Had to return my S60 =[ but may be a blessing in disguise

[jdoren1990]

So I bought an S60 a few weeks ago open box from best buy. TV was great, fell in love with the picture. Yesterday I received all new cables in the mail from monoprice including a 5 input switch this is when all my problems began.

I am not gonna go into details on everything that happened but to make a long story short for some reason the TV would not play nicely with the cables i purchased from monoprice and would not recognize the switch no matter what cable i was using. It would cause artifacts and noise when it would work and sometimes I would not receive a signal at all. Before jumping to conclusions and just ruling the tv out as faulty i decided to try the cables and switch on a different set and everything worked fine. I had a friend who does TV repairs look at it and he said it was a bad "A-switch"? in lamans terms whoever owned the TV prior to myself was probably unplugging HDMI's while the TV was live and caused damage to the board.

I returned the TV to Best Buy, however i could not exchange it because they did not have any S60's or ST60's in stock there or in a 50 mile range. The good thing is they are willing to cut me a deal they said it is my choice of getting another S60 or they can give me an ST60 for 800$ when they get more in stock.

My question is being that i'm into gaming should i still take the deal on the ST60 seeing as the input lag is more than doubled compared to the S60?

For the time being i am using a 51" Samsung plasma they had in stock and i feel kinda dirty using it it is like cheating on your wife (my panasonic) while she is out of town =[. Main reason i decided to go with that set while waiting on the panisonic to arrive in store is the input lag on the samsung is ridiculous think it is in the 70's with game mode on. figured if i can live with the than i can defiantly live with the input lag on the ST60.

What are your guys opinions?

 

[Zivic]

TV worked before you introduced the switch? you introduce the switch and the TV doesn't work... therefore the TV is the issue? not by my means of deduction.

 

[jdoren1990]

TV worked before you introduced the switch? you introduce the switch and the TV doesn't work... therefore the TV is the issue? not by my means of deduction.

i get what your saying, and no means am i trying to start a huge 4 page argument on this thread. But why does the switch and cables all work properly on another set but has issues with the panasonic. Im using the switch on the samsung i just bought and no issues so far.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Did the cables work without the switch? I'd rule out the switch first.

It's possible that the switch was passing a signal that the TV did not like. HDCP hand shake issues are not as common as before but can still rear their ugly heads at times. The TV could have been expecting to receive A but the switch was trying to give B and the TV said no thanks I'll wait for A. That's kind of a dumb way to put it but hopefully you get the idea. Perhaps the other sets aren't as strict and will accept the signal.

 

[jdoren1990]

ya i guess that is a good possibility unfortunately for myself i do not know much about the fine details of TV's i am just going off of what a friend was diagnosing after running test on it. When it comes to any issues electronically he know his stuff and had never steered me in the wrong direction in the past. On top of that the TV was still within the return period so Best Buy took it back no questions asked and they are also really working with me to get me a new set S60 or ST60 really my choice. So regardless of what happens another panasonic will be hanging on my wall =] If i get the new set and there is still an issue then it is obvious the problem is elsewhere and not the set. Main question is S60 or ST60 with the deal they are willing to give me on the ST60 it is really difficult to pass however i am still iffy about the things i read on that set and input lag.

i am actually gonna start a new thread dedicated to the issues i am having

 

[olds]

I would be shocked if it was the TV.

 

[Midwayman]

Most likely the TV and the particular switch you used just aren't compatible. Happens. Do all the sources work with the TV without the switch?

 

[cmdrdredd]

On the input lag issue, unless you are playing competitive the measurable amount of lag the st60 has is within the good range still. It isn't as fast as my Sony KDL55W900A but it isn't terrible.

 

[jdoren1990]

@midway yah HDMI's work fine without the switch i also posted another thread in detail of the issues i was having

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2359013
Last i checked 92 views and still no answers =/

@cmdrdredd I don't consider myself a "Hardcore" gamer i do enjoy playing FPS mulitplayer. Do i care if i top the charts? No. But i don't want it to be unbearable to the point where im dead before i even know whats going on. Im not sure if you are a gamer yourself but how noticeable is the difference of the input lagg on the S60 compared to the ST60 like extremely noticeable or barely noticeable at all? Also i will have my PC hooked up to whichever set i go with so i can use steams big picture mode not sure if that will make a difference.

 

[cmdrdredd]

The input lag between the S60 and ST60 is almost double.. 43ms vs 75ms. The ST60 has 4.5frames of lag. I bought my Sony TV primarily because it was measured to have between 16.9ms and 19ms of input lag for gaming. I am a heavy gamer, and I have both an Xbox One and PS4 hooked up to it.

I guess if I had to break it down, you will notice it but it may not be that bad unless you are used to having less.

What monitor (or TV)are you currently using on your PC? Perhaps you can find input lag numbers to compare.

 

[skrewler2]

Not the same models but take this for what it's worth.

I have an ST50 that I used to game on w/o any issues, as long as I was in game mode.

I gave the ST50 to my mom and bought a 65" VT60 which I don't notice any problems with input lag either. 75% of the time I don't even need to switch it to game mode.

It also really depends what kind of game you're playing - might have issues with fighting games or rhythm games. I play BF4 on my VT60 with no complaints... looks beautiful.

If you're some progamer stick to a CRT if you're worried about input lag

 

[Lifted]

I'm not going to make a guess as to if it was the switch or the TV, but based on my experiences with monoprice products I would not have returned a TV because it didn't work with <some item> from monoprice. I must have 20 monoprice branded products sitting in a drawer or closet back at the office that just didn't work well. I end up purchasing the real deal from companies that specializes in producing these products to meet and exceed standards, and it has always resolved the issue.

I find monoprice video products are "just good enough" in the vast majority of cases, and any devices which doesn't conform to the assumptions and poor testing of the company that was the cheapest bidder to build monoprice's products will generally not work. I went through 5 or 6 different HDMI and VGA switches and adapters from monoprice to use with a Sony and Sharp TV in conference rooms, and none of the monoprice devices worked reliably. Video cables are the same crapshoot. Most HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA products (cables, adapters, switches) are of the lowest quality at monoprice. They are the perfect example of "you get what you pay for".

 

[cmdrdredd]

Monoprice cables are top quality. Why would the guys at avs forum and professional AV reviews tell you that branded cables are a waste of money if it were not the case?

The guys with multiple thousands of dollars more spent on their theater stuff than i have recommend monoprice cables all the time. In fact I have a monster brand HDMI cable that cost 3x as much as monoprice for the same length and there is no signal difference whatsoever. The shielding on the monoprice cable is actually better too.

 

[Pacfanweb]

I'm not going to make a guess as to if it was the switch or the TV, but based on my experiences with monoprice products I would not have returned a TV because it didn't work with <some item> from monoprice. I must have 20 monoprice branded products sitting in a drawer or closet back at the office that just didn't work well. I end up purchasing the real deal from companies that specializes in producing these products to meet and exceed standards, and it has always resolved the issue.

I find monoprice video products are "just good enough" in the vast majority of cases, and any devices which doesn't conform to the assumptions and poor testing of the company that was the cheapest bidder to build monoprice's products will generally not work. I went through 5 or 6 different HDMI and VGA switches and adapters from monoprice to use with a Sony and Sharp TV in conference rooms, and none of the monoprice devices worked reliably. Video cables are the same crapshoot. Most HDMI, DP, DVI, VGA products (cables, adapters, switches) are of the lowest quality at monoprice. They are the perfect example of "you get what you pay for".

If one were searching for the biggest pile of BS in a thread here, they could leave happy after reading this one.

 

[Lifted]

I speak from experience, and without a doubt have purchased more at monoprice than both of you combined, many, many times over. But please feel free to talk down to others based on what some "A/V professionals" claim without your own first hand experience to back it up.

I did say their products are good for most situations, so maybe one of you 2 could clarify which of my first hand experiences were in fact hallucinations.

 

[Fingolfin269]

I speak from experience, and without a doubt have purchased more at monoprice than both of you combined, many, many times over. But please feel free to talk down to others based on what some "A/V professionals" claim without your own first hand experience to back it up.

I did say their products are good for most situations, so maybe one of you 2 could clarify which of my first hand experiences were in fact hallucinations.

Could be the get what you pay for statement. You can get bad cables from any source. Mono price cables have always worked just fine for me and I see absolutely no reason to buy cables from anyone else (unless I find a better price!).

I can't speak for things such as switchers though. It could be that those are potentially inferior. There's more going on there than just a cable.