Plasma TV fault

[oldcro]

I have a Panasonic 42inch Plasma TV which is less than 2 years old. Yesterday it started to show a thin green line from top to bottom near the centre of the screen. The line (hairline) is more visible the lighter the picture behind it and while still watchable is very annoying. The line is there regardless of picture source by the way.

Does this sound like a repairable fault? or something I have to live with. Panasonic suggested I take it to their dealer in Fraserburgh which happens to be 269 miles from me, mostly by ferry. Even posting it would be out of the question so I think I will just have to live with it until it drives me nuts.

 

[television]

You could have the worst possible fault going, and that is a bad horizontal drive chip.

With computer screens that do this its possible to remove the back and fit some packing between the circuit and the back

You could remove the back and with an insulated object apply pressure above or below the affected missing line

 

[Howard]

I had exactly the same fault with my old Hitachi 42 inch ... except my line of pixel dropout was about 2 inches in from the left hand side ...

Just ring the insurance company and claim on the contents , they sent an assessor round who pronounced it uneconomical to repair and they sent me a cheque for a new one ...

Added a bit to it and bought a 50 inch

 

[oldcro]

Thanks Malcolm and Howard, I am a bit reluctant to do as you suggest Malcolm as any signs of removing the back could affect a claim as Howard suggested. Also I like the idea of upgrading to a larger screen.

 

[television]

Thanks Malcolm and Howard, I am a bit reluctant to do as you suggest Malcolm as any signs of removing the back could affect a claim as Howard suggested. Also I like the idea of upgrading to a larger screen.

Understandable, the bits that bite are in the bottom

 

[Rory]

Sale of Goods act may help you - goods have to last a reasonable length of time and less than 2yrs isn't reasonable for a high end TV.

It's possibly a bit of an issue proving that the TV had an inherent fault, but the mere fact that it didn't last could demonstrate that.
See: http://www.berr.gov.uk/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

Note that liability rest with the supplier, not the manufacturer. If push comes to shove you might have to get it repaired and then ask for repayment or even pursue a small claims case.

I've no idea why Howard's contents policy would have paid out, unless he told his insurance company that he had accidentally damaged the TV? These days it's also very tough to get a cheque out of an insurance company - they like to replace the item with something similar.

 

[prprandall51]

www.avforums.co.uk - search for "panasonic green line" and correspond with many other Panasonic owners who have encountered the same fault.
This is a known fault on the (presumably) 60/600 series that you have - unfortunately, I have a 42PX600 as well (cracking TV whilst it works, though!)
Philip

 

[oldcro]

I checked with my home contents insurance and as expected they were not intersted unless the fault was due to some outside influence not just the TV itself. As for fit for purpose, I don't think a hairline would render the TV set unfit legally speaking. Annoying yes, but still watchable. I guess I was hoping someone would say press this button then that button, wait 30 seconds and the fault would miraculously disappear. Ah! well such is life .

 

[glojo]

I checked with my home contents insurance and as expected they were not intersted unless the fault was due to some outside influence not just the TV itself. As for fit for purpose, I don't think a hairline would render the TV set unfit legally speaking. Annoying yes, but still watchable. I guess I was hoping someone would say throw a brick at it.

Who said that?? Come on own up

I bet Howard was thinking it

Regards
Naughty John

 

[oldcro]

www.avforums.co.uk - search for "panasonic green line" and correspond with many other Panasonic owners who have encountered the same fault.
This is a known fault on the (presumably) 60/600 series that you have - unfortunately, I have a 42PX600 as well (cracking TV whilst it works, though!)
Philip

I checked avforums Philip, and found I am not alone by far with the green line fault, some even have multible green lines. Must as Panasonic why I only have one line showing and how long do I have to wait for more to appear

A quick check of other tv's both plasma and LCD ment there is not a Tv made that is not liable to show some fault or other. A bad indication of modern Screen systems compared to CRT screens which could give 10 or 20 years fault free service. Yes Malcolm, I know they did fail as well as your years of repairing them obviously proves.

 

[oldcro]

Who said that?? Come on own up

I bet Howard was thinking it

Regards
Naughty John

Youngcro? Thats a name I have never been called. Afraid I was already middle aged when I first became a CRO.

 

[andy_k]

I checked with my home contents insurance and as expected they were not intersted unless the fault was due to some outside influence not just the TV itself.

you'd be amazed how often the wall brackets on those TVs fail

 

[KillerHERTZ]

I had exactly the same fault with my old Hitachi 42 inch ... except my line of pixel dropout was about 2 inches in from the left hand side ...

And over a year later - it still hasnt got any worse... touchwood!

 

[Rory]

Dell has a problem with lines appearing on the displays of some models of their laptops.
My daughter had one that it not noted as one of the affected models, however is got one line, then another etc until there were about a dozen.
The machine was 30 something months old (can't remember exactly now but not quite 3yrs) and had the standard 12mth warranty.

I called Dell, had to escalate a couple of level and be insistant, but they reasonably readily agreed to come and do an on-site replacement of the screen completely FOC.


I would say that if these Panasonic models have a known fault you should have no problems getting it repaired at sub-2yrs old. Even if it wasn't a known fault, I'd expect a TV of that age to be repaired free.

 

[rf065]

I checked avforums Philip, and found I am not alone by far with the green line fault, some even have multible green lines. Must as Panasonic why I only have one line showing and how long do I have to wait for more to appear

A quick check of other tv's both plasma and LCD ment there is not a Tv made that is not liable to show some fault or other. A bad indication of modern Screen systems compared to CRT screens which could give 10 or 20 years fault free service. Yes Malcolm, I know they did fail as well as your years of repairing them obviously proves.

As TV manufacturers make such a play on the merits of their superior screens and how their models are so much better compared to their rivals, I would have thought a green line through the picture, however slight, rendered the TV watching experience totally useless.

I would contact them again and explain you did not buy a TV of this quality to watch a green line across the screen and regardless of the warranty period, it is only reasonable to expect it to last longer than it has and you want to give them the opportunity to repair or replace it as a goodwill gesture, before taking further action.

PS: I had a Toshiba which lost the sound at 18 months old and Toshiba sent a courier to collect it, repaired it free of charge and returned it to me. It only had a 1 year warranty too. Philips on the other hand, completely ignored all my letters and e-mails when I tried to get a TV repaired out of warranty, so I have never bought another Philips product since.

Russ

 

[Howard]

You need to say that you were doing some decorating and the ladder toppled over and bashed the frame of the unit , the next time you turned it on , there was a green line ....

It NEVER happened to me ....

 

[andy_k]

You need to say that you were doing some decorating and the ladder toppled over and bashed the frame of the unit , the next time you turned it on , there was a green line ....

It NEVER happened to me ....

I'm sure it didn't really happen to you did it Howard? Not when it could be seen as you admitting to a fraudulent claim on a public forum. Surely saying you may know someone it happened to would be more prudent?

 

[oldcro]

You need to say that you were doing some decorating and the ladder toppled over and bashed the frame of the unit , the next time you turned it on , there was a green line ....

It happened to me ....

Being the type of person I am, I told the insurance company exactly what happened. The result being they were not interested and I sleep with a clear conscious.

 

[Howard]

Me too .

 

[wittymoniker]

on the subject of plasma tvs, i've had mine in storage for a couple of months. took it out, set it up and now the remote won't power it on from of standby. changed the batteries, opened the remote and cleaned a bit of corrosion, still no luck. how do i switch the b*****d on!?