Panasonic TV Problems: 8 Most-Common Issues (Solved)

Do you own a Panasonic TV? Owning a Panasonic TV, or any brand for that matter, means that you should know the basic troubleshooting steps for any problem.

Here are the eight most common problems you may encounter with Panasonic TVs.

1. YouTube app is not working on Panasonic TV

There may be times when you notice that all your apps are working smoothly except for one: YouTube. Every time you open it, it refuses to launch. And if it does open, it crashes during use.

Should this be the case, the solution here would be to do a factory reset. 

To do a factory reset:

• Press the Menu Button on the Remote Control
• Go to Setup and select Reset
• Input your PIN-code and press enter
• Confirm your Action

A factory reset returns your TV in its original state when it came out of the factory. It removes all apps installed, so you will have to re-install them after the reset.

Factory resets are the last resort for any TV before taking a TV to a service center for repairs.

2. Panasonic TV has no sound

There’s a chance you’ve encountered your TV going silent, even when the TV is not on mute.

There are different ways of figuring out what the issue is. 

• One thing to do is reboot your TV by turning it off, unplugging it from the power source then restarting it after a few minutes.
• If there is still no sound after rebooting the TV, then connect an external speaker via eARC or the headphone output. You may also try pairing your Bluetooth speakers or headphones. If sound comes out of the Bluetooth device, the damage is with the internal speakers of the TV.
• If you are watching a video from the USB port, you may want to try other video sources. If the sound works on free TV or streaming platforms, the TV likely doesn’t recognize the video’s audio language or encoding. Should that be the case, convert the video file to a format compatible with your TV.

If none of these fixes work, the issue likely lies in a component of the TV’s amplifier.

Repairing this issue is simple, and entails a qualified service person to replace the damaged audio IC chip.

3. Panasonic TV has no picture on the screen

You might encounter your TV going blank, but still producing sound. You can try rebooting the TV to see if it fixes things.

If rebooting does not fix it, chances are the power supply of your TV is damaged.

• The damage in the power supply is caused by a damaged capacitor, which usually happens during power surges. That is why it is highly recommended to use a surge protector with your TV to prevent damage.
• At this point, it’s best to have a qualified technician look at your TV and replace all components that malfunctioned.

4. Distorted or stretched images on Panasonic TVs

Sometimes, you will notice the image on your TV looks stretched, cropped, or squashed.

Should that be the case, it’s most likely that your LED TV has the wrong picture settings.

The picture settings may be wrong for the media, or someone accidentally switched the settings or forgotten to switch them back to regular. In some cases, the TV crops the frame to fit.

As TVs have different Settings menus, you can fix this by looking at the options that pertain to Zoom, Stretch, and or Resolution (such as 16:9 or 4:3). You will then have to adjust these settings to get the framing correct.

5. Soap Opera Effect

The Soap Opera Effect refers to unnatural screen movement occurring as a result of the TV trying to render 60 or more frames per second when the video isn’t rendered for it.

• To give you an idea, movies are rendered at 24 frames per second, while TV broadcasts are rendered at 30 frames per second.
• TVs have refresh rates that reach up to 120 Hz, meaning they display up to 120 frames per second. These come in tandem with image processing that smoothens movement vis-à-vis the frame rate, or in some cases emulate higher frame rates.
• Now, these help 24 or 30fps videos render smoothly on screen, but it reaches a point of being too smooth and unnatural, hence the Soap Opera Effect.
• This feature is useful for watching sports or video games, but movies and TV programs look off.

This issue can be easily fixed by turning off smoothing in the picture settings. Many TVs, when switched to theater or cinema mode, also deactivate the smoothing function, which results in realistic movements.

6. Panasonic TV projects excessive hues of blue or green

You might notice that the TV screen has excessive hues of blue or green. Especially with brand-new TVs, you may notice that your TV has higher blue hues, as the white balance is set to cool.

This only means that you need to calibrate the color of your TV.

Calibrating your TV doesn’t just fix excessive hues, it also helps you get the best colors out of your TV.

To calibrate your TV, you need to access the Picture Settings of your TV to alter some settings. 

• Any movie-related image settings will have the best color calibration. It would be good to set it to Movie or Cinema settings to get a good color temperature.
• If your TV does not have this feature, you need to set the White Balance or Color Temperature. Set it to Warm to get a calibrated color setting.
• Should there be no Warm setting, or if there are different Warm settings, you will need to scroll and test which image will have the lowest level of blues and greens, and the highest levels of red and pink.

7. Panasonic TV screen is too dark

The TV screen may get darker than usual because of the built-in light sensor of TVs, which is also a power-saving feature.

• The light sensor adjusts the brightness of the TV screen to match the lighting conditions of the room.
• But not all light sensors are made equal. Some TVs become darker when the light sensor isn’t able to detect lighting correctly.

This may be fixed by turning off the light sensor and adjusting brightness manually. 

• This setting is usually found in the picture settings under the Backlight menu.
• Some TVs may allow you to deactivate Automatic Power Saving picture mode, which also adjusts the brightness of the TV.
• You can get better results if you turn off any energy-saving features of your TV, which also lowers the brightness of the TV.
• Should you decide to deactivate any energy-saving features, you may opt to adjust the backlights manually to preserve the lifespan.

TVs now are more power-efficient than ever, thus they will remain energy efficient even with energy-saving features disabled.

But, if the TV’s brightness is still low, despite all the adjustments made, then it means that your TV’s screen may have reached its half-life, wherein light quality is no longer at its peak.

If your TV is new when this happens, then you should seek a replacement through your warranty.

8. Panasonic TV won’t connect to Wi-Fi

An inability to connect to Wi-Fi is a common issue among smart TVs, regardless of the brand.

But don’t be too alarmed, as a lot of the factors may contribute to a lack of connectivity.

To help you diagnose the problem, the first thing you need to check is where the problem is. 

To test whether the TV or Wi-Fi router is at fault, you should check if other devices can connect to your network.

• Try streaming a video on Netflix or YouTube on your laptop or smartphone using the Wi-Fi.
• Should you be able to stream on this device, check how many devices are connected to your router.
• Then, try disconnecting a device and see if your TV connects to the router.
• A typical home Wi-Fi router has a limit to the number of devices that can connect to it.
• If your TV is able to connect to the Wi-Fi after removing a device, it means your router was clogged. Moving forward, keep an eye on how many devices are connected to Wi-Fi.

But if you are still unable to connect, try restarting your TV and router by unplugging them from the power source and plug and turn them on after a minute.

Should the TV still not connect to the router, you should check for other devices that may be riding on the same bandwidth.

• Baby monitors and microwave ovens also occupy the 2.4 GHz bandwidth that is also used for Wi-Fi.
• If your router supports dual bandwidth, try connecting your TV to the wider bandwidth of 5 GHz to decongest the 2.4 GHz bandwidth.

If you are still having problems, the lack or unstable connection might be due to the distance between the TV and router.

• You can try moving your TV closer to the router or use an Ethernet cable to have a more stable connection.
• Should an Ethernet cable be impractical to route to the location of the TV, consider getting a Wi-Fi extender or repeater to improve the signal from your router.

General Pros and Cons of Panasonic TVs

Panasonic TVs are durable

You won’t have a problem with durability, as Panasonic is a very reputable brand. It can be compared to Sony when it comes to quality.

Panasonic TVs are made in Japan, much like Sony TVs (although Sony has other assemblies around the world), and Japan is known as one of the best manufacturers of electronic goods, which is a testament to the quality you get from the Panasonic brand.

For more information on Panasonic TV’s durability, check out our article Are Panasonic TVs Reliable? (Explained For Beginners).

Panasonic offers OLED TVs

If you plan to buy an OLED TV, Panasonic has offerings. Some of its models come with custom panels, making the viewing experience much better.

Panasonic OLED TVs are usually cheaper than other brands on the market. Thus, Panasonic makes a good option for those who do not have a massive budget for an OLED TV.

Disadvantages of Panasonic TVs

• Panasonic TVs don’t have a wide market reach, unlike Sony or Samsung.
• There’s little support for existing TVs that are no longer in Panasonic’s lineup.

Sources:

How to Fix YouTube Not Working on Panasonic Smart TV

How to Troubleshoot Panasonic LCD TVs