Samsung forum: Samsung HLT 5687s - White Dots

It's Ti and if you do a little more digging, Ti is into projector sales and due to this issue Ti seems to have changed something. I'll leave the digging up to you on that. But the DMD chip life span appears to be a fraction of what Ti told us. You'll find the other makers of DLP saddled with the same consumer complaints. As it stands it looks like the DMD is good for 3 to 5 years depending on factors like humidity, heat and use. Ti was touting this as much longer.

Hope this helps you and your research.
Bob

Always have your transaction numbers handy and all the little details then try the Service Issues advice. Here's the link.
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-542437/service-issues-click-here-for-help/?tag=contentBody;threadListing

Hi GX360,

I'm sorry that you feel like that I've be absent. I'd just like to clarify that I do read everything here, and I report about what I see. But I try not to chime into every conversation because this is a community, and it may seem like I'd be trying to dominate the discussion on here.

I'll also add that when some comes on here and complains that I take it very seriously since the CNET community as a group is more technically astute than the average Internet community, so it's feedback is very valuable. However, that still doesn't mean I always respond because often I'd give the same answer as a phone or chat agent, and I'd rather not rub salt into a wound if someone has been denied accommodations.

But in this situation, I thought I'd offer some clarity. The "white dot" behavior that people describe is not the same as "light tunnel" behavior. They are two separate issues. The settlement that you referred to extended accommodations to customers until October 22, 2011. So even if the behavior was the same, accommodations are no longer being made.

Regarding the white dot behavior you described, we're dealing with these products on a case by case basis. I realize you're experiencing the same symptoms with your device. However, the agent you spoke with correctly evaluated your situation from what I can tell, and unfortunately, we can't make accommodations at this time. I do apologize for the inconvenience you've experienced.

Regards,
HD Tech

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obviously the light tunnel and dmd chips are 2 separate parts and separate issues. My apologies if I misrepresented the issue in any way. I believe I made that point clear to the agent I spoke with on the phone as well. Obviously you care about the brand you represent, as was very obvious in this thread and this one. My dimming on the left side is caused by the light tunnel issue, and yes I missed the window on that due to the timeframe on the settlement expiring before I noticed this issue. However the white dot issue (which was far easier to notice) is caused by the failing DMD chips and not the light tunnel. If the air goes out in my car and my tire goes flat they are separate unrelated issues on the same product. Saying that the white dot/defective DMD chip issue is mute because I also experience another flaw of the tv's design isn't helping my perception of the brand. Yes I have issues from the light tunnel, and I am more then accepting of that at this point, its a fairly inexpensive part that I could fix myself if I wanted. But I absolutely refuse to invest more money into the tv as the DMD chip continues to worsen and the white dots spread. I included the ref# from my chat, but to recap my issue is as follows:

November 2011 first white dot appears, center right side of screen. Jan 2012 a 2nd dot appears, top right of screen. The following weeks the dots continued to pop up on both the right and left side of the screen. The dots are present across all inputs HDMI1/HDMI2/Component1/Component2 and on the onscreen UI. Again these are the same symptoms every instance I've seen of those with the faulty DMD chip experienced. The dimming on the left side of my screen is a separate issue due to the light tunnel.
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I have worked customer service for over 8 years (4 years retail management, 4 years repair/helpdesk) and very rarely do I ever let a P&P/M&P frustrate me. However when I see several others get the issue resolved in what I would consider a mutually acceptable manner, then my primary issue gets ignored because a secondary issue/defect is past an acknowledged settlement timeframe it's disappointing as an end consumer. This is compounded when dealing with high priced items that one would expect to last longer then 4.5 years under "normal wear and tear". All I have ever expected in this process is a reasonable resolution if the service tech determined the DMD chip is faulty, which I have the utmost confidence it is. I commend you for the outreach and your previous efforts to resolve this for others here, as well as the help the support team has given to others on AVS (my main a/v forum).
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Hi GX360,

I appreciate your mature point of view, and you've been very reasonable. So allow me to ask you for one favor, though. You said above that you had attached the transaction # for this issue, but I looked up and down this thread multiple times, and I've looked to see if you've posted some place else, and I don't see any transaction #.

I ask for this only to see if there's anything else that I can do. I may not be able to do anything, so please don't expect a positive result. I'm asking only to exhaust all the possibilities that I can do.

Regards,
HD Tech

Online Brand Ambassador

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The only number I have is from the chat, I did not get a ref# from the agent that called me. The chat ref# is LTK56401198615X, again thanks for taking the time to look deeper

Hey GX360,

For some reason, I'm not finding that trans #. So how about you just email me here: qasupport@sea.samsung.com

Include all the detail above and ask for me. I'll look you up by name instead.

HD Tech

Online Brand Ambassador

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by ask for you should I just say "forward to Samsung_HD_Tech from cnet forums"?

Hey GX360,

That'll work.

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HD Tech, is now my only options to either buy a new TV, or spend the $315 for part and $315 in labor? I included my ticket # is 5103747170....were you able to come to rescue?

Hi Yankees_23,

I'm very sorry. As with every situation, I personally investigated your issue. Unfortunately, no accommodations can be made for your unit at this time. Our engineers have determined which models have the particular parts that tend to fail at a slightly higher-than-normal rate. These are the only ones that are being covered outside of the warranty term.

I am truly sorry that I couldn't be of more help to you.

Regards,
HD Tech

Online Brand Ambassador

- Click here to visit the Samsung forum
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Thank you for trying. Is replacing a DMD a task I could do, to save labor costs?

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1107926/samsung-dmd-board-replacement

Frankly, unless you do this a lot, I doubt it's a DIY job.
Bob

http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-542437/service-issues-click-here-for-help/?tag=contentBody;threadListing

Always worth a shot. There are many discussions about the Ti DLP chip now. It appears that Ti is trying to save itself by, well, it doesn't matter here but if you do more research you can see that this chip doesn't last long.
Bob

"Our engineers have determined which models have the particular parts that tend to fail at a slightly higher-than-normal rate. These are the only ones that are being covered outside of the warranty term."

I just started getting this "white dot" issue. Where can I find which models are covered?
My TV is Model# HLT5676SX/XAA serial# AHDZ3CKP601706R version PH01

Hi Corney13,

I'd encourage you to use this thread: http://forums.cnet.com/7723-13973_102-542437/service-issues-click-here-for-help/

By using this method, you can get in email contact with our social media team, and we can go through some details with you.

Regards,
HD Tech

Online Brand Ambassador

- Click here to visit the Samsung forum
- Click here to visit the Samsung store on CNET