois to Dublin.
Its definatley not the speakers, its constant and can be heard over the tv, wasnt there originally.

It seems to get louder when switching between channels and when the screen is blank.

Called Philips today and told me to do a factory reset, no difference.

Along with the buzzing the tv has frozen twice, the tv powers on but then doesnt change channel or power off by remote or the buttons on the tv and has to be unplugged at the socket.

Any idea's if I ll need to send this abroad or Ireland?
Will they reimbursh me for the delivery?

So pissed.

The Ritz

From your description it sounds as though something is amiss right enough. Not fun.........

You could try asking Philips will they repair/replace but I imagine that you might have to seek a return through Pixmania.


Ritz.

Johnny Bitte

Weird situation there, went straight back to pixmania about return or repir and there site directed me to Philips.
Thought it was a bit odd considering I literally only got it but Philips seem helpful so back it goes : (

Thanks for your help

Richersounds.ie: John

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Thanks Ritz
Its a Philips 42PFL7603D/10
Bought it from Pixmania.
There was no noise before I brought it to Dublin.
I packaged it back up with the original box and foam and drove it fro Laois to Dublin.
Its definatley not the speakers, its constant and can be heard over the tv, wasnt there originally.

It seems to get louder when switching between channels and when the screen is blank.

Called Philips today and told me to do a factory reset, no difference.

Along with the buzzing the tv has frozen twice, the tv powers on but then doesnt change channel or power off by remote or the buttons on the tv and has to be unplugged at the socket.

Any idea's if I ll need to send this abroad or Ireland?
Will they reimbursh me for the delivery?

So pissed.

Goose,

I know you did not purchase the TV from us but if you would like to drop me an email to johnmc@richersounds.ie including all the details (purchase date/serial number etc) we will speak to Philips Ireland and see what can be done to save the hassle and expense of having to return it to Pixmania - no promises but we will do our best!

Hate to see anyone stuck!

ATB,

John Mc

Johnny Bitte

johnmc wrote: »

Goose,

I know you did not purchase the TV from us but if you would like to drop me an email to johnmc@richersounds.ie including all the details (purchase date/serial number etc) we will speak to Philips Ireland and see what can be done to save the hassle and expense of having to return it to Pixmania - no promises but we will do our best!

Hate to see anyone stuck!

ATB,

John Mc

Thanks JohnMc,
If only I was getting this kinda customer service off of Pixmania.:mad::mad::mad:

When I first discovered the issue's I went to the site but it only appered to tell me to contact Philips. So I did. very friendly tech suggested a factory reset and if that didnt work it would need to be repaired by them.
Factory reset made no diffrence so I called back to Philips today and when I told the guy I got it last friday he says "Hold on, you should send that back to the place you got it, we will repair it but its definatly returnable".

So back to Pixmania I go and low and behold there's a link below where it told me to contact Philips which allows me to return it to Pixmania.
But only the option for repair and not a refund.
They offer a 7 day no questions asked return policy from the date you receive your product.
So I email them telling them I would like to do this.

I received the tv on Friday 09 Janurary, its now the 15th so its the last day of the 7 day return policy.
There telling me its to late and they can only offer repair.
Of course I pointed out that its the 7th day since I received it but no response.
So I ve emailed the European Consumer Commission for help getting my money back.

So here s the situation.
Do I hound Pixmania for the refund or send it to Philips for repair?

To be honest I m just not happy with have €1000 tv repaired the first week I got it.:(:(

JohnMc,
I don't suppose you know if Philips would replace the TV?

Hogzy

Iv a 37" Philips TV too and it emits a buzzing sound. I can only hear it when im going to sleep at night when the TV is on cos its so quiet (volume on one bar)

Aparently its a problem with all Philips TV's, when i saw the title of the post i KNEW it would be a philips again!

