I have a problem that I can't figure out and google hasn't yet answered for me.

About a month ago our gameroom TV went out. We don't need anything fancy up there so I got a Vizio and everything is fine. . . when the living room TV is not on.

We have a Panasonic plasma in the living room. The living room and gameroom are fairly open to each other but there is no direct line of sight. The two TV's are about 30' apart. When the Panasonic is on, the Vizio will usually not turn on and if it does turn on the remote will not work. If the Panasonic is off, everything (including the remote) on the Vizio works fine. If the Vizio is on and the Panasonic is then turned on the Vizio remote will stop working.

I could understand if just the remote stopped working, but it is more than that. If the Panasonic is on even the power button on the Vizio TV (the only physical button on the TV) will not turn the TV off. I usually have to unplug the TV. I have also tried a Harmony remote and it reacts the exact same way as the Vizio remote.

Any ideas Nerdery?

Have you tried obstructing the visual path between them with something to see if the TV is emitting some frequency that is overwhelming the IR sensor? IR can bounce a bit so it doesn't have to be direct line of sight. Maybe some painters tape over the IR sensor on the Vizio to see if the power button function returns?

What model #'s?

Models:

Panasonic TC-P50ST60

Vizio M422i-B1

I tried the painters tape over the weekend and it had no effect.

Have you tried turning off the WiFi on the Panasonic (or unplug the ethernet)? the Vizio? Both?

Sorry for a ton of questions. I've seen reports of Panasonic TVs WiFi overwhelming wireless networks before, but usually just connectivity losses from PCs/etc. - not loss of function.

Probably a case of plasma infrared interference. I have never had it happen with my Samsung plasma affecting my old Sony TV in the adjacent kitchen.

Some say to use RF remotes for the affected TV.

Search "plasma infrared interference" and you'll see a number of hits.

92 - I haven't tried turning off the wifi or unplugging them. They are both hardwired but anything is possible. I'll give it a shot because my wifi is kind of slow. Maybe the panasonic is still sucking some life out of it.

Spicewood - I think you're right but I cannot understand why the power button on the TV itself won't work. Maybe the TV thinks it is receiving some type of IR signal and doesn't know what to do?

It is really hard to know for sure. But my guess is that the plasma is emitting enough IR to confuse or overwhelm the Vizio.

Maybe a small room adjustment can take care of it. Move something around to reduce the likelihood of the plasma interfering. Maybe the plasma emission is reflected from something (like a wall or mirror).

Interesting post. I also have an older 50" Panasonic plasma TV that I moved to my bedroom Just yesterday. I had to move the AT&T U-Verse box away from the plasma TV because the remote would only work sporadically when it was directly underneath it. I had no idea why. Just noticed it worked better when I moved the box.

Thanks for the information. I hadn't heard of plasma interference before. Coincidence I found this post today. Thanks guys.

I have two Samsung plasmas, neither more than a bit over two years old. The newest is right above a DVR. No issues at all with that. No problems with the other either, but the nearby equipment is in a cabinet.

This sounds pretty close to what's occurring:
https://www.avforums.com/threads/interference-from-panasonic-plasma.1831048/

I also have a Panasonic Plasma and my cable box remote works sporadically. Never thought it was because of the tv I just thought I had a crappy remote/box. Will try to move today

Thanks mickey. I was able to solve the issue from the link you provided.

Turns out the Panasonic has a setting to turn on or off iphone or android remote control apps. Turned it off and the problem was gone.

Turn off the ambient light sensor on the Panny and the Vizio.