My Samsung LCD bites the dust

[Tom Snyder]

Crud. Watching TV tonight and all of a sudden the picture on the 4 year old 46 in. Samsung LCD in the living room just disappeared. No menu items, either. Just a faint glow. Unplugged it for a while, and still nothing. Lightning hit earlier today the culprit? Don't know... all I do know is that I thought I was done with major purchases around here.  :mad:

[SRW1000]

Hey, look at the bright side - you've got a ready-made excuse to upgrade!  Most of us married folks have to think of some creative reason  to convince our spouses that it's time to go shopping.

While 46" was a pretty good size four years ago, it's on the small size now.  Go bigger!

Scott

[Tom Snyder]

Just finished my home theatre downstairs as part of the basement remodel. 94 inch projection down there gives me my "size" fix. And I also just bought a 42 in LED for the other area by the pool table. The space for TV that died is built into the wall and probably only fits a 50 inch maximum. Will likely boil down to the best bang for the (low, low) buck.

[Nels Harvey]

I guess it's catching!  My Hitachi 60" RP went belly up Sunday.  I said if the repair was more than $300.00 it would be time to go shopping.  The word is it will cost $185.00.  Now I think I screwed up!  Oh well, there's always next time.

[Paul Pavlik]

The new 60" or, better yet, 70" Sharp LED/LCD looks pretty good!:)

[gparris]

Sorry for your loss, but you indicate it was about 4 years old. Did you get an extended warranty for it at the time of purchase?
I know these flat panels advertise a life of what, 30000 hours or more?
So I can't believe your panel "died" so early in its "life, I know it did, it just doesn't add up.

Now, consumer mags like Consumer Reports Magazine advise their readers that flat panel sets don't need an extended warranty, most are quite reliable, but the real bulk of the flat panel buying has just happened for about those 4 or so years since prices went down.
Our forum, when I joined it back many years ago, only dreamed of a plasma panel, much less, a new LCD model, LCDs were RPTVs back then. So CR mag only has limited timeframes to do its "research" to advise such claims or advice.

Personally, my 1-1/2 year old 55" Samsung LCD has a 4-year in store warranty and I feel good about it and if it goes, I would expect repair or replacement, for free under the conditions of the warranty. $250 for a 4-year warranty is good money for a $2500 flat panel, "CR", so I don't agree with your advice.:rolleyes:
You also mentioned something about a lightning strike, do you have a surge protector plugged into the panel(s) to arrest that? Also, my store warranty guards against that, too, so maybe, unless you plan to buy some cheap 50" plasma for $699 (or less), maybe ext coverage should be on your list with purchase, just a suggestion.

[budda]

If you turn it on and off do you here any clicking, or does it just fire up and have that glow?

[bklass]

http://www.dealsofamerica.com/Mitsubishi-Diamond-Series-WD-73838-73-Inch-1080p-3D-DLP-HDTV/147226.htm

[Nels Harvey]

I guess it's catching!  My Hitachi 60" LCD RP went belly up Sunday.  I said if the repair was more than $300.00 it would be time to go shopping.  The word is it will cost $185.00.  Now I think I screwed up!  Oh well, there's always next time.

I have it back now, and all is great.  

BTW, I had the warranty from American, and when a blue dot showed up on the screen a while back, the warranty covered a new light engine, to the tune of about $1300.00 at the time.  I came out way ahead on that warranty!

[Tom Snyder]

What's the best place to go locally to repair something like that? Already replaced it, but I might repair it and sell it.

[Jimboy]

What's the best place to go locally to repair something like that? Already replaced it, but I might repair it and sell it.

I've seen some of these sets experience power supply failures for the backlighting. Should be a relatively simple repair.....but your mileage may vary as to what is really wrong with it.

Probably not in your immediate area.... http://www.pekotv.com/

[Jack 1000]

I have it back now, and all is great.  

BTW, I had the warranty from American, and when a blue dot showed up on the screen a while back, the warranty covered a new light engine, to the tune of about $1300.00 at the time.  I came out way ahead on that warranty!

Nels,

What was your total repair cost this time?  Who did you take the set to for repairs?

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Crud. Watching TV tonight and all of a sudden the picture on the 4 year old 46 in. Samsung LCD in the living room just disappeared. No menu items, either. Just a faint glow. Unplugged it for a while, and still nothing. Lightning hit earlier today the culprit? Don't know... all I do know is that I thought I was done with major purchases around here.  :mad:

Wouldn't a surge protector stop the lightning spike?  I could never live without TV!  That's like being stuck on an island!

Jack

[techguy1975]

Wouldn't a surge protector stop the lightning spike?  I could never live without TV!  That's like being stuck on an island!

Jack

Jack, a surge protector is meant to prevent power surges from anomalies on the utility power supply.  They can only protect to a certain amount (measured in joules).  Very few surge protectors can protect you from a direct lightning strike due to the sheer amount of energy present.

[beeper]

If you had a lightning strike earlier, and your display was later working shortly before the failure, it may not be related.

Samsungs are known for premature failure of the power supply capacitors.
I fixed mine for 4 bucks. Look for bulging caps on the power supply board.
Mine were barely bulging and not leaking. The top end should be completely flat.

Home: http://www.badcaps.net/
How to identify: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5