Johnny Bitte

Wasnt there when I first got it tho, and the fact it freezes as well leaves me no option but to send it back,

Hogzy

The_Goose135 wrote: »

Wasnt there when I first got it tho, and the fact it freezes as well leaves me no option but to send it back,

Oh myn doesnt freeze. your case is probably worse than the usual one! My buzz is so faint it can only be heard when there is extreme silence!

The Ritz

Hogzy,

Aparently its a problem with all Philips TV's, when i saw the title of the post i KNEW it would be a philips again!

My buzz is so faint it can only be heard when there is extreme silence!

In fairness I think the OP's problem is completely different - the background buzz is not something exclusive to Philips tvs.


Ritz.

Rabies

If the tv was bought in Dublin it must be a deadly buzz?



/gets coat

Johnny Bitte

Rabies wrote: »

If the tv was bought in Dublin it must be a deadly buzz?



/gets coat

As bad as I feel about this situation I did smile

Update:
No response from Pixmania, emailed mediator_uk@pixmania.com in the hope of some sort of response.
Also just checked the delivery note and it has the wrong date of delivery.
Emailed Johnstown Logistics for confirmation of the correct date.

It doesn't look like Pixmaina are going to respond with anything that makes sense so I ve emailed the European Consumer Center for advice and will be contacting AIB Credit Card centre to see if they can help.

Reading loads of horror stories on line about Pixmania ignoring people for months on end.:(

JoeA3

The_Goose135 wrote: »

As bad as I feel about this situation I did smile

Update:
No response from Pixmania, emailed mediator_uk@pixmania.com in the hope of some sort of response.
Also just checked the delivery note and it has the wrong date of delivery.
Emailed Johnstown Logistics for confirmation of the correct date.

It doesn't look like Pixmaina are going to respond with anything that makes sense so I ve emailed the European Consumer Center for advice and will be contacting AIB Credit Card centre to see if they can help.

Reading loads of horror stories on line about Pixmania ignoring people for months on end.:(

If its any consolation, I bought a canon camera off Pixmania about 18 months ago, and about an hour after taking it out of the box, I stupidly broke it, completely my own fault!
Anyhow, I got on to Pixmania, pleading innocence, and they offered to replace it, no questions asked! The whole process took about 4/5 weeks though, from getting the broken one shipped back to them, to me receiving a new replacement. If I remember correctly, I think I had to chase the courier company myself, but Pixmania paid the delivery charges.

So if I were you I'd certainly be insisting on a new replacement TV. Of course, organising to return something as large as a TV is not so easy. At least is not an old style CRT!

I'd also view this thread as a warning to those thinking they are saving hundreds by shopping online - when things go wrong, it is nice to be able to go back to a bricks and mortar shop!

Johnny Bitte

JoeA3 wrote: »

I'd also view this thread as a warning to those thinking they are saving hundreds by shopping online - when things go wrong, it is nice to be able to go back to a bricks and mortar shop!

Thats exactly it, thats why I want to keep everyone updated with all the info I can get about this so that in future if anyone runs into this it might help.

I have ordered smaller stuff from Pixmania in the past with no issue's and when there was and had to return it there was no issue but it just seems like the have my money on this and don't want ti give it back.

I m done with emails, I ll be phoning the ECC, Credit card line and Pixmania monday hoping ot get somewhere. Thanks to everyone here for your help.

John

JohnnieM

Hogzy wrote: »

Iv a 37" Philips TV too and it emits a buzzing sound. I can only hear it when im going to sleep at night when the TV is on cos its so quiet (volume on one bar)

Aparently its a problem with all Philips TV's, when i saw the title of the post i KNEW it would be a philips again!

Ive a Philips 42 in the bedroom and does the exact same...

Johnny Bitte

Some advance ment on the situation.
Athe account dept are gonna look into it.
Lucky me.

Thank you for your email,

We apologies for any inconvenience and delay regarding your order with Pixmania.

