Samsung forum: Samsung DLP HLT5687S white dots problem

This past November I had one white dot. Today 12/31/12 I have over 50 white dots on my TV. I contacted Samsung online chat.. they said I needed to place a service call. I did that online as well. I will give them 48 hours to call me back before I start calling ECR. I think it is outrageous that a TV I bought 5 years ago for $1800 is not lasting longer. I know I do not watch more then 3-5 hours a day on it... this TV should have lasted a lot longer. I sure hope they cover this issue.

Well, if it's a failure of the part that's sad to hear, then maybe I could at least be covered for the part and I could pay to have it replaced or figure out how to replace it myself. Whatever the case, Samsung sold me on this model because of the fact that it's an LED lit screen, instead of a rear-lamp which obviously are known to go out after some (relatively) small number of hours. I bought this model specifically so that it would NOT go out in five years, and considering what I paid for it I don't think it's asking for the moon for them to live up to that sales pitch.

You say "it's not a 10 year design". Really? From the way Samsung marketed this thing in 2007 you'd think it was a 20-year design! I'm looking at the giant LED sticker on the front of the model (which I never peeled off) which touts it as "Long life with no bulbs to replace!" I understand new technology isn't generally as reliable, but FIVE years for a top-of-the-line $2000 TV? I don't consider that "long life" even by today's standards. I'm just supposed to shrug and say "aww shucks, don't make 'em like they used to"?

I guess you didn't find the paper so here it is. Skip down to figure 9 and notice what happened if you add 10 or 20 degrees to the DMD temperature. Since you can't control where folk install the TV or the environment of the TV this is one of the primary aging factors. Link follows.
http://focus.ti.com/pdfs/dlpdmd/133_ieeeir.pdf

Since this heat matters so much you also wonder why the set makers (remember that Samsung is not the only consumer of that DMD chip from Ti) didn't tell folk to keep the set vents clean and schedule a tech to check on it yearly. But that would have been unacceptable to marketing and probably some engineer was told to go home.

This is not the only component in today's sets that are 5 year designs. There's a simple flat cable that I don't have the spec handy that has a similar short span. Not to mention electrolytic caps.

This is a classic area of discussion of how the makers under extreme pressure to reduce costs and deliver big screens along with a marketing machine that would never allow any use warnings brought about this small disaster.

Ti started this all by having a great idea but it was only that and as you see in the paper, doesn't stand up to the real world.

-> About your aw shucks. If Samsung offers a labor only repair, take it as the DMD chip costs about that much. If you do it yourself there are videos and more about the work.
Bob

I to purchase a Samsung DLP tv and starting to have white dots on my screen, it started with one and now i'm up to 29 dots. I tried to talk to customer service abouts this matter and they told me the same thing that my tv was out of warranty and that my model was not covered under there recall because the haven't recieved enough complains about this matter(model # HL56A650CLFX2A). Its my understanding that they recieved notice about this chip from their own service techs that this chip would go out in two to three years and the white dots would start to appear, there excuse that its wear and tear its false, if anything that would go out for wear and tear i think it would be the lamp first. I had my brother ask me about purchasing a samsung tv and told him to stay away from therre products

Products that used the Ti DMD? Since this failure is seen across most DMD based sets, wouldn't you extend this to all those other makes?
Bob

I got the same response from Samsung about a "supervisor" calling me back in 2-3 days. Well I got the call at 8:50am when I was at work and couldn't take the call. He left a message where he spoke so fast I could barely understand him, but the gist was "too bad, so sad" but more polite, and left no way for me to get ahold of him. He left his name but I could barely understand it. So apparently leaving an indecipherable message on my voice mail was what was meant by getting a supervisor.

R. Proffitt, I appreciate you explaining the details of why this is happening, and yes it appears it's a faulty design by TI. But I didn't buy a TI chip, I bought a Samsung TV that was advertised as having long shelf life. I can accept the fact that new tech is always going to have bugs, but the ultimate insult here is for them to tell me that a component that failed in other similar models is a manufacturer's defect, but the EXACT same component failing in the exact same manner in my model is "normal wear-and-tear". If it's a faulty TI chip, it's up to them to sue TI to recover the losses of having to cover the sets that they cover. But I'm entitled to the same courtesy they showed their other customers of the almost-same model. How could they ever expect me to purchase a Samsung product in the future or recommend them after such blatant disregard for their customers?

I'm not through with them yet, I'm calling back tomorrow and I'm not getting off the phone until I speak with someone who can actually do something. I'll let you all know what comes of it.

If someone offers to cover a chip only repair that might be a good deal. Keep in mind I offer the inside scoop so you know it will wear out again. Some folk think this "fixes" it. Nothing could be farther from the truth and those in the industry (I'm only an electronics designer) can't reveal what's going on most of the time.

So back to that possible offer. If they offer to cover the chip and labor only charge, it's not a bad deal as the chip runs in the 200 buck range. And the chips did get a little rare after the Japan Fukushima disaster. Some folk will not want to know this but it was a problem as the production of the chips halted for a time.

Bob

Just an FYI. I submitted information to http://www.abingtonlaw.com/DLP-white-spot-class-action.html, and one of their lawyers called me right back. I'm not one of the plaintiffs in an upcoming lawsuit against Samsung over this issue.

I lost all patience with their customer service team, and this is the result.

Out of curiosity are they naming Ti as well? If not, you know why it matters now. I'm not a lawyer but some of my clients are and this subject has come up. As I want to maintain a good relationship with the makers I can not offer any expert testimony but my clients and a few friends who are lawyers were quite clear that any case that named only Samsung was possibly run by ambulance chasers.

Think it over.
Bob

And when this gets "legal" it's no longer a service issue and you can't expect support folk to go near your posts. Be sure you intended to never hear from support again.
Bob

They made it real clear they had no intention of helping me, on the phone and via chat. I'll purchase a new TV, and hold on to this one till the eventual class action (this one or another) comes through. Honestly, I can afford the 400-500 to repair this thing, but thats not the point.

As far as whether they were going after TI as well, I believe they were, but don't quote me on that.

Take a look at shopjimmy and price out a DMD.

And good to read they listed Ti.
Bob

I wasn't suggesting the chip cost 400, but that the entire process, including paying someone to do it, would cost that much.

I'm technical enough to swap out a hard drive, or change the RAM in my computer, but I unfortunately draw the line at taking apart my screen. And believe me, I've thought about it. I just don't trust myself to do it.

And it was just as hard as changing a CPU in the common PC.
Bob

So if I can change a CPU in a PC, you think I could replace this chip? Are there service manuals out there I could buy that would show me how to take apart my set and do this? As long as it doesn't require any special hard-to-obtain tools or anything like soldering, I'm thinking about trying it if I could get them to cover the chip. I remember you said there were videos out there showing how to do it. If I could get another 5 years out of this thing at least it wouldn't be so bad of a purchase. It's otherwise a fine set. Would there be anything I could do to prevent it from happening in the future? Like keeping the vents clean or something?

R. Proffitt thanks for all the info you've provided on this issue, you've been very helpful and my frustration isn't directed at you.

Over at shopjimmy there are videos as well on youtube.

Service manuals seem to run 38 bucks and while a nice idea, I would not buy a service manual given the videos I've seen on this work. (Sorry, but I'm writing as if I never did this work so to try to give those that are contemplating it their best shot.)

Links follow. Find out if you can get the DMD first.
http://www.shopjimmy.com/samsung-4719-001969-dlp-chip.htm has a video worth watching. Notice what is said at the 1 minute mark? Sadly true.

-> Keep in mind that the Japan Fukishima disaster caused the Ti factory to shut down and while I read it's back up, there will be some DMD chips that will be hard to find.

I'm a little concerned they didn't dive into the heatsink pad or compound since we know that the DLP chip temperature is critical to long chip life. If the pad is old I replace that or put some heatsink compound on the surface to ensure good heat conduction.

Be sure to keep the dust down as dust on any lens, DLP chip or elsewhere and you know what to expect.
Bob