Frequency problems on Panasonic Freesat TV

[fatmark]

What a relief to find this thread! My Panasonic TV arrived last Monday and I was happy with everything about it apart from this niggling issue. I reconnected my dish to my Manhattan Plaza XT-F receiver which showed there was nothing wrong with the channels on 11222H. I even tried tuning it in manually on the TV (as part of the Other Sat list) but had exactly the same problem ('No Service'). I didn't want to return the set as all the symptoms made it look like a software problem. Thank you Michael and all the others. Just count me as another person seeing the same problem and waiting for a software update!

I do actually admit to putting Clubland TV on at times and my wife and I like to have a laugh at the 'so bad it's good' programmes on Zone Horror! Why couldn't the problem have affected the transponder that carries The Wedding Channel...?

fatmark

 

[Channel Hopper]

I do actually admit to putting Clubland TV on at times and my wife and I like to have a laugh at the 'so bad it's good' programmes on Zone Horror! Why couldn't the problem have affected the transponder that carries The Wedding Channel...?

Technical failures rarely affect channels that are 'so bad they're really bad'.

 

[michaelwileman]

Just been back in contact with Panasonic,they still havnt sorted out the problem,he said it has gone to factory level not sure what he meant by that i presume its been sent to Japan to be sorted,he did say it could take a week or more,im just hoping the problem can be fixed not sure where we stand if it cant be fixed,allthough i think it will be as he said they think its a glitch in the software and could be sorted with a firmware update.

 

[jssmith]

Hi

I also have the same problem with my PANASONIC TH-42PZ81B 42" Plasma TV, no Zone Horror or Zone Horror + 1 (No service).

Channels stopped working about a week ago.

 

[1989exile]

Still no update I am beginning to wonder whether or not they are trying to resolve this or whether they are just shrugging their shoulders and couldn't care less. I think they should know about this problem by now and should've resolved it by now. I will give them until Friday and if no updates have been forthcoming I will ring them and if they keep saying they don't know what the problem is then I think they just aren't trying . Then I think it's time to contact trading standards or BBC Watchdog and if we all do this we may get some joy. Should've been resolved by now. I know the contents on these channels are basically rubbish , but that's not the point, we've paid a lot of money for these TVs and expect and are entitled to some some action.

 

[michaelwileman]

I fully agree with what you say,something should be done as you say they are not cheap sets,i also like others have a problem with a Panasonic DVD Recorder not showing Multiscreen pages they were told about this before xmas still nothing done,which is a concern with this problem,i have phoned up Panasonic everyday this week sometimes 3 times a day,all i keep being told is they are sorting it,and as i said in my other article have been told it is at factory level,but today i am going to ask to speak to a manager and try and push things along,also i am thinking of trying to get a refund,i love the TV but its no good if you cannot receive half the channels,i would have thought it was an easy thing to sort out,i was also thinking of buying the Blue Ray Recorder when it comes out as that has twin Freesat Tuners but this is giving me second thoughts,anyway keep fingers crossed it is sorted out soon.

 

[Channel Hopper]

It's been just over a week, and as others have said, it's not affecting chanels one would deem 'essential'.

Maybe in your frustration you don't realise what it takes to send a potential fix over the air.

Identifying the problem (exactly, somewhat more than what gets conveyed in rants over the phone to customer services).
Elevating all reports to the appropriate department that can work on a fix
Testing of the update off-air to satisfactorily remove the issue. This may involve multiple firmware test to cover the various models that are affected, and checking the beta releases do not give rise to any further issues.
Applying for an over-the-air release (to the BBC departments dealing with Freesat)
Verification by the Freesat group to ensure the update does not unduly affect other STB / TVs.
Once approved, allocation of a time slot for the firmware release(s).
Sending the firmware.

 

[michaelwileman]

Just to let everyone know the problem has been fixed Zone Horror Etc back,no firmware update just came back on,i phoned Panasonic to inform them,5 mins later they phoned me to say it had been fixed,not sure what caused it,but at least it is sorted.

 

[1989exile]

Hooray at last! I phoned panasonic this morning before the channels came back on and he told me the problem had been identified and it was exactly what Ratchet said in an earlier posting that freesat had made changes to the frequencies - the TSID and they told me they were in talks with freesat. So freesat must have agreed to go back to the previous settings. Anyway alls well now. I suppose that saves Panasonic money from having to develop some firmware to update. I know Zone programmes are rubbish but I felt we were being cheated paying a lot of money for the TVs. But I'm glad I bought one all the same. 10 out of 10 by the way Ratchet.

 

[Channel Hopper]

The solution is not a cure, since Panasonic televisions appear to be the only ones that had an issue with the ident changes (all other brands were able to switch without problem), then rest assured a firmware update will be on its way sooner rather than later.

 

[fatmark]

I spotted that the problem had gone away last night (Sunday) when browsing my 'Other Sat' list and finding Fashion TV was OK. Sure enough, Zone Horror and Clubland were now also working!

It seems to me that a pragmatic solution has been put in place. Thanks to Michael and 1989exile making sure Panasonic looked into this, we now have our channels back. As Channel Hopper said, this is not a fix but now Panasonic can ensure that a proper, thoroughly tested fix goes into the next release of software.

I work as a software engineer in the mobile phone industry and know that it's frustrating when a bug report comes in and you find the solution but can't put a fix in straight away. This is down to the risks involved of rolling out new software, the time and costs for re-testing and the need to force every user to upgrade even if they don't have an issue. I think we will have seen the back of this one!

fatmark