fixing my plasma tv's pixel storm!
how to fix a plasma screen's pixel storm!
here's what my 1-year old, 50-inch philips plasma screen has done a lot recently - pixel storm! depending on what on-screen colors were being shown, i'd get nasty red and green sprinkles in the bottom middle section of my screen (most reports often show that the pixels affect an isolated area usually). if you're getting this, ignore all the crap you read online - bad cables, bad connection etc. most likely, some circuit board voltages need to be adjusted and they can often easily be fixed. i made this little page in tribute to me fixing my own dilemma after reading the horror stories online about tech calls, repair centers, warranty bouts and the likes.
a nasty red pixel storm getting into my "mass effect" xbox game!
so then, let's turn the above picture into this!
long story short - you're going to need to remove the back panel of your plasma tv, turn some knobs, and watch your annoying pixel storm slowly dissipate. you can see the red storm on my "mass effect" screen, which was mostly a blue screen.
remove your tv's back panel.
take your tv off its mount or stand, toss it face down and get a T9/T10 star bit screwdriver ready.
(your tv might use different screws, so check first).
remove the panel screws.
most tv's use a ton of screws. here's my screws and tool after removal.
here's what it looks like with the panel removed.
do not spill or drop anything inside here! be careful.
ok. what we're looking for are little knobs that control various voltages. most are these are shaped to be turned with a philips head, and are sometimes marked with little clicks around them like a clock. if you get a flashlight and look, there's a description printed on the circuit board that tells which voltage that particular knob controls. almost all of the tv's i've heard of being fixed (and mine too!) adjusted the VSCAN, or vertical scan, voltage setting. you are going to find multiple controllers, so try to see which one is the VSCAN one - i'd start there first, because this is mostly likely the quick fix!
find your little voltage controller knobs.
here's one! it's the little yellow and blue thing in the middle.
here's one of the controllers - note the correct one, VSCAN, in the upper left. it's hidden by a capacitor, but you can see the print on the circuit board.
i marked mine with a black marker in case i needed to turn it back to factory settings.
counter-clockwise turns will likely decrease the pixel storming effect.
get a small philips head and turn away at that knob!
get a friend, or mirror, and watch as you test the knobs.
i turned my VSCAN knob counter-clockwise about 190 degrees.
all of the pixel storming effect slowly disappeared to my delight!
so then, i fixed my plasma tv's year old issue with a simple procedure. i can't take liability if you fry yours, but i will say that it was a simple and easy procedure and it fixed my issue. the only problem was that my tv was big and heavy, so i had to take it off of the stand and prop it up to test it, and then muscle it back onto the stand after i was finished. just be careful as you would with any exposed electronics if you try - keep touching grounded metal to discharge yourself before you try to touch anything - don't drop or spill anything in your case. if you're careful and just remove the panel, and carefully adjust the knobs with a little screwdriver, i can't see anything bad happening. make sure your tv is supported properly, yadda yadda. just treat it like you paid for it.
the reason i was compelled to make this page is because i've heard of this issue happening to a lot of people (myself included) and there's a staggering lack of information and acknowledgement of this issue online. i guess it's not a bread-and-butter problem for most manufacturers. the few accounts i've seen online are where folks fixed it themselves the way i did, or had terrible headaches trying to get it fixed/replaced the official way.
at any rate, thanks for reading and good luck!