Flickering on 50" Samsung HD plasma

[Daniel Weston]

Hi guys
When I watch football in HD, the screen often appears to flicker momentarily. If I watch the same match on a non HD channel there appears to be no flicker.

What exactly causes this and is there any way of rectifying it or is it a sign of a cheaper quality hd plasma?

Cheers

[windshear]

What model is. Based on what yopu say about it not happening on non HD material and only on HD material , says its the signal. Given the plasma will upscale the non HD material to its native resolution.

What signal are you outputting from your HD PVR, is it 720p or 1080i. Try changing the setting and see if you still have the problem.

[Daniel Weston]

Thanks for the feedback WS. The pvr is currently set to original and on this setting it shows 1920 x 1080 on the screen. If I change the setting to 720 does that then mean that I am not displaying full HD on the screen?

[Cowboy]

I have always been under the impression that DStv HD is only transmitted in 720.

[KenMasters]

Hi guys
When I watch football in HD, the screen often appears to flicker momentarily. If I watch the same match on a non HD channel there appears to be no flicker.

What exactly causes this and is there any way of rectifying it or is it a sign of a cheaper quality hd plasma?

Cheers

Plasma panels may flicker during a bright scene, turning down cell light should help mitigate the issue. I don't think HD vs SD has anything to do with it.

I know that Samsung's black levels are different depending on the frequency of the programming (50Hz / 60Hz /24Hz), but I haven't heard of resolution affecting anything. Just for interest sake, CRTs behaved this way, you had to calibrate for each frequency at each resolution.

@Dallas: I head that DSTV now broadcasts in 1080i.

[Cowboy]

Cool! I will check it out and adjust my decoder if necessary.

[Daniel Weston]

Plasma panels may flicker during a bright scene, turning down cell light should help mitigate the issue. I don't think HD vs SD has anything to do with it.

I know that Samsung's black levels are different depending on the frequency of the programming (50Hz / 60Hz /24Hz), but I haven't heard of resolution affecting anything. Just for interest sake, CRTs behaved this way, you had to calibrate for each frequency at each resolution.

@Dallas: I head that DSTV now broadcasts in 1080i.

Thanks KM but this only happens on HD football and not on any of the other HD channels so I'm not sure if it's a cell light issue as surely I would see it on other channels? Is it not something to do with refresh rates?

[KenMasters]

Thanks KM but this only happens on HD football and not on any of the other HD channels so I'm not sure if it's a cell light issue as surely I would see it on other channels? Is it not something to do with refresh rates?

The refresh rate is 50Hz on both HD and SD broadcasts. I really don't think it has to do with the resolution either, but there's an easy way to test that theory. Record material that flickers, then just set your PVR to output SD only and compare.

Although it could be that I'm misunderstanding what you mean by flicker. What I'm talking about is flicker in the same way in which a CRT flickers, that is to say it will keep flickering as long the the large, bright area is displayed. Is what you're seeing a quick flicker, like a flash? It could be that you're catching glimpses of the sub drive in action as your eyes dart around the screen from player to player. Do you see colours as well?

[Daniel Weston]

Its more of a quick flash and there's no colour- more of a white or translucent colour if that makes sense...

[KenMasters]

Its more of a quick flash and there's no colour- more of a white or translucent colour if that makes sense...

If it's once off quick flashes you're seeing, then I think you might just be catching the TV refresh. Normally you wouldn't notice it, but if you dart your eyes around the screen, you can catch it. It bothered me when I first got my set but I can't see it now even if I try.

[Daniel Weston]

Cheers. Maybe that's what it is. I guess I will ask some mates to see if they can pick it up too. If not, it must just be my eyes!

[windshear]

Look its quite simple. If it was apparent on all channels it could be a number of things. However you say it occurs on only 1 channel, therefore it is specifically the channel that is causing the issue. I do know that the football on HD is rather of poor quality where the bandwidth is throttled, so it may be inherant in that signal. What you end up noticing on quick pans is a stutter and the picture goes soft. Does this occur on the channel with a momentary static image, ie when the studio guest are chatting or only with action ?

[Daniel Weston]

Only with action if I'm not mistaken. I've also seen a bit of it with the cricket too. Watching the HD movie channels or the HD Discovery showcase channel is perfect.

[KenMasters]

I know this is a bit late but something else just occured to me. The flash you've seen might also be what's refered to as "floating blacks". Depending on the content on screen, the level of black may shift. This sudden switch does look something like a flash.

[Homer]

Geez!

A couple of guys on this forum sure know their stuff!