Your request has been sent to the Accounts Department, as soon as we have an answer from them, we will get back to you with further information.

We thank you for your patience and understanding while your questions are being looked into further.

Best regards,
Team Pixmania

Johnny Bitte

Hi All
just an update.
Looks like they finally gotr the message and are gonna give me my refund. Not only that but are sending someone to pick it up. After 2 weeks of daily emails to them they finally put me through to a woman name Hannah who simply asked what was wrong with the TV and then sent me the refund notification.

Now, I m not gonna count my chickens here so I ll wait until the €999 is back in my account but at least things are moving.

Johnny Bitte

Hi All,
Just an update on the situation with Pixmania
Once I got throught to account the girl asked for the cause of the issue and sent me the returns form.
UPS picked it up on Tuesday and Pix confirmed recent Friday.
Monday they confirmed the fault and refund.
Paypal now registered a refund of the full amount of the TV but it will take a day or 2 to reach my credit card : )

So for anyone elase who is thinking of buying a TV online or from Pixmania the first rile should be test it completely once you receive it.
If there is someithing wrong report it straight away (In writing).

Now in my case it became a battle with Pix so my only advice is hound them.
Emails everyday if necessary until you make it clear your not leaving.

Hope this doesnt turn anyone off buying on line but for me, its down to Currys.

Climate Expert

Loads of replies and nobody has an answer?

Its perfectly normal and happens with all plasma tvs to an extent and particularly cheaper tvs. It even has its own name which I forget, but google plasma buzzing and you will find it.

In short you can ignore it or that is too much then buy and LCD or a more expensive plasma.

Hope this doesnt turn anyone off buying on line but for me, its down to Currys.

Pixmania served you well and then thats how you treat them. They had every right to tell you to 'buzz' off.

Plasma panel buzz is a normal phenomenon. Plasmas work on a totally different principle to colour televisions and have different operating characteristics. The level at which the operating buzz becomes noticeable is always subjective; one person may hear it whilst another does not. The following points help to understand the factors surrounding the buzzing:

The picture scanning drive circuits operate at high frequencies and powers. It is these circuits that cause the buzzing sound. The circuits are used to create both the picture and reuse energy to keep the unit efficiency high and panel heat emission low. This over-heating control is very important on the panels that do not use fans i.e. 37” and 42”. The resulting loss of fans makes for a quieter panel operation.

Due to the very high amount of power processing required, the 50” panels have cooling fans (up to 4), which will also contribute to the overall noise these plasma panels will produce. The buzz will appear more concentrated at the sides of the unit where the power circuit boards are situated.

Where cooling fans are not employed, the buzz may be heard in very quiet surroundings. Plasma buzzing is normal and will always occur, but the level of buzz is what matters.

Generally speaking the buzz will only be heard in quiet surroundings (with low levels of audio from whatever sound system used) and with the userseated too close to the panel - less than 12’ for 42” and 10’ for 37” panels.

A typical scenario is using the panel in the middle of the night when listening to news broadcasts at low volume. In this situation buzz might be heard during the silent breaks in the audio, but not so much during speech. This is not abnormal nor does it indicate a faulty panel.

If the buzz is heard above normal ambient daytime noise and audio levels at more that 12’ a problem might be present.

The method of panel installation will also affect the amount of noise heard. Wall mounting the panel will cause buzz emitted from the back of the panel to be reflected off the wall and into the room more than if the unit is located on the pedestal which is seated 2 to 4 feet away.

Plasma panels do not run in total silence. They do buzz as a normal part of their operation, but this level of buzz is quite low and may beintermittently noticed in quiet surroundings, many factors can influence this.

Changing the picture mode in the picture settings menu between dynamic/normal/cinema will also reduce the level of perceived noise since this affects how much power the panel is processing and this the level of power produced.

