PFL9705 New (and Old) Bug List Collection

[petasis]

I can reproduce it in my 46PFL9705.
(I played the file through DLNA, and I can see the white flashes).

[Freddy]

Hello again!

I just added to the opening post that one of the old bugs, the Net TV connection issue, has been fixed in firmware 140.40

[petasis]

I have observed that sometimes I get no sound if I switch to a DVB-T channel. Re-switching the channel fixes it. I think it got introduced in 140.39, and is still there in 140.40. It doesn't happen often though (It has happened two times only for me).

[Freddy]

Hi Freddy,

Hi Adamo,

sorry it took me so long to answer your message...

... but I have another kind of visualization problem, here an example:

The original avi file is [a part of it]: http://uploading.com/files/3987ba9m/..._avi_file.avi/

...

Some pictures that show the visual error (see the red box):
Attachment 387Attachment 388Attachment 389

The TV model is: 32PFL9705H/12 - FW v0.140.39.0 - I've tried different "smart picture" settings (Vivid, Natural, Cinema...).

Using my PC I can play the original avi file without errors (you can check it using VLC - also with reduced speed).

I would like to say that my TV displays these type of errors also with live TV shows (by DVB-T tuner).

I don't know if they are software or hardware related (I hope software...).

I can only guess the cause, may be it's a problem with the:

* "Halo artifact reduction"
* or "Movie de-judder and motion blur reduction"

That's it. I looked at your video and I didn't notice any problems... until I realised I had PNM disabled. As soon as I put it at Minimum, your artifacts were there.

So... this is a software problem, caused by Perfect Natural Motion (no matter what setting, as long as it is activated), in all Firmware versions ranging back to at least 140.25.


By the way, I also put up a new test picture, that shows the subtitle dimming problem even more clearly. If you... and everyone else, like Philips... could take a look at it again with firmware 140.40?... Thanks again in advance!

[Adamo]

Hi Adamo,

sorry it took me so long to answer your message...


That's it. I looked at your video and I didn't notice any problems... until I realised I had PNM disabled. As soon as I put it at Minimum, your artifacts were there.

So... this is a software problem, caused by Perfect Natural Motion (no matter what setting, as long as it is activated), in all Firmware versions ranging back to at least 140.25.

Hi Freddy,

thank you very much for having found the origin of the problem!
It is true, if I disable the Perfect Natural Motion the images are ok, if I enable it there are artifacts.
I hope that Philips will look at this software problem and solve it.

By the way, I also put up a new test picture, that shows the subtitle dimming problem even more clearly. If you... and everyone else, like Philips... could take a look at it again with firmware 140.40?... Thanks again in advance!

I've tryed your test picture and the dimming bug is still there (my TV is 32pfl9705h, fw 140.40).

Thanks,
Adamo

[mbkeen]

Hello again everyone!

For one of the two New Bugs I mentioned in the opening post of this thread:


The problem is that around two times an evening, at high contrast borders in the picture (in dark/black regions next to brighter objects), I see some white pixels flashing.
These flashes are just that: very short flashes. They are not confined to certain areas on the screen, they are confined to these, as I called them, high contrast border regions. When they happen once, they will happen a number of times after that: around five to ten times, 3-15 seconds apart. And then they're gone again for a number of hours.

This has been confirmed by a couple of other people around the web, with different sizes of the PFL9705 and with different firmware versions. Some say the "Clear LCD" setting seems to effect this bug.


I finally have been able to catch it on camera, so you can see it for yourself... in case you didn't notice it in person yet:
Flashes.MP4 - 4.2 MB

So Philips!?... Now that it's out there, I really hope you will be able to solve this... and those few other New and Old Bugs in the opening post of course!...

Thanks again in advance!

Freddy

I have this problem also on 32in 9705 and have tried to ring through to get it sorted a few times (I just get told to update to the latest software and leave try again - I've been running .40 since its release and its not improved). I am trying again tomorrow. It has happened through various software updates. I am slightly worried as I approach the end of the first year warranty it will never be fixed, but luckily through my purchaser I have a 5 year one so will not give up.

I also had the sound drop problem but .34 and later it seems to have stopped for me (my set up is Pace Sky+HD box via HDMI).

Thanks Freddy for capturing the flashing on video and showing me I'm not alone.

Philips - please advise theories as to what might cause this and how we can minimise and ideally eradicate. Length of time viewing, content type, settings seem to have minimal impact and it appears to be random.

[Freddy]

Thanks Freddy for capturing the flashing on video and showing me I'm not alone.

Yes, that's what you start to think, when you're being told you're the first one with this problem, again and again...

Philips - please advise theories as to what might cause this and how we can minimise and ideally eradicate. Length of time viewing, content type, settings seem to have minimal impact and it appears to be random.

Well, maybe it's not completely random. Before I tell you what (I think) I noticed, could you tell me exactly how you use your tv on a daily basis? With that I mean, do you just turn it on, sit down and watch?... Or do you use the tv to do all kinds of little things, like going through the Home menu, use NetTV, change (Smart) settings, etc?...

[mbkeen]

Yes, that's what you start to think, when you're being told you're the first one with this problem, again and again...
Well, maybe it's not completely random. Before I tell you what (I think) I noticed, could you tell me exactly how you use your tv on a daily basis? With that I mean, do you just turn it on, sit down and watch?... Or do you use the tv to do all kinds of little things, like going through the Home menu, use NetTV, change (Smart) settings, etc?...

Hi, yes I pretty much just turn it on and watch. I watch it 99% of the time via the Sky+HD box which is connected via a QED HDMI lead. When I do watch DVDs they are fed via an Xbox and component cable (I have probably watched a maximum of 5 DVDs in 8 months of ownership and not played any games in that time).

I have as many settings / features set to zero or off as possible (e.g. Sharpness, NR, all perfect pixel options, dynamic backlight, light sensor etc) but I do have the ambilight on. It is connected via Wi-fi to the home network, but the flashing also happened when connected via a network cable.

This evening it has flashed on HD and non-HD pictures and in news, drama, sport and film. I havent consciously noticed a single trigger, sometimes I think it only happens after multiple hours of continuous use but then sometimes very soon after I turn it on it happens. Also it does not always repeat for the same program, ie the same exact program (recorded via sky+) can cause the flashes one day and not the next, even when the first viewing was via playback as well (rather than first transmission).

[Freddy]

Well, first of all, as I said, it only happens in those so called "high contrast border regions" of the picture.
That's the same for you?...

And it has nothing to do with the source, or the time.

Just when the picture is full of such "high contrast border regions", that can trigger it.

And painfully enough, one of those "high contrast border regions" are the tv's own menu's, especially those animated ones you see in the Adjust menu, when you turn on Ambilight or change the Smart picture setting, for example.

I noticed that since I'm not using those animated Adjust menu's anymore, while it still happens, it happens far less often than before. As I said, before it happened two or three times a day. Now I would say it happens maybe two times a week, so... That's an interesting difference, isn't it?...

But, as said, this does not solve the problem. It just makes it a little less problematic for me. Hopefully it provides Philips with a clue where to look for the real cause and solve it, though.

[mbkeen]

Update - engineer came and took tv away today, said potential problem is damaged/broken connection to the screen but not seen exactly the same problem before. Now its a 7-10 day wait to see what happens.

[Freddy]

But was it exactly the same for you as I described it: only happening in those "high contrast border regions" of the picture?... And how often did it happen in your case?...

[mbkeen]

once it started that would be it for the night / next couple of days doing it all the time so its really annoying to watch. then it would go a few days/week without it happening again.

its most visible in the high contrast border regions but difficult to confirm its only in those places and the same program can do it one day and not the next.

[Fernweh]

I still have issues with my 40PFL9705K/02 TV running Firmware 000.140.040.000 and my BDP9600/12 Blu-ray Player running Firmware V1.56.

1) TV: Channel switching audio issue:
When using DVB-T in Germany, it sometimes happens, that after switching channels, no audio can be heard. Switching back and forth brings back the audio.

2) TV + Blu-ray Player: Interaction of TV with Blu-ray Player:
The interaction between 40PFL9705K wasn't good since day one.
- A major issue is, when both, TV and Player, are off and switching on the Player, the TV starts automatically. Under such circumstances, the TV sometimes forgets many settings. e.g. it completely firgets any Ambilight settings and they need to configured again from scratch. Sometimes then, it doesn't save the settings on first attempt.
- Another issue is, that the Player options do not always show in the TV settings menu. Sometimes the show up and still stay even when the Player is already switched off. This is an unpredictable behavior.

3) Blu-Live bug with Blu-ray Player:
There are still constellations when some Blu-rays do not play when a network connection is present and a Blu-ray does have the Blu-Live feature. The Blu-ray then plays once but not a second time. As a workaround it does only help to clear the disc cache and to disconnect from the internet. Enableing Bl-Live Security didn't help.

[Toengel]

Hi,

for bullet 3). Can you please make a thread in the corresponding BDP9000 series forum? Also post the bar codes (printed on the cover) for these BDs.

Toengel@Alex

[Freddy]

2) TV + Blu-ray Player: Interaction of TV with Blu-ray Player:
The interaction between 40PFL9705K wasn't good since day one.
- A major issue is, when both, TV and Player, are off and switching on the Player, the TV starts automatically. Under such circumstances, the TV sometimes forgets many settings. e.g. it completely firgets any Ambilight settings and they need to configured again from scratch. Sometimes then, it doesn't save the settings on first attempt.

Depending on whether or not you actually want both devices to be switched on with just one push of a button, you can disable this behavior in the BDP settings: go to "EasyLink - One Touch Play" and set this option to Off.
In case the tv seems to have "forgotten" certain settings, you don't have to set them all over again: just put the tv on stand-by, wait a minute, and turn it on again. Now everything should be as it was.