Samsung, Panasonic, and other makers of plasma televisions are hurting themselves and their customers because of a problem they aren’t even sure how to fizz. Many people are reporting a buzzing sound when they use their television. Some people are reporting a correlation between increase the volume and the volume of this buzz.
Thing is that many people have called the manufacturer reporting their problem with no help or aid. Repair technicians went out and no one has been able to isolate the issue or find a way to fix it. The only solution anyone has been able to come up with is the idea of adding some plastic to the back of the television which has been said to work without any actual confirmation.
There are several threads around the web with people expressing their concern with this issue.
- Whirlpool.net Forums – Samsung TV Buzzing Poll
- CNET Samsung Forum – 09 Plasma Buzz Thread
According to practical-home-theater-guide.com:
A soft buzzing noise is typical of all plasmas and is mainly caused by the electrical charges used to create the images on the screen. Buzzing can also result from the high frequency power drive coils used in the so called switch-mode power supply (SMPS) board used to drive the panel.
But the level of buzzing is generally quite low and inaudible from normal viewing distance especially during daytime. We have to add here that we did not hear this abnormal annoying buzzing with any of the latest Samsung plasma TVs we have played with. Nor do expert reviews appearing on Cnet and PCmag.com mention anything in their PN50B850 review about this issue. Yet a third of all respondents on the AVS forum site stated that they were bothered by the noise at their main viewing position. However, from the comments submitted, it is clear that in most cases, the viewers were sitting closer to the plasma display panel than the recommended distance for the panel size.
One needs to be aware here that there are many factors that may influence this buzzing phenomenon. Changing the picture mode from say Dynamic to one using lower power such as Movie will reduce the buzzing level – when present – since this affects how much power the panel is processing. This also explains why the perceived buzzing changes with picture content. Equally important is the panel installation; a hard wall surface directly behind a wall mounted plasma TV will reflect more of the buzzing noise than a wall covered with soft furnishing.
It’s hard to say what’s to come but there is a chance that TV makers could provide a firmware update. In the meantime be sure to check out your television and make sure yours doesn’t suffer from this issue or you may find yourself not enjoying it as much as you thought you would.
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