Having too much brightness and contrast with the dynamic mode setting on,can overdrive the panel and cause louder buzz levels with strong picture signals i.e. DVD or Sky digital signals. Changing these settings can lower the level of buzz produced. Use ‘normal’ picture mode and lower brightness/contrast settings to reduce this effect.

It is normal for the buzz tone and level to change the picture content because the panel drive circuits are processing different amounts of power and adapting their drive cycles.

Hard wall surface i.e. painted/wooden panels will be more effective reflectors than say walls that are covered in softer finishes, wall papered or curtained.

Please ensure these facts are understood and check your panel against a dealers display unit before requesting service, since abnormal levels of buzz are not always ‘abnormal’ but just the normal operating buzz of plasma technology.

Johnny Bitte

Climate Expert wrote: »

Loads of replies and nobody has an answer?

Its perfectly normal and happens with all plasma tvs to an extent and particularly cheaper tvs. It even has its own name which I forget, but google plasma buzzing and you will find it.

In short you can ignore it or that is too much then buy and LCD or a more expensive plasma.


Pixmania served you well and then thats how you treat them. They had every right to tell you to 'buzz' off.

First off its an LCD and an expensive one.

Secondly they didnt treat me well, everytime I emailed them I was sent generic crap about warrenty and they claimed it was outside their 7 day returns period when it clearly wasnt. Then only after 3 full weeks of emailing and contacted the ECC do they finally respond.

How is that being treated well?

If you had spent over 1000 euro on electronics from a site, found it to be broken and the site were refusing to refund you your money, would you consider that good service?

Climate Expert

Oh right, yeah thats not right if its an LCD.

geraardo

JohnnieM wrote: »

Ive a Philips 42 in the bedroom and does the exact same...

I have the same problem with a 37inch its not from the speakers but seems to be at the back of the tv very annoying especially when flicking between channels and screen goes to black between channel change.

hytech

On my tv a 42" phillips. I had this same problem after two days so I took the tv back and got another. A week later it came back. After a run around with walmart and Philips I thought I would try to fix this myself. I took the cover off the back and found that the noise is coming from the backlight bulbs themselves. There is one on each side. any noise means vibration and I thought I could glue the bulbs inplace to pad the vibration but I found that the bulbs were to hard to get too and I did not want to take the LCD itself apart. I noticed that when the bulbs are dimmed by the power supply it makes the noise and I read on the power board that it was for more than one model. I found that by turning a pot that I could lower the backlight inverter voltage. This made the noise go away but didn't change the brightness at all. This was a month ago and no problems yet.

Caution do this at your own risk!!!
You could kill your tv or yourself if you do something wrong!!!

esskay

Hi,
I am a computer tech by trade but also fix (fit parts) in one brand of flat screen tv. In my experience, when this noise or buzzing problem occurs, if its not the speakers, it almost always the power supply that is making the noise.

If there are vents/holes in the back of the tv that allows you to see the components, the power supply usually has big chunky components, heat sinks, visible copper wire around various components and usually colored tape on some of the components (yellow in the tv's I fix).

If this is making the noise at least you have something to suggest as a possible cause to whatever tech support folks you have to talk to. Hope this helps someone

Esskay.

geraardo

hytech wrote: »

On my tv a 42" phillips. I had this same problem after two days so I took the tv back and got another. A week later it came back. After a run around with walmart and Philips I thought I would try to fix this myself. I took the cover off the back and found that the noise is coming from the backlight bulbs themselves. There is one on each side. any noise means vibration and I thought I could glue the bulbs inplace to pad the vibration but I found that the bulbs were to hard to get too and I did not want to take the LCD itself apart. I noticed that when the bulbs are dimmed by the power supply it makes the noise and I read on the power board that it was for more than one model. I found that by turning a pot that I could lower the backlight inverter voltage. This made the noise go away but didn't change the brightness at all. This was a month ago and no problems yet.

Caution do this at your own risk!!!
You could kill your tv or yourself if you do something wrong!!!

Thanks hytech i will try this