new Viera TV seems very dark
Discussion
Bought a new Pana Viera 32 at the weekend. The only two of the five picture modes that aren't really quite dark are Dynamic and Game, the other three - Normal, Cinema and True Cinema seem almost comically dark, even after cranking up the Brightness. Sometimes the picture goes even darker for no apparent reason.
This all reminds me of the old Sony Bravia we had which was also dark till we realised it had an ambient light sensor which was reacting to a lit candle in front of the screen. No such problem now but can't quite believe this is right.
Anybody got a Viera with similar symptoms?
This all reminds me of the old Sony Bravia we had which was also dark till we realised it had an ambient light sensor which was reacting to a lit candle in front of the screen. No such problem now but can't quite believe this is right.
Anybody got a Viera with similar symptoms?
It's the TX-L32ET5B LED HD 3D TV (got to love the catchy, easy to remember names they give to TVs). Are LED TVs supposed to be dark then? The only useable picture modes are Game and Dynamic, the other three (two sorts of Cinema and one called 'Normal', hmm) are like looking through brown Windsor soup. Maybe I'm just getting old.
Get thee to AV Forums PicturePerfect and learn how to set up your TV.
Thanks for that, I've given the video a watch, though I've been playing about with all that stuff already! Even with the brightness cranked up to about 80%, only Dynamic or Game modes are what I'd call watchable. What's odd is that the picture will sometimes go darker still of its own accord, which makes me wonder if there's some sort of ambient light sensor other than the one in the Picture menu. Tried shining a torch at the screen, both centrally and at the bottom, which is where it was on the Bravia, but no difference. Will ring John Lewis tomorrow and see what help they can offer.
First of all, please don't bother fiddling with the 'brightness' control. It is always incorrectly labelled on displays as in reality it sets the black level. By raising it all you do is make blacks turn grey, though to be fair it will make dark parts lighter, that's not what you want.
As it's 32" I'm guessing it isn't a Plasma, so in all likelyhood it is the 'Backlight' control you need to change. On some Panasonic LCD TVs the backlight is controlled by the 'Contrast' control (which should really be there to set the white clipping level, but Panasonic thought better for some reason). You should also check in the menus for any eco mode or ambient light sensor modes.
Having said this, I bought a newer 32" Sony LCD (LED backlit) model and found it wasn't as bright as my older 32" set which I use in the conservatory as it needs the extra brightness due to all the windows...
As it's 32" I'm guessing it isn't a Plasma, so in all likelyhood it is the 'Backlight' control you need to change. On some Panasonic LCD TVs the backlight is controlled by the 'Contrast' control (which should really be there to set the white clipping level, but Panasonic thought better for some reason). You should also check in the menus for any eco mode or ambient light sensor modes.
Having said this, I bought a newer 32" Sony LCD (LED backlit) model and found it wasn't as bright as my older 32" set which I use in the conservatory as it needs the extra brightness due to all the windows...
Hmm interesting, this new Viera isn't as bright as our old Bravia, I'm beginning to feel a bit cheated as I bought this Pana on the strength of great reviews and seeing it in John Lewis. Set is sitting on a low chest so centre of screen is a little bit lower than eye level when you're sitting on the sofa. It's described as an LED set btw.
Just looking online at the manual. Pae 37 mentions 'CATS' which might be worth trying with it OFF. Also in the Setup menu there are some Eco options, but I can't seem to find the details in the manual. If eco is set 'ON' then this might limit the backlight power to save energy.
Another option is in the advanced menu, where you could try reducing the gamma selected. Typically this would be 2.2 but you could try lowering it to 2.0 or lower which will tend to brighten the image (though it will also tend to make it look slightly washed out too, so might only do for a 'day' setting).
Another option is in the advanced menu, where you could try reducing the gamma selected. Typically this would be 2.2 but you could try lowering it to 2.0 or lower which will tend to brighten the image (though it will also tend to make it look slightly washed out too, so might only do for a 'day' setting).
As Oldskool has suggested it would appear you have some sort of automatic brightess setting switched on, which will adjust to the current lighting conditions picked up by a sensor on the front of the screen. Switch it off as they are a pain, unless you are not overly bothered about remaining in control of overall picture quality.
Did you try increasing the contrast control? On these sets it just seems to alter the backlight which is the issue you seem to have, that the backlight is too dim (or set too low for some reason). OH's parents have a 32" LCD Panny and it seem plenty bright enough (might not be the exact same model though).
Digger said:
As Oldskool has suggested it would appear you have some sort of automatic brightess setting switched on, which will adjust to the current lighting conditions picked up by a sensor on the front of the screen. Switch it off as they are a pain, unless you are not overly bothered about remaining in control of overall picture quality.
Yep, have tried the contrast, seems to have very little effect, the guy is coming on Saturday, if he says it's normal or words to that effect the set will be going back to JL as our old Bravia is a lot better than this. I can't believe there isn't a problem with it.
Update: yer man came round early to look at it, did everything I'd already done and concluded that yes, the picture is dark. He gives a report (which I've signed and agreed) to JL and they will get back to me. Hopefully a replacement set will sort it. Meantime my 17yr oid son is sniggering in his bedroom, playing games on our bright old Bravia, grrr!
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