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Samsung forum: Backlight beginning to fail - LN52A630?

by: major41501 June 9, 2009 12:22 PM PDT

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Backlight beginning to fail - LN52A630?

by major41501 - 6/9/09 12:22 PM

When my screen is on a pure white screen, I can see two side-by-side vertical shadowed bars just to the left of center. During panning/sweeping shots in TV shows or movies, I can also see these shadowed bars. When things are still, it is very difficult to find them.

I used the troubleshooting guide on Samsung's website and they show a more extreme or dramatic (and horizontal) image of what I am seeing on my unit and they say that this is the backlight failing or beginning to fail.

Is this the case, and if so, is it entirely fixable?

I am in month 5 of owning this unit and don't want to wait for the warranty to expire if this issue can be resolved by a technician. Please advise.


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Backlight failure

by wallstreet123456 - 6/9/09 1:00 PM

In Reply to: Backlight beginning to fail - LN52A630? by major41501

Don't you have a year warranty on it. I would set up a service appointment. I am sure the tech will know what is wrong and I think it should be covered free of charge.


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RE: Backlight failure

by major41501 - 6/9/09 1:59 PM

In Reply to: Backlight failure by wallstreet123456

I am under warranty right now, yes. I just wanted to know what a Samsung rep. thinks of my description and if it is fixable or not. I didn't want to take time from work and schedule an appointment if this is just some inherent issue with all panels or something.

Thanks for your advice and response.


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RE: Backlight failure

by Samsung_HD_Tech Samsung staff - 6/9/09 3:12 PM

In Reply to: RE: Backlight failure by major41501

major41501,

I would definitely recommend a service on this. I can't imagine it being something that we couldn't fix, but in the event it can't be fixed, there are other remedies available - that goes through the service center, and you can inquire about those options if the repair doesn't work.

If you can, upload a digital photo of the issue to photobucket.com and I'll take a look. More of curiosity than being able to pinpoint an exact diagnosis, with due respect, but I'd like to see what you're seeing.

It's also best if you can recreate what you're seeing and have it ready for when the technician arrives. You pointed out that the problem is present with moving images - point that out.

By all means, use the warranty. That's what it's there for.

Keep me posted.

--HDTech


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RE: Backlight failure

by major41501 - 6/10/09 2:12 PM

In Reply to: RE: Backlight failure by Samsung_HD_Tech Samsung staff

Thanks for the advice. I will get my local technician to come out to look.

I will snap a photo when I get home tonight, though I'm not sure if it will come out very clear.

In the meantime, I photoshopped this pic to give you an idea of what it looks like on a white screen. You will see that it is a faint shadow, so on still images (that aren't pure white) it is hard to see, but that it would become more visible on sweeping/panning shots no matter what color.

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7463/tvreplication.jpg

Let me know any additional thoughts you may have.

Thanks again!


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RE: Backlight failure

by Samsung_HD_Tech Samsung staff - 6/10/09 3:21 PM

In Reply to: RE: Backlight failure by major41501

major41501,

Well, based on the photoshop (Awesome ingenuity, I might add!), happy it looks like you definitely have a screen uniformity issue. If I had to guess, and this is no means conclusive or above what a service technician will have to say about it, I'd guess it may result in a board replacement. But don't coax your tech into this conclusion - let him figure out what's wrong and see if my guess matches with the actual repair. I'm just pointing in a direction.

So for whatever that helps... it's a rough guess.

Keep me posted.

--HDTech


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RE: Backlight failure

by major41501 - 6/11/09 8:06 AM

In Reply to: RE: Backlight failure by Samsung_HD_Tech Samsung staff

I won't coax him into anything. It will be interesting to see if your conclusions are the same.

What is a board replacement, just out of curiosity. I'm a very anal retentive person, especially with my expensive electronics and "board replacement" sounds absolutely terrifying, to be honest. Ha, ha!

P.S. Thanks for your continual responses. I feel quite reassured that I'm not just being crazy about seeing something that 95/100 people would never event notice in the first place.


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RE: Backlight failure

by Samsung_HD_Tech Samsung staff - 6/12/09 3:08 PM

In Reply to: RE: Backlight failure by major41501

major41501,

Assuming I'm correct - still a toss up - a board replacement just means swapping out one electronics board behind the panel for another. If you're still under warranty, it's free. And on that note, if you register you television online, you qualify for an additional 3 months of warranty coverage. (So definitely do that!)

Let me know if you have any other questions, and keep me posted on your repair.

--HDTech


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RE: Backlight failure

by major41501 - 7/1/09 3:08 PM

In Reply to: RE: Backlight failure by Samsung_HD_Tech Samsung staff

So, the latest is that the Samsung technician is checking with Samsung about the problem. They haven't been out to physically see the TV yet, but I sent them the picture link that I sent you to give them a better idea.

At this point, they have asked if the shadows appear on top of or behind the menus. They are concerned it is a bad panel. They are saying that most likely they will have to come out and take the TV for repair.

Like I said, I am highly anal retentive and I dropped a grib of cash on this thing, so I'm concerned about them taking it away and/or replacing the whole panel. The bummer would be that I paid Best Buy for in-home calibration and with a replaced panel, that calibration was wasted money.

If it comes to all this, I may just suck it up and not go through with the repair. Any thoughts?


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