Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here is the problem i am encountering... Im looking to buy a new bigger HDTV but I recently just moved into a new house (built 1985) from an apt. So i know have more space for a bigger one, but i've noticed something the other day. Whenever i watch a dvd, i get a shock/surge like line shooting across my screen whenever my water cooler kicks on in my kitchen. I also noticed last night that turning off my kitchen light also triggers this same action as well. Now, here is the weird thing. It ONLY happens when i watch a dvd. When i am watching my digital cable its fine. Its ONLY when im watching a dvd. I have a surge protector on the outlet that i am using and had the dvd player plugged directly into it as well as the rest of my equipment. I also tried running the dvd player thru my receiver as well and it still happened.. any ideas what would cause this and how do i fix it? Better surge protector, shotty wiring in the house, etc come to mind. Like i said I want to buy a new tv, but these lines that fire across the screen are actually burning into my set sometimes.. and the last thing i want to do to is fark up a brand new lcd tv with these surges on the screen.. thanks for any suggestions and help in advance!
I have a similar problem in 2 different properties. In my case this happens whenever the refrigerator's compressor (i think that's what it's called) kicks in, and when that happens (often) the screen goes off on the xbox briefly and you can still hear the sound. I use surge protectors and a UPS and still it happens. Oh and in the one property the same thing happens when turning on/off one particular light switch. Actually this also happens in the one house when the doorbell rings (it's an old fashioned bell hooked up to the mains). The same tv's don't experience this when using the pc/scart/other connections (the tv's in question have multiple inputs). In my case the problem only occurs on xboxes which are connected via component cables. Another point to note is that i did also place 2 xboxes one atop the other a while back and the problem was much much worse. So bad in fact that i thought the tv was faulty (i'd bought it the day before). Anyways, in this particular case i tracked the problem to the component cables for those 2 xboxes touching each other ie the shielding on the (cheap) cables was somehow allowing interference. Now these cables are the same as i use on other tv's without issue. The problem doesn't seem to happen on the same equipment used via bog standard AV cables. I researched this extensively some time ago and couldn't find a solution, i'd even read lengthy writeups where people had even undertaken quite drastic electrical improvements and still not solved the problem.
I would suggest you get an electrician in to look at your wiring. Shoddy wiring can be dangerous. Edit: I'm sure creaky knows more about it than me! lol!
ok, so i tried another component cable (i had an extra one) and it still happened although it didnt seem to happen as much.. BUT, i switched the cable from the digital cable and put THAT in the dvd player and it didnt happen at all.. so i dont know what to do.. buy another cable and try it again? i guess its possible that the other cable i had was bad too, right? any other suggestions? thanks
I might try another cable myself, but first i have to disentangle the rat's nest that is my cabling mess as it could just be down to cheap component cables (with inadequate shielding) lying against other cables.
well, i finally tried another cable (a big momma one from sam's club) and it still had the interference.. BUT i tried removing my HD switcher and low and behold, the problem went away (or at least it looks like it did-it could have been coincidence i guess).. anyway, i guess im glad its not the electrical in the house (which is wierd since i didnt have this problem in the old apartment). AND the only reason im using this switcher now is because i dont have an HDMI port on my tv and i need 3 components inputs (i only have 2 tho).. BUT when i finally buy my new tv i shouldn't have this problem since that will have at least 1 hmdi for my dvd leaving the components for my 360 and digi cable.. so, everything is cool i guess.. thanks for all the help and suggestions.. i really appreciate the help!
