Blu Ray Issue - suggestions?
Discussion
I have a Panasonic BDT210 Blu Ray player connected to a Denon AVR1912 receiver which outputs video, via HDMI, to my Samsung UE55D8000 TV and audio to a 5.1 setup via speaker cables.
Every film I watch seems to have a number of moments where I lose the picture completely (along with audio going too). It will sometimes come back completely after a second or two or else it will come back very grainy (like a bad analogue TV reception). Normally I fiddle with the HDMI connection at the blu ray end and it seems to fix the issue (although sometimes I have to do this a few times).
Trouble is i have tried three different HDMI cables and the same thing happens so I'm starting to wonder if it's something else. Last night with a new HDMI cable I watched Green Lantern with no issue at all until the last 10 minutes when the screen blanked out 3 times but came back very quickly. I did notice that for those last 10 minutes I may have had the volume on the amp up much higher than the rest of the film and there were some very loud moments - could there be something in that?
I do not have this issue with any other inputs to the amp (hard disk recorder, LoveFilm etc).
Does anyone know of any known faults with this player or what the issue may be?
I'm going to take the player back to John Lewis tomorrow who will see if they can replicate and then they will send to Panasonic if I cannot find a solution.
Thanks
Every film I watch seems to have a number of moments where I lose the picture completely (along with audio going too). It will sometimes come back completely after a second or two or else it will come back very grainy (like a bad analogue TV reception). Normally I fiddle with the HDMI connection at the blu ray end and it seems to fix the issue (although sometimes I have to do this a few times).
Trouble is i have tried three different HDMI cables and the same thing happens so I'm starting to wonder if it's something else. Last night with a new HDMI cable I watched Green Lantern with no issue at all until the last 10 minutes when the screen blanked out 3 times but came back very quickly. I did notice that for those last 10 minutes I may have had the volume on the amp up much higher than the rest of the film and there were some very loud moments - could there be something in that?
I do not have this issue with any other inputs to the amp (hard disk recorder, LoveFilm etc).
Does anyone know of any known faults with this player or what the issue may be?
I'm going to take the player back to John Lewis tomorrow who will see if they can replicate and then they will send to Panasonic if I cannot find a solution.
Thanks
Taking it back is probably the best bet but to try and narrow down where the problem resides...
Do you have the latest firmware on the Blu-Ray player?
Have you tried connecting the Blu-Ray player to a different HDMI port on the amp?
You've tried different HDMI leads and they all yield the same result so it obviously has to be something at either end of the cable so you need to determine whether it's the amp or the player. Try plugging the Blu-Ray in to a different HDMI port om the amp and see if you get the same problem. If you don't, it would suggest there may be a problem with the BD/DVD (or whatever port you have it plugged in to) HDMI input on the amp. If it does the same thing then you can feel a bit happier taking the player back saying it doesn't matter what leads or sockets on the amp you use, it always does it.
Do you have the latest firmware on the Blu-Ray player?
Have you tried connecting the Blu-Ray player to a different HDMI port on the amp?
You've tried different HDMI leads and they all yield the same result so it obviously has to be something at either end of the cable so you need to determine whether it's the amp or the player. Try plugging the Blu-Ray in to a different HDMI port om the amp and see if you get the same problem. If you don't, it would suggest there may be a problem with the BD/DVD (or whatever port you have it plugged in to) HDMI input on the amp. If it does the same thing then you can feel a bit happier taking the player back saying it doesn't matter what leads or sockets on the amp you use, it always does it.
Autopilot said:
Taking it back is probably the best bet but to try and narrow down where the problem resides...
Do you have the latest firmware on the Blu-Ray player?
Have you tried connecting the Blu-Ray player to a different HDMI port on the amp?
You've tried different HDMI leads and they all yield the same result so it obviously has to be something at either end of the cable so you need to determine whether it's the amp or the player. Try plugging the Blu-Ray in to a different HDMI port om the amp and see if you get the same problem. If you don't, it would suggest there may be a problem with the BD/DVD (or whatever port you have it plugged in to) HDMI input on the amp. If it does the same thing then you can feel a bit happier taking the player back saying it doesn't matter what leads or sockets on the amp you use, it always does it.
Hi - I'm in the process of doing all that as we speak! Thanks for the advice.Do you have the latest firmware on the Blu-Ray player?
Have you tried connecting the Blu-Ray player to a different HDMI port on the amp?
You've tried different HDMI leads and they all yield the same result so it obviously has to be something at either end of the cable so you need to determine whether it's the amp or the player. Try plugging the Blu-Ray in to a different HDMI port om the amp and see if you get the same problem. If you don't, it would suggest there may be a problem with the BD/DVD (or whatever port you have it plugged in to) HDMI input on the amp. If it does the same thing then you can feel a bit happier taking the player back saying it doesn't matter what leads or sockets on the amp you use, it always does it.
I've updated to the latest firmware.
Try bypassing the amp altogether so that you go direct to the TV. It might save you wasting time if it's an issue with the TV (or player). If it behaves perfectly, then at least you know it's the amp. There might be a firmware update for the amp or perhaps it's just a hardware issue.
OldSkoolRS said:
Try bypassing the amp altogether so that you go direct to the TV. It might save you wasting time if it's an issue with the TV (or player). If it behaves perfectly, then at least you know it's the amp. There might be a firmware update for the amp or perhaps it's just a hardware issue.
Interestingly I played a Blu-Ray Disc and a DVD on the Blu Ray player through a different HDMI port on the receiver earlier - perfect.I'll keep testing for a few days as what I have done so far is in no way thorough. It is looking more positive though.
Well tonight I had sOme sync issues where audio and video slightly out. Not had that on the Blu Ray before - slightly flummoxed!! To try to fix it I switched back to the original HDMI port on the receiver and watched an entire film with no black out issues..although the sync issue was there for the first part of the film. It seemed better later on.
As I am new to Blu Ray is it possible that dirt on the disc could cause these blackouts?
Will test again tonight.
As I am new to Blu Ray is it possible that dirt on the disc could cause these blackouts?
Will test again tonight.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 18th April 08:33
garyhun said:
Well tonight I had sOme sync issues where audio and video slightly out. Not had that on the Blu Ray before - slightly flummoxed!! To try to fix it I switched back to the original HDMI port on the receiver and watched an entire film with no black out issues..although the sync issue was there for the first part of the film. It seemed better later on.
As I am new to Blu Ray is it possible that dirt on the disc could cause these blackouts?
Will test again tonight.
When you started to get the lip sync issues, was it with the same disc that you originally had problems with when you first posted? When you plug an AV Receiver between your TV and Blu-Ray player, lip sync is quite normal so often requires a bit of messing about with the amp to set it up right. You should have some settings on there that let you synchronise picture and audio and will take a bit of fiddling to get it right. I think mine is set with around 140Ms delay and as far as I am aware all films looked like a Bruce Lee film with bad dubbing and they didn't get better during viewing, it was consistent so would be surprised if it improved during viewing. I dare say an expert will come along and say bit rate transfers etc etc zzzzzzzzzz may make a difference between discs, but I found tweaking the sync settings on my amp fixed it for everything played.As I am new to Blu Ray is it possible that dirt on the disc could cause these blackouts?
Will test again tonight.
Edited by garyhun on Wednesday 18th April 08:33
Blu-Ray discs seem fairly durable but I dare say a grubby disc may affect players in different ways. Do all your testing using the same disc to eliminate introducing any other anomalies. As much as it may ruin your viewing experience, I think the previous suggestion of plugging the Blu-Ray straight in to the TV for a few days wouldn't be a bad idea so you can eliminate these two items from the list.
Autopilot said:
When you started to get the lip sync issues, was it with the same disc that you originally had problems with when you first posted? When you plug an AV Receiver between your TV and Blu-Ray player, lip sync is quite normal so often requires a bit of messing about with the amp to set it up right. You should have some settings on there that let you synchronise picture and audio and will take a bit of fiddling to get it right. I think mine is set with around 140Ms delay and as far as I am aware all films looked like a Bruce Lee film with bad dubbing and they didn't get better during viewing, it was consistent so would be surprised if it improved during viewing. I dare say an expert will come along and say bit rate transfers etc etc zzzzzzzzzz may make a difference between discs, but I found tweaking the sync settings on my amp fixed it for everything played.
Blu-Ray discs seem fairly durable but I dare say a grubby disc may affect players in different ways. Do all your testing using the same disc to eliminate introducing any other anomalies. As much as it may ruin your viewing experience, I think the previous suggestion of plugging the Blu-Ray straight in to the TV for a few days wouldn't be a bad idea so you can eliminate these two items from the list.
Lip Sync was with with a different disc from the original one with black out errors.Blu-Ray discs seem fairly durable but I dare say a grubby disc may affect players in different ways. Do all your testing using the same disc to eliminate introducing any other anomalies. As much as it may ruin your viewing experience, I think the previous suggestion of plugging the Blu-Ray straight in to the TV for a few days wouldn't be a bad idea so you can eliminate these two items from the list.
I'm going to plug the Blu Ray direct to the TV as suggested. Also need to look at the manual for the Amp - it's on CD so not a good as sitting on the sofa with a nice big book of pages
Autopilot said:
garyhun said:
Also need to look at the manual for the Amp - it's on CD so not a good as sitting on the sofa with a nice big book of pages
Don't do it!! You realise you'll lose man points for reading a manual!! Jeez, you'll be asking for directions and stuff next! 
UPDATE:
Sorry to say I read the manual. There does appear to be a specific HDMI port on the TV which is for HDMI video only inputs (in a situation like mine where the HDMI from the receiver is video only and the audio is handled separately via the speaker cables). So I tried it and cranked up a Blu Ray and it was perfect.
Will keep testing
No more manuals, sorry!!!
Sorry to say I read the manual. There does appear to be a specific HDMI port on the TV which is for HDMI video only inputs (in a situation like mine where the HDMI from the receiver is video only and the audio is handled separately via the speaker cables). So I tried it and cranked up a Blu Ray and it was perfect.
Will keep testing
No more manuals, sorry!!!
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