Manufacturer Warranties and Protection Plans

[MattSCESC]

I purchased a Panasonic TC-P50X1 I am currently having issues with the sound cutting out intermittently. Seems like a simple repair, right? Well, it might be, however I am trying to pinpoint exactly what the problem is. I have Time Warner Cable, and their HD set top box, which I, and every other laymen would blame the sound issue on. It only makes sense! My PS3 works perfect, DVD player works perfect, it's just while watching TV. NON HD CHANNELS ONLY. Here's my major dilemma. TW claims that the issue lies within the TV and refuses to replace my STB to "troubleshoot". They demanded that I have something from BB, or from Panasonic stating that the TV was not the cause of the issue, in order to give me a new STB. I'm lost. If I had any other options, I would ditch TWCable, but I don't have any other service, other than satellite. For God's sake someone, please help!

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

Are you able to take STB to your local office and swap it out?

[MattSCESC]

I'm not sure if you've had any experience dealing with TWCable, LOL. In not-so-many words... no I am not. I can take it down to them, but they refuse to give me a new one until I can prove the sound issue is from the STB. I know, it seems ridiculous, but they want to blame the tv and I am sure BB, or Panasonic want to blame TWCable (which I would too).

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

Ahh ok, I wasn't sure. I used to work for Comcast and we could exchange them in the local payment centers.

[Nokia]

Do you have a friend you can take it to to try it on their TV?

[mstng87gt Trusted Contributor]

Well to fight TM heres is what I suggest.  How do you have the cablebox hooked up i.e. HDMI, Compoment/digital opitcal, or Video/audio RCA jacks.  If its HDMI switch the cable currently hooked up to the box with the one from the PS3 assuming your using an HDMI is not use a cable from something else you have hooked up.  That will eliminate the cable being the problem if you still have one.  Then try hooking up the cablebox to another input say again the one the PS3 is hooked up to If again the problem is still there that will eliminate the TV being a problem and leading the problem to be solely the cablebox.

[Allan-BBY Community Connector]

Hi MattSCESC,

I have never had Time Warner cable myself, but it does sound like a hard situation to deal with. I have to say that I am not a technician myself, but it does sound like a reasonable assumption that it must be your cable signal since the sound works fine when using your PS3 and DVD while connected to this TV.

I did look up your purchase, and confirmed that your TV is still under manufacturer’s warranty. If Time Warner is requiring that you get a diagnosis from us or Panasonic that your TV is working fine, you should be able to get this verification by having an authorized service technician look at your TV. To schedule this diagnostic appointment you could contact Panasonic directly or call 1-800-GeekSquad, and a technician should be sent to your home to diagnose what is wrong if you’re TV (if anything).

If we send a technician out they should give you an invoice of the repair, which should include what they determined was wrong with your TV. If the technician determines that your TV is functioning properly this should be reflected on your repair invoice. If you need help scheduling this or you need any further clarification just send me a private message. To send me a message you should log into the forum, click on my icon, and then click on the send this user a private message link.

Thanks for posting,

[MattSCESC]

Alright, here is my update from last night. I have a Vizio plasma in my bedroom upstairs which the sound worked fine on. I took the trouble STB from downstairs, pulled the HDMI out of the wall, (I use components upstairs, and wanted to use the same connection to eliminate only one possibility at a time) took it upstairs and hooked it up with the same hdmi as downstairs. PRESTO! It still sucked. This is what the TWCable tech told me to do... "hold the phone up to the TV, so I can hear it cutting out." I was like, "uhh, are you serious?", "Yeah, sometimes I'd be able to hear a crackle and if it crackles it's the TV, not the box.", "But, um, sir this is a different TV than I have been calling about for the last two months, I hooked it up to my tv upstairs, which worked fine with my other STB." Needless to say with about another 15 minutes of bullshi*ting on the phone, they should be here in about and hour to replace this thing. Sometimes it's frustrating when the "tech" you're on the phone with can barely read their own script without laughing. I'll update this when the tech leaves this afternoon. Thanks for your guys' suggestions and tips. Now, I'll just cross my fingers and hope this guy doesn't give me the same crap as the morons in India.

ps. It's going to take a while to fish that HDMI back through the wall... HAH. It'll be worth it when I finally have sound that works.

[MattSCESC]

Ok, the guy just left... only two hours late. HOWEVER, the sound is still cutting out. He replaced the box, and gave me a new HDMI. (Score!) I wanted NOTHING more, than for it to be the box. Unfortunately it's not. So now, how do I go about getting someone to look at my TV now? Should I bring it back to the BB that I bought it from? Am I going to without a TV for a month? Thanks.

[Adamtech Emerging Expert]

How long have you had